Topsmelt Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Pier Fishing in California

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…

Topsmelt

Silversides: Family Atherinidae Species: Atherinops affinis (Ayres, 1860); from the Greek words ather (a spike or arrow) and ops (like), and the Latin affinis (related to an associated species). Alternate Names: Smelt, bay smelt, rainbow smelt, least smelt, little smelt, silverside, capron, pescadillo, Panzarotto. Called…

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,…

Malibu Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required On a visit to this pier in 2013, I happened to pick up a Malibu paper for some late night reading back at the motel. The most interesting reading that night was the real estate section, which listed…

San Francisco Municipal Pier aka “The Muni”

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required There are times when I don’t particularly like people to know that I am “The Pier Fisherman.” That’s generally true when I’m out on a pier and my fishing skills are stinking up the joint (in other words,…

Goleta Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required “Proceeding down the length of Goleta Pier is almost like walking along a rustic, folk version of a Parisian quay… The course along the pier is full of events and interest. There’s much that’s worth pausing over and…

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…