Trinidad Pier aka Seascape Pier — Trinidad

<*}}}}}}}}}>< — Although the following did not occur on Pier Beach, the beach next to the pier, it did occur just around the corner on Indian Beach. It must have been quite a scene.

Orca hits beach for seal meal

A dozen or more people in Trinidad Tuesday witnessed one of the world’s rarest wildlife phenomena when an orca flushed a harbor seal onto Indian Beach in what may have been an attempt to teach its young to hunt. It may be the first occurrence of its kind in the United States, researchers said.

Ruby Rollings from the Seascape Pier [Trinidad Pier] was alerted to the presence of the killer whales in Trinidad Bay just before lunch, and grabbed a pair of binoculars to watch. A large adult orca was swimming in the bay with a juvenile orca and two much smaller orcas, she said.

After observing for a while, Rollings said she watched as the larger whale rode a wave onto the beach and seized a harbor seal in its teeth. ”He bit it, then he slammed the seal against the sand.” Rollings said the whale left the seal on the beach, then headed back into the bay, and eventually out to sea.

The behavior is rare among orcas. Washington-based Orca Network Director Howard Garrett was surprised to hear of the sighting and said the research community is very interested. ”That’s pretty amazing,” Garrett said.

Several other experts the Times-Standard spoke with said they had not heard of a hunt like it in North America. Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the fact that it doesn’t happen more often has been a topic of discussion among researchers. He didn’t doubt the accuracy of the account. ”It’s hard to miss a killer whale when it’s halfway out of the water,” Hanson said.

John Ford, a whale scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said similar sightings have been reported in British Columbia, although he said it’s a rare occurrence. No experts he knows have witnessed an event like it in the United States, he said. The technique is incredible to watch, but it has downfalls. With the enormous weight of the orca flopped onto the beach, it’s possible for the animal to get stuck. Female orcas can weigh 7,000 pounds, and males up to 9,000 pounds. ”It’s a risky venture,” Garrett said.

It’s something few people will ever see in their lives. The only documented beach hunting by orcas is in Argentina’s Patagonia and the Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean, Garrett said. But the intelligent animals are innovative: Orcas have been seen tipping ice sheets to knock seals into the water in Antarctica, and in New Zealand killer whales are known to pluck stingrays off the sea floor and toy with them at the surface, he said.

Humboldt State University Marine Laboratory technicians Alyssa Firkus and Susan Sebring were taking water samples at the Trinidad pier when they heard a man shout that there were orcas in the bay. They went to look, and were offered a ride on the water taxi. Firkus said they watched as the small group of orcas swam toward Indian Beach. The largest whale swam up on shore, half exposed, and thrashed around before backing into the water again, she said. ”That’s been my dream since I was 2 years old to see that,” Firkus said. The group then headed toward the boat launch, around the rock near the pier, under the pier and then out to sea, Firkus said.

A pod, or group, of orcas was spotted offshore by the HSU research vessel Coral Sea not long ago, said lab aquarium caretaker Grant Eberle, and orcas have been seen off the mouth of the Klamath River. A group of about 20 were seen off Newport, Ore., within the past two weeks, as well.

There are three types of orcas in the eastern North Pacific. One type eats just about any marine mammal it can get hold of, from seals to whales. Another focuses on fish, especially Chinook salmon. Another group occurs generally 25 to 30 miles offshore, in the rich continental shelf area, where tuna and sharks are key parts of their diet. The types don’t interbreed, even though they sometimes mix…

—John Driscoll,

The Times-Standard [Eureka], May 22, 2008

<*}}}}}}}}}>< — If you look out past the pier to the left, not to far from where the dock sits, you’ll see a fairly large rock projecting up from the depths. That rock is Prisoner Rock, a name acquired during the gold rush when unruly prisoners would be left on it overnight to consider their misdeeds. It must have been just a tad cold and scary.

<*}}}}}}}}}>< —  I hope no one hooks a bomb.

Bomb Discovered By Youth Digging At Trinidad Site

TRINIDAD—A 16-year-old-boy working at the city water tank here yesterday morning found what is apparently a small incendiary bomb of World War II vintage.

Bobby Gude, digging underneath the tank just north of the city, discovered the six-inch-long bomb buried in the earth, several feet underground.

He took the object to his aunt, Mrs. Gilda Cox, who called County Aviation Director Dave Zebo, who lives here.

Zebo, who as a lawman had handled such items before, examined it and said it apparently was a firebomb. The only markings found on the steel skin of the cylindrical object were the numbers “1945,” indicating it was made in that year. He could not tell in which country it was made.

Zebo said it had fins on one end and was about three inches in diameter. The dull steel skin of the three-pound bomb was not rusty, he said.

Zebo took the bomb to the end of the Trinidad pier and flung it into the bay, where it will rust away.

—Humboldt Standard, April 23, 1962

The Pier Rats Speak — Some posts to the Pier Fishing In California Message Board

Date: October 7, 2001; To: Pier Fishing In California Message Board; From: spud_boy; Subject: Eureka! (My short trip north…long story)

This weekend I drove up to see my son Sean, in Eureka, who goes to College Of The Redwoods there, and we got in some fishing. We headed up to Trinidad. We had a good time there. We stopped in a combination bait and gift shop at the pier. I was told that a couple guys got some nice lingcod there on Friday on Scampis… she claimed it was on the ‘fire’ color.

Well, I had a few Fish Traps with me, and decided to see what I could scare up with different colors. I tired a ‘chovie pattern first, with a 5”, and got some bumps and a short strike. In fact most of the hits I had over the couple hours we were there were short strikes. Two guys around me got a couple of shaker lingcod… the largest being 25” stretched out…(he didn’t have a tape measure so I volunteered mine… which didn’t make him too happy). They were being caught on white and root beer colored Scampis. Then another guy caught one on a chartreuse Hair Raiser with a grub tail…. also a shaker.

I figured out that the main difference between the brown Scampi and the brown Fish Trap I had on at the time (besides the split tail) was that the Scampi’s hook is set farther back on the body. So, not having any shorter Fish Traps with me, I took out my knife, pulled the body off the jig head and cut and inch off the front before sliding it back on. Worked right away! No keepers, but I hooked a 20” and my son caught an 18”. Mine was the bluest looking one I’d ever seen.

Got to talking to another visiting fisherman there who had caught a rock greenling a couple days earlier…. around the point from the pier. He said the body was red and the flesh was blue, and so not knowing whether it was edible or not he got rid of it. I was flipping through pictures in my Petersen guide and he identified it right off before I told him what a greenling filet might look like. Gregg

Date: June 2, 2003; To: PFIC Message Board; From: DSRTEGL; Subject: Re: Anybody fishing Trinidad Bay?

I visit the area frequently and fish Trinidad whenever I do. Try 1/2 to 1 oz bucktails in yellow of chartreuse/yellow, or 6” curly tails on jigheads in black, blue/black, purple/black for the rockfish. Cast toward the Prisoner’s Rock on the left side of the pier and be prepared to lose rigs. Greenling (my favorite) and some big perch can be fished in the kelpy areas near the cliff on the left side as well.

Date: August 24, 2003; To: PFIC Message Board; From: DSRTEGL; Subject: North Coast 8/18-8/22

8/18: Fished Trinidad for one short greenling, one 8” black rockfish, and numerous smelt. All released.

8/19: Trinidad again. Bait getting stolen constantly. A couple of small rockfish 8” +/- which I released. Finally