Barred Surfperch Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Pier Fishing in California

Pacifica Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required The question of what is the best pier in the state is one that I have been asked fairly frequently over the years. Given that the answer depends on a number of factors (including the personal affection which…

Balboa Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Piers are one of the most romantic spots on earth! If you don’t believe me, tag along on a visit to Balboa Pier on almost any summer night. By 10 P.M., darkness has enveloped the pier. But while…

Oceanside Small Craft Harbor Fishing Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Talk about a contrast. The Oceanside Pier is huge and can handle several hundred anglers at a time; this small pier can maybe handle a dozen or so anglers but it would feel crowded. The bigger Oceanside Pier…

Ventura Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required There is something almost magical about the ocean at night. For myself, that sense of magic is heightened when I’m on a pier at night. Such was the case one evening in Ventura. Just two hours previously I…

Crystal Pier — San Diego

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Small though it may be, this pier has long held special affection for me for a number of reasons. Most prominent is the fact that it was the pier where my initial introduction to ocean fishing took place…

Santa Cruz Wharf

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required When I first sat down to write about this pier, I almost didn’t know where to start. Should I talk about the pier itself, the municipal wharf built in 1913, the wharf which is the longest of the…

Manhattan Beach Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required The visit which sticks out in my mind when I think of the Manhattan Beach Pier was neither my first, nor my most productive visit. It was simply a typical August morning about a year after the pier…

Santa Monica Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required The angling piers of California are unique. At Redondo you find a little shop at the entrance with long rods and tackle to rent, and not far away the bait man, ready to provide clams, small fish, or…

Cayucos Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Don’t believe everything you read. On a visit to Hearst Castle I had read that the fishing at Cayucos was generally poor—and so, I avoided it for years. I would drive right by the town as I headed…

Stearns Wharf — Santa Barbara

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required What’s with these travel writers anyway? Santa Barbara seems to get more than its fair share of articles in newspapers and travel magazines and I guess that’s natural for a city that officially calls itself “America’s Riviera.” Still,…