Date: March 2, 2006
To: PFIC Message Board
From: StripeSideChaser
Subject: What's your favorite pier fish story?
The night I caught sturgeon fever... I was striper fishing one cold February night (2004) at the Antioch Bridge pier. I had just gotten there and it was the very end of the incoming tide. Had my trusty setup (Penn 940 Levelmatic loaded with 15 lb Trilene Big Game - 165 yards, on an 8’ Ugly Stick Tiger (a really rare, light weight, 2pc version of the tiger))... obviously, I wasn’t targeting sturgeon.
I was using my last leader, so I put a very small frozen shad on the hook (figured nothing would mess with it while I tied up some new leaders). I kept getting these little taps on my frozen shad and thought it was a little shaker striper. Finally, I got so tired of the “little sucker” playing with my bait, I ripped the rod up in a hookset motion. I wasn't really trying to set the hook, just to scare the little bugger away.
The rod doubled over and I thought “great, the little guy dropped my bait in a snag.” I kept messing with the line, just trying to get it to come free without breaking. Sure enough, the “snag"” came loose and I started to reel in. I felt a little bump and thought, “the little guy is snagged on the hook" and kept reeling. All of a sudden, I felt a big bump and figured the “little guy” was bigger than expected, so I set the hook again... hard!
I guess the sturgeon finally realized he was hooked and took off! He ran straight up the river and just about the time he got even with the entrance to the Driftwood Marina (maybe 75 yds out), he went airborne... that was when I realized I wasn't fighting just a really big striper. He continued to run straight up the river and it was soon obvious that the beast was going to spool me, as I had as much drag on the line as I dared (probably running about 7 or 8 lbs... way more than you are supposed to put on 15 # test). Just as the spool got down to no more than 30 or 40 wraps, the beast turned and ran parallel to the pier. I chased him up about 4 lights and suddenly he turned and came straight for the pier. I had to spin that little reel as fast as I could to keep up, but got most of my line back. The fish kept going, passing right under the pier (fortunately without touching any of the pilings) and started peeling line back off my reel. At one point I realized that my rod was bent so far that the tip was under the pier, which put it in a bend that was past the butt. I'm pretty sure that any rod that didn't have the flexibility of the Ugly Stick would have broken.
That fish kept going and had almost spooled me again, so I finally put my thumb to the spool. I felt the line stretch, but I finally got the fish turned around and headed back to the pier. Luck was with me again, as he was tired enough that he came straight back and I was able to get him back underneath the pier without breaking my line. My buddy (who had caught about 25 sturgeon himself) got the crab ring and I was able to guide him through the lines. As his nose went through, I dipped the rod so the leader wouldn’t hang up and as he centered, my partner lifted the ring. We had no idea that this beast was as big as it was (it really isn't easy to get a good size estimate from 15’ above the water).
Anyway, after an awesome, 45 minute fight, the fish taped at 77" and since we didn't have a camera, he went back in as soon as we measured. Neither of us even commented on the possibility of keeping an oversized fish, as it would definitely have been wrong (not to mention illegal).
When I went to cast the next bait out, I got a horrible backlash and realized that the fish had totally fried my levelwind!
I guess that releasing that fish really was good mojo, because I told some friends about the fish and we all met there the following Friday night. I got to the pier (with a heavier rig this time), and met my friends at the end. They said they had been there for four hours and nobody had even a tap. I baited up a double hook sturgeon rig with a pile worm and a ghost shrimp (shad really isn't the best bait for sturgeon), set up my tackle box, opened a beer and sat down. No sooner than I sat down, did I look at my rod and sure enough, the tip was doing the classic “sturgeon pump” (literally, the first time I'd ever seen it happen). 15 minutes later, I had my first keeper sturgeon... a feisty 57” 45 lb’er on the deck.
BTW, that reel is gone... slipped out of my hand while casting lures in the rain. Gee, do I miss that little reel!
