Brown Smoothhound Shark Archives - Pier Fishing in California

Marin Rod & Gun Club Pier aka Camiccia Family Memorial Pier — San Rafael

Private Pier — Fishing License Required There was a time, and it seems more and more like an ancient time, when hunting and fishing was practiced by a majority of the population. Every family seemed to have a fishing rod sitting in the closet or…

Nick’s Cove Pier — Marshall, Tomales Bay

Public Pier? — Status unclear, a fishing License may be required Although many small piers dot the shoreline of Tomales Bay, only two allow the public to fish from them. One is the private pier at Lawson’s Landing, just south of Sand Point and the…

Judge John Sutter Pier — Oakland

The Judge John Sutter Pier, part of the larger Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline Park and Pier, is one of the newest piers in the state opening in October 2020. I’ve only fished it once so these are preliminary notes/recommendations mainly based on reports from…

Chevys Pier — Emeryville

Public Access Area — Status Unclear — Fishing License May Be Required There are many small piers scattered along the shoreline of the East Bay, many not technically built for fishing but offering platforms for those who chose the piscatorial arts. This is one such…

Johnson Pier — Pillar Point Harbor — Half Moon Bay

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required There are two public piers in the Half Moon Bay/Princeton area and both are located in Pillar Point Harbor. For many years the larger pier, the Johnson Pier, was open to fisherman and heavily used. Then, with the…

Fort Baker Pier — Sausalito

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Like its counterpart across the bay, the Fort Point Pier, this pier offers not only decent fishing but one of the world’s most interesting and beautiful views. Look up to your right and you are looking into the…

Ravenswood Pier — Palo Alto — Gone But Not Forgotten

Sometimes it’s hard to fight for a pier when you hear ongoing, almost non-stop stories of people (anglers and non-anglers alike) vandalizing and committing a variety of crimes at the pier. Eventually the poor behavior and crimes seen at this pier helped define the pier…

Warm Water Cove Pier — San Francisco — Gone But Not Forgotten

I’m not sure if the music was punk, grunge or something altogether different, but it was corybantic, loud, obnoxious to these old ears and terribly off key (I think). Yet it somehow seemed perfectly suited for the area. There I was in this industrial, dirty…

South Beach Harbor Marina Pier — San Francisco

Public Access Area — Status Unclear — Fishing License May Be Required O.K., so how many piers have a major league baseball stadium practically connected to the pier? Or, on how many piers can you look over your shoulder and see a huge baseball mitt—or…

Heron’s Head Park Pier — San Francisco

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required The first date, the first kiss…the first visit to a new pier, all offer intrigue and hope for the future. And then reality sits in. Here my first visit offered a mixed message. The park itself was certainly…