Saltwater Fish Archives - Page 5 of 26 - Pier Fishing in California

Swell Shark

Cat Sharks: Family Scyliorhinidae Species: Cephaloscyllium ventriosum(Garman, 1880); from the Greek words cephalo (with a head) and scyllium (like a dog or monster) and the Latin ventr (referring to the belly). Alternate Names: Catshark, puffer shark and balloon shark. Called bocaccio (bigmouth) shark by commercial…

Alice Street Pier — Oakland

Public Access Area — Status Unclear — Fishing License May Be Required My first fishing trip to this small pier was on a fairly balmy, shirtsleeve weather kind of day in early January. Boat traffic was minimal, most of the nearby trees were void of…

Martinez Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Recent reports indicate the pier is now closed for repair and possible reconstruction. Although the stories vary somewhat, striped bass were introduced into California waters near Martinez in 1879. Some accounts say the fish were dumped into the…

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…

Monterey Coast Guard Pier aka Coast Guard Jetty

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required John Steinbeck called it “the hour of the pearl.” It’s “the gray time,” he wrote in Cannery Row, “after the light has come and before the sun has risen—the interval between day and night when time stops and…

Monterey Municipal Wharf #2

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required The floating docks of Monterey Harbor and the pilings beneath Municipal Wharf II provide a rich and diverse community created largely by human activity. Such communities have imaginatively been called “accidental zoos.”… At low tide the pilings, shaded…

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…

Paradise Beach Pier — Tiburon

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required This is another of the Marin County piers that on a day-to-day basis offer only so so fishing but which, because of it’s other facilities and surroundings, is a place visitor’s return to cheerfully time after time. The…

Bayside Park Pier — Chula Vista

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Sometimes things stick in your mind. Hopefully for a pier it is the memory of a great day or a memorable fish. Not so with this pier. Instead, it concerns a couple of events that took place one…

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…