Posted by pinfish
Not necessarily my favorite but I was thinking about it yesterday: My dad would take us to the Trident submarine base wharf in Cape Canaveral Florida every weekend to do some night fishing for Bluefish. My dad was always the bait fisherman. We used either cut up pinfish or live pinfish on heavy gear and wire leader. I was about 8 years old so I don't remember the details of the gear. All we did was let the bait go down the side of the pier and wait for the marauding school of Blues. They would come and go like a piranha attack (I suppose from watching movies) and then most of the night its quiet. Every weekend, same thing. We caught maybe 3-4 a night. Also used a pyramid crab cage to catch blue crabs. Sometimes it got too slow so we would walk up and down the 300 yard pier/wharf and fish various spots. Since my dad was in the Navy there were only few people on that huge pier so we had free reign.
Like I said, my dad, to this day, fishes 100% with bait. That's how I started out. One night we were just walking down the wharf and my dad stopped in a spot in between two ships and put on a huge metal spoon (I still have it), threw out, swept it really fast, and pulled in a big bluefish on his first and only cast. After that I never saw him use a lure until just this year while we went grubbing. That night it was such a mysterious thing he did. Nowadays I am using lures when I fish about 90% of the time.
Posted by DanTheFisherman
Always the one that gets away...One of my buddy’s lost a fish this year that I will never forget. Neither of us knows what it really was. It was as long as a car, white, and it jumped 30 times. I think it was Flipper (a Dolphin). It was a beautiful sight set against the Golden Gate Bridge on a fantastic night. Definitely out of this world! The thing that gets me the most, is that fish of its kind let you know that there is something in the water that you can't always catch. It adds a level of competitiveness and mysteriousness to the sea.
March 9, 2031
Posted by anchovy aaron
I've got one. When I was about 12 my dad and I went perching out at King Salmon near Eureka, and not being much of a fisherman my dad caught 6 redtails to my one lousy bullhead. I was just sitting on a rock looking at my rod tip when all of a sudden it just went bendo, and the fish started running. I only had about 200 yards of 10-pound test so I started hopping rocks trying to follow this fish, but there was no stopping it. After about and hour I jumped over a 100 yards of rocks and the fish came unbutton. I never saw it but my guess was a BIG ray. The surprising thing was my line or my Sabiki rig never snapped, just came unhooked haha.
Posted by Aaron
The Pillar Point Pier in Half Moon Bay is where I first learned how to fish, casting and retrieving Sabikis (we called ‘em smelt jigs) for big jacksmelt, or fishing them under a bobber when the bite was slow. Every now and then somebody would hook something way too big for their 10-lb test imported leaders and would lose it before it ever came to the surface.
Well eventually my friends, dad, and I got the hang of fishing and we started to land these huge mystery fish. They were salmon and steelhead. My biggest steelie from that pier was 2-ft long, ditto on the size for my silver salmon and 18” for my king salmon. My dad matched me on steelhead size, same with a buddy of mine. We released all those fish, all caught on Sabiki rigs baited with tiny pieces of anchovy or grass shrimp.
Then there was the time the bait boats were seining about 200 yards off the end of Crystal Pier. I was by the surfline fishing perch and croaker when I looked out at the end and saw a bent rod and a pier gaff going over the side. I ran up to see what the fish was and by the time I got to the end I looked over the rail to see an 8-ft long dusky shark with the pier gaff in its mouth. The fish took a wrap around the pilings, broke the thin clothesline that was being used on the gaff, and disappeared. I doubt that fish survived and I would never gaff one myself but it's a shame nobody got a photo of it. It would have been the first dusky landed here in a while.
This gets me thinking about the biggest pier fish I've seen, and how they tend to come in pairs. I saw a 68” and 69” sturgeon hooked and landed simultaneously by two anglers off the Oyster Point Pier (back when the slot limit meant those were legal fish). There was a pair of bat rays, 180 &190-lbs from Newport caught by the same guy, back to back on 25-lb test with a Penn 500. Took him 2 1/2 hours to land the bigger one.
Flipback1976
Here's one of mine kinda long. 2011 was a year of firsts for me as far as fishing goes. Caught my first striper from the surf, caught my first perch from the surf, got my first keeper dino, and caught my first keeper hali for a b**t though. All from knowledge I’ve gained from this site. Well on one Friday night I met up with Gomester to do some sharay fishing out at Brisbane Pier (Sierra Point). I got there before him and my dad and I caught a bunch of smelt.
