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

Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier — Long Beach

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required My first visit to this pier took place on a sultry summer night in the mid-1970s. I was visiting southern California with my family, shepherding my wife and kids to the “must see” tourist spots during the day,…

Coronado Ferry Landing Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Technically this is the “Old Ferry Landing” Pier but to most it’s simply the Coronado Pier or Ferry Pier. I spotted this small pier one day from the downtown side of San Diego Bay. I drove across the…

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…

Dana Point Harbor Fishing Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required If you’re looking for a place to take the kids fishing, this small pier is a great place to start. The pier is located in the pleasant setting of Dana Harbor and close to the pier sits a…

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…

Gaviota Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Closed since 2014 — Awaiting repair and/or reconstruction. A prime example (perhaps the perfect example) of government inefficency. For years there have been promises of repair and reopening but as the end of 2021 nothing has happened. Back…

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…

Ocean Beach Pier — San Diego

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required I should have been there (but I wasn’t). The date was July 2, 1966, the official opening day for the Ocean Beach Pier. Included in the 7,000 people who crowded the pier that day were local politicians, city…

Embarcadero Marina Park Pier — San Diego

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required Almost every pier in the state has a special memory for me. Some of the memories are of social gatherings, some are of great days fishing, and a couple are because of specific fish I caught at the…

Pismo Beach Pier

Public Pier — No Fishing License Required This pier, together with the other piers along this stretch of coast, provides both recreational fishing and a relief from the summer heat for those who come over from the hot Central Valley (and the summertime influx of…