Pacific Butterfish Archives - Pier Fishing in California

Oceanside Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required The date was August 25, 1966, just nine days before my bride and I would tie the knot. The plans were finished and hopefully everything was ready to go. It was time to relax and this would be…

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…

Imperial Beach Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Students of history should remember that Friday, November 22, 1963 was the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. For those who were alive during those days, the weekend that followed was a haunting melodrama still vivid more…

Newport Pier — McFadden Wharf

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required It’s nothin’ fancy, but it will do Sun is rising, day is new Birds are singing a sinful tune It’s nothin’ fancy, but it will do It’s nothin’ fancy, roll out the folding chairs Leave your worries over…

Port Hueneme Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required This somewhat out-of-the-way pier is located in the pleasant Port Hueneme Beach Park. It has a weird zigzag shape, is made of wood, and presents, on clear days, a view of the not-too-distant Santa Cruz and Anacapa Islands.…

Huntington Beach Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required “Surf City, U.S.A,” that’s what the town and locals like to call Huntington Beach (and the city went to court battling Santa Cruz for the use of the name). It’s appropriate given the steady stream of surfers to…

San Simeon Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required In 1542 Rodriguez Cabrillo, the Portuguese navigator sailed northward from Mexico to explore the coast of California. After visiting the bay of San Luis Obispo (that he called the Bay of Todos Santos, or All-Saints Bay) he visited…

Pacific Butterfish

Species: Peprilus simillimus (Ayres, 1860); from the Greek word pepricos (one of Hesychian’s unknown fish) and the Latin word simillimus (very similar, in reference to a similar Atlantic butterfish). Alternate Names: Pompano, California pompano, Pacific pompano and dollarfish. Called palometa plateada in Mexico. Identification: A…