Well I got a call that my mom got rushed to the hospital for some stomach pains so my dad left and he and my mom said it was nothing serious so I stayed to fish with Gomester.
So that year I was stuck on catching my first keeper hali which I did but later in the year and off a b**t, anyways I decided to throw on one of smaller lively smelt on one of my rods to try my luck. Set was nothing special, Ugly Stick Tiger, cheapo Shakespeare bait caster spoiled with 20-lb big game and a 15-lb big game leader with a 4/0 single hook threaded through the smelt so it could swim freely.
I tossed that bad boy out at around 5 or 6 pm and said I was going to let it sit until I left to go home. So the night went on while I fished my other rod for sharays and kicked it with Gomester and all the other pier rats that hit the pier that night.
Well finally around 12am when we were getting ready to call it a night my rod with smelt started to rip off some line, I remember the guy standing next to me a crazy funny Asian dude, a real cool guy. I think his name was Tommy or something. He starts saying that’s a hali pull let it take some line. So I do. Got my rod in my hand and he still says hold on don’t set it yet let it take more line so I do. So after about 30 secs or so of him telling me to let it take line I say I’m gonna set it now. So I wind up set the hook and bendo goes my rod.
So I start fighting this fish and I felt like it was a good size fish. Ripping line getting it back ripping more etc. for a couple minutes. For those that have fished Brisbane you know there are no lights on it so we hear it splash a couple time during the fight so we try and train some flashlights in it direction to see what it is. Well we get a little glimpse of it and someone says it’s a big shark. So now I’m like damn I only got a 15-lb test leader and 20-lb mainline, gotta be careful. So the fight continues for a couple more minutes then finally the fish gets tired out and is near the pier so Gomester drops a hoop and I try to wrangle the fish into it.
Now that is close and we can get a good view with the flashlights someone now yells out its a sturgeon lol. Now I’m really stressed because I haven’t pulled a keeper dino yet. And again I stressed on if my line would hold up. Plus it was not cooperating and would not go into Gomester’s hoop. So Tommy decides to drop his hoop and try with that and bingo first try dinos in the hoop and being lifted up to the pier. Taped out at 57 inches and I don’t remember the exact weight.
All in all a trip I will always remember. Went back a week later and some guys was like did you hear someone caught a sturgeon here last week. Made me feel kinda special lol to be the talk of the pier. Anyways sorry for the long story. Flip
Posted by 415FISHINGFANACTIC
One of my all time favorites occurred in September 2010. I had just returned to SF after being gone for 7 months. I also had a recently broken ankle and was still on crutches at the time. Well, after about 2 weeks of being practically bed ridden I begged my girl friend to assist me in fishing the next day. The spot was Pier 7 in downtown SF (a short distance from where we lived). We arrived about 6 am and for those of you familiar with this spot there is no place to park so my girlfriend had to pull our car up on the sidewalk put the hazzards on and sprint all my fishing gear (poles, bucket, back pack, a chair, and probably more) out to the end of the pier while I slowly crutched my way to the end. After dropping my stuff off she had to go teach and I was by myself. It was me and the Chinese fisherbums (as I have affectionately termed them). A little later I was joined by a couple of close friends and the fishing was on. This day was a true testament to the variety of both people and fish that Pier 7 provides. There were a couple of derranged homeless guys telling stories that probably weren’t true but very entertaining, tourists, joggers, Chinese fisherbums, skaters, business men, and some artists types all within close proximity along with the sounds of the water and the occasional wafting of marijuana smoke. As for the fishing there was very limited action till about noon when I turned around and my rod was doubled over a with a large fish taking out line. I crutched my way towards it and proceeded to land a large ray (on one leg) after about a 15-minute fight. I donated the fish to a Chinese fisherbum who for some reason was wearing a hard hat the entire day. Not the best fish I’ve ever caught but one of the most memorable due to my amazing girl friends help, the company of good friends (old and new), and the aura that urban fishing in such an amazing city can produce.
