I took a brief walk down Seal Beach Pier today to see what was going on. I have not been able to visit this pier since September.
I arrived at the pier at about 12:50 PM to an outgoing tide. The water was very clear, and very few swimmers were in it. On the south side of the pier, just past the waves, a pod of Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins was boiling on baitfish, causing the birds to go into a frenzy.
Walking down the pier, I saw three groups of anglers fishing the surf, with one particular angler making fine use of a snagging setup. This particular angler had a fine display of fish in his bucket, and he loved the attention that he was getting. He even dumped his fish on the ground before a crowd of onlookers, which consisted of two humongous Spotfin Croaker, a moderate-sized Spotfin Croaker, three California Corbina, and an UNDERSIZED White Sea Bass!
I approached the angler and asked him about the White Sea Bass, pretending to just be another onlooker. He told me the fish was a "Striped Bass" and because the "Striped Bass" was 19.5 inches, it was legal to keep, and even showed me the current regulations for "Striped Bass". I then told him the correct species and the correct size limit. He said it didn't matter because "they're both sea bass and they should have the same size rules", before immediately turning around and packing his gear.
Having read many stories about poaching and unethical angling on this site, it was very heartbreaking to witness this behavior at a location where I had been fishing for many years. It was shameful to see a fish that the state spent thousands of dollars on restoring be thrown into a pail by an angler who essentially was making up his own rules. I've never seen someone act with such ignorance and disrespect towards our fishing regulations. I am also surprised that the Seal Beach Police or Lifeguards are not familiar with basic fishing regulations, as they could make easy revenue from ticketing these anglers.
The rest of the pier was relatively uneventful. A couple of anglers were fishing across from the boat dock, and one angler had two Topsmelt in his bucket, which was caught on a squid-tipped sabiki. No anglers were fishing at the end.
Overall, the pier was slow, except for the snagger. I am hoping to head out fishing again sometime soon, and I would like to get a nice crab for Christmas dinner. Does anyone know where to go to get Spider Crabs or Rock Crabs at this time of year?
Fish Count:
-12 Anglers
-3 Spotfin Croaker
-3 California Corbina
-2 Topsmelt
-1 UNDERSIZED White Sea Bass
-9 Total Fish
I arrived at the pier at about 12:50 PM to an outgoing tide. The water was very clear, and very few swimmers were in it. On the south side of the pier, just past the waves, a pod of Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins was boiling on baitfish, causing the birds to go into a frenzy.
Walking down the pier, I saw three groups of anglers fishing the surf, with one particular angler making fine use of a snagging setup. This particular angler had a fine display of fish in his bucket, and he loved the attention that he was getting. He even dumped his fish on the ground before a crowd of onlookers, which consisted of two humongous Spotfin Croaker, a moderate-sized Spotfin Croaker, three California Corbina, and an UNDERSIZED White Sea Bass!
I approached the angler and asked him about the White Sea Bass, pretending to just be another onlooker. He told me the fish was a "Striped Bass" and because the "Striped Bass" was 19.5 inches, it was legal to keep, and even showed me the current regulations for "Striped Bass". I then told him the correct species and the correct size limit. He said it didn't matter because "they're both sea bass and they should have the same size rules", before immediately turning around and packing his gear.
Having read many stories about poaching and unethical angling on this site, it was very heartbreaking to witness this behavior at a location where I had been fishing for many years. It was shameful to see a fish that the state spent thousands of dollars on restoring be thrown into a pail by an angler who essentially was making up his own rules. I've never seen someone act with such ignorance and disrespect towards our fishing regulations. I am also surprised that the Seal Beach Police or Lifeguards are not familiar with basic fishing regulations, as they could make easy revenue from ticketing these anglers.
The rest of the pier was relatively uneventful. A couple of anglers were fishing across from the boat dock, and one angler had two Topsmelt in his bucket, which was caught on a squid-tipped sabiki. No anglers were fishing at the end.
Overall, the pier was slow, except for the snagger. I am hoping to head out fishing again sometime soon, and I would like to get a nice crab for Christmas dinner. Does anyone know where to go to get Spider Crabs or Rock Crabs at this time of year?
Fish Count:
-12 Anglers
-3 Spotfin Croaker
-3 California Corbina
-2 Topsmelt
-1 UNDERSIZED White Sea Bass
-9 Total Fish
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