To: PFIC Message Board
From: StripeSideChaser
Subject: What's your favorite pier fish story?
The night I caught sturgeon fever... I was striper fishing one cold February night (2004) at the Antioch Bridge pier. I had just gotten there and it was the very end of the incoming tide. Had my trusty setup (Penn 940 Levelmatic loaded with 15 lb Trilene Big Game - 165 yards, on an 8’ Ugly Stick Tiger (a really rare, light weight, 2pc version of the tiger))... obviously, I wasn’t targeting sturgeon.
I was using my last leader, so I put a very small frozen shad on the hook (figured nothing would mess with it while I tied up some new leaders). I kept getting these little taps on my frozen shad and thought it was a little shaker striper. Finally, I got so tired of the “little sucker” playing with my bait, I ripped the rod up in a hookset motion. I wasn't really trying to set the hook, just to scare the little bugger away.
The rod doubled over and I thought “great, the little guy dropped my bait in a snag.” I kept messing with the line, just trying to get it to come free without breaking. Sure enough, the “snag"” came loose and I started to reel in. I felt a little bump and thought, “the little guy is snagged on the hook" and kept reeling. All of a sudden, I felt a big bump and figured the “little guy” was bigger than expected, so I set the hook again... hard!
I guess the sturgeon finally realized he was hooked and took off! He ran straight up the river and just about the time he got even with the entrance to the Driftwood Marina (maybe 75 yds out), he went airborne... that was when I realized I wasn't fighting just a really big striper. He continued to run straight up the river and it was soon obvious that the beast was going to spool me, as I had as much drag on the line as I dared (probably running about 7 or 8 lbs... way more than you are supposed to put on 15 # test). Just as the spool got down to no more than 30 or 40 wraps, the beast turned and ran parallel to the pier. I chased him up about 4 lights and suddenly he turned and came straight for the pier. I had to spin that little reel as fast as I could to keep up, but got most of my line back. The fish kept going, passing right under the pier (fortunately without touching any of the pilings) and started peeling line back off my reel. At one point I realized that my rod was bent so far that the tip was under the pier, which put it in a bend that was past the butt. I'm pretty sure that any rod that didn't have the flexibility of the Ugly Stick would have broken.
That fish kept going and had almost spooled me again, so I finally put my thumb to the spool. I felt the line stretch, but I finally got the fish turned around and headed back to the pier. Luck was with me again, as he was tired enough that he came straight back and I was able to get him back underneath the pier without breaking my line. My buddy (who had caught about 25 sturgeon himself) got the crab ring and I was able to guide him through the lines. As his nose went through, I dipped the rod so the leader wouldn’t hang up and as he centered, my partner lifted the ring. We had no idea that this beast was as big as it was (it really isn't easy to get a good size estimate from 15’ above the water).
Anyway, after an awesome, 45 minute fight, the fish taped at 77" and since we didn't have a camera, he went back in as soon as we measured. Neither of us even commented on the possibility of keeping an oversized fish, as it would definitely have been wrong (not to mention illegal).
When I went to cast the next bait out, I got a horrible backlash and realized that the fish had totally fried my levelwind!
I guess that releasing that fish really was good mojo, because I told some friends about the fish and we all met there the following Friday night. I got to the pier (with a heavier rig this time), and met my friends at the end. They said they had been there for four hours and nobody had even a tap. I baited up a double hook sturgeon rig with a pile worm and a ghost shrimp (shad really isn't the best bait for sturgeon), set up my tackle box, opened a beer and sat down. No sooner than I sat down, did I look at my rod and sure enough, the tip was doing the classic “sturgeon pump” (literally, the first time I'd ever seen it happen). 15 minutes later, I had my first keeper sturgeon... a feisty 57” 45 lb’er on the deck.
BTW, that reel is gone... slipped out of my hand while casting lures in the rain. Gee, do I miss that little reel!
Posted by pinfish
Not necessarily my favorite but I was thinking about it yesterday: My dad would take us to the Trident submarine base wharf in Cape Canaveral Florida every weekend to do some night fishing for Bluefish. My dad was always the bait fisherman. We used either cut up pinfish or live pinfish on heavy gear and wire leader. I was about 8 years old so I don't remember the details of the gear. All we did was let the bait go down the side of the pier and wait for the marauding school of Blues. They would come and go like a piranha attack (I suppose from watching movies) and then most of the night its quiet. Every weekend, same thing. We caught maybe 3-4 a night. Also used a pyramid crab cage to catch blue crabs. Sometimes it got too slow so we would walk up and down the 300 yard pier/wharf and fish various spots. Since my dad was in the Navy there were only few people on that huge pier so we had free reign.
Like I said, my dad, to this day, fishes 100% with bait. That's how I started out. One night we were just walking down the wharf and my dad stopped in a spot in between two ships and put on a huge metal spoon (I still have it), threw out, swept it really fast, and pulled in a big bluefish on his first and only cast. After that I never saw him use a lure until just this year while we went grubbing. That night it was such a mysterious thing he did. Nowadays I am using lures when I fish about 90% of the time.
Posted by DanTheFisherman
Always the one that gets away...One of my buddy’s lost a fish this year that I will never forget. Neither of us knows what it really was. It was as long as a car, white, and it jumped 30 times. I think it was Flipper (a Dolphin). It was a beautiful sight set against the Golden Gate Bridge on a fantastic night. Definitely out of this world! The thing that gets me the most, is that fish of its kind let you know that there is something in the water that you can't always catch. It adds a level of competitiveness and mysteriousness to the sea.
March 9, 2031
Posted by anchovy aaron
I've got one. When I was about 12 my dad and I went perching out at King Salmon near Eureka, and not being much of a fisherman my dad caught 6 redtails to my one lousy bullhead. I was just sitting on a rock looking at my rod tip when all of a sudden it just went bendo, and the fish started running. I only had about 200 yards of 10-pound test so I started hopping rocks trying to follow this fish, but there was no stopping it. After about and hour I jumped over a 100 yards of rocks and the fish came unbutton. I never saw it but my guess was a BIG ray. The surprising thing was my line or my Sabiki rig never snapped, just came unhooked haha.
Posted by Aaron
The Pillar Point Pier in Half Moon Bay is where I first learned how to fish, casting and retrieving Sabikis (we called ‘em smelt jigs) for big jacksmelt, or fishing them under a bobber when the bite was slow. Every now and then somebody would hook something way too big for their 10-lb test imported leaders and would lose it before it ever came to the surface.
Well eventually my friends, dad, and I got the hang of fishing and we started to land these huge mystery fish. They were salmon and steelhead. My biggest steelie from that pier was 2-ft long, ditto on the size for my silver salmon and 18” for my king salmon. My dad matched me on steelhead size, same with a buddy of mine. We released all those fish, all caught on Sabiki rigs baited with tiny pieces of anchovy or grass shrimp.
Then there was the time the bait boats were seining about 200 yards off the end of Crystal Pier. I was by the surfline fishing perch and croaker when I looked out at the end and saw a bent rod and a pier gaff going over the side. I ran up to see what the fish was and by the time I got to the end I looked over the rail to see an 8-ft long dusky shark with the pier gaff in its mouth. The fish took a wrap around the pilings, broke the thin clothesline that was being used on the gaff, and disappeared. I doubt that fish survived and I would never gaff one myself but it's a shame nobody got a photo of it. It would have been the first dusky landed here in a while.
This gets me thinking about the biggest pier fish I've seen, and how they tend to come in pairs. I saw a 68” and 69” sturgeon hooked and landed simultaneously by two anglers off the Oyster Point Pier (back when the slot limit meant those were legal fish). There was a pair of bat rays, 180 &190-lbs from Newport caught by the same guy, back to back on 25-lb test with a Penn 500. Took him 2 1/2 hours to land the bigger one.
Flipback1976
Here's one of mine kinda long. 2011 was a year of firsts for me as far as fishing goes. Caught my first striper from the surf, caught my first perch from the surf, got my first keeper dino, and caught my first keeper hali for a b**t though. All from knowledge I’ve gained from this site. Well on one Friday night I met up with Gomester to do some sharay fishing out at Brisbane Pier (Sierra Point). I got there before him and my dad and I caught a bunch of smelt.
Well I got a call that my mom got rushed to the hospital for some stomach pains so my dad left and he and my mom said it was nothing serious so I stayed to fish with Gomester.
So that year I was stuck on catching my first keeper hali which I did but later in the year and off a b**t, anyways I decided to throw on one of smaller lively smelt on one of my rods to try my luck. Set was nothing special, Ugly Stick Tiger, cheapo Shakespeare bait caster spoiled with 20-lb big game and a 15-lb big game leader with a 4/0 single hook threaded through the smelt so it could swim freely.
I tossed that bad boy out at around 5 or 6 pm and said I was going to let it sit until I left to go home. So the night went on while I fished my other rod for sharays and kicked it with Gomester and all the other pier rats that hit the pier that night.
Well finally around 12am when we were getting ready to call it a night my rod with smelt started to rip off some line, I remember the guy standing next to me a crazy funny Asian dude, a real cool guy. I think his name was Tommy or something. He starts saying that’s a hali pull let it take some line. So I do. Got my rod in my hand and he still says hold on don’t set it yet let it take more line so I do. So after about 30 secs or so of him telling me to let it take line I say I’m gonna set it now. So I wind up set the hook and bendo goes my rod.
So I start fighting this fish and I felt like it was a good size fish. Ripping line getting it back ripping more etc. for a couple minutes. For those that have fished Brisbane you know there are no lights on it so we hear it splash a couple time during the fight so we try and train some flashlights in it direction to see what it is. Well we get a little glimpse of it and someone says it’s a big shark. So now I’m like damn I only got a 15-lb test leader and 20-lb mainline, gotta be careful. So the fight continues for a couple more minutes then finally the fish gets tired out and is near the pier so Gomester drops a hoop and I try to wrangle the fish into it.
Now that is close and we can get a good view with the flashlights someone now yells out its a sturgeon lol. Now I’m really stressed because I haven’t pulled a keeper dino yet. And again I stressed on if my line would hold up. Plus it was not cooperating and would not go into Gomester’s hoop. So Tommy decides to drop his hoop and try with that and bingo first try dinos in the hoop and being lifted up to the pier. Taped out at 57 inches and I don’t remember the exact weight.
All in all a trip I will always remember. Went back a week later and some guys was like did you hear someone caught a sturgeon here last week. Made me feel kinda special lol to be the talk of the pier. Anyways sorry for the long story. Flip
Posted by 415FISHINGFANACTIC
One of my all time favorites occurred in September 2010. I had just returned to SF after being gone for 7 months. I also had a recently broken ankle and was still on crutches at the time. Well, after about 2 weeks of being practically bed ridden I begged my girl friend to assist me in fishing the next day. The spot was Pier 7 in downtown SF (a short distance from where we lived). We arrived about 6 am and for those of you familiar with this spot there is no place to park so my girlfriend had to pull our car up on the sidewalk put the hazzards on and sprint all my fishing gear (poles, bucket, back pack, a chair, and probably more) out to the end of the pier while I slowly crutched my way to the end. After dropping my stuff off she had to go teach and I was by myself. It was me and the Chinese fisherbums (as I have affectionately termed them). A little later I was joined by a couple of close friends and the fishing was on. This day was a true testament to the variety of both people and fish that Pier 7 provides. There were a couple of derranged homeless guys telling stories that probably weren’t true but very entertaining, tourists, joggers, Chinese fisherbums, skaters, business men, and some artists types all within close proximity along with the sounds of the water and the occasional wafting of marijuana smoke. As for the fishing there was very limited action till about noon when I turned around and my rod was doubled over a with a large fish taking out line. I crutched my way towards it and proceeded to land a large ray (on one leg) after about a 15-minute fight. I donated the fish to a Chinese fisherbum who for some reason was wearing a hard hat the entire day. Not the best fish I’ve ever caught but one of the most memorable due to my amazing girl friends help, the company of good friends (old and new), and the aura that urban fishing in such an amazing city can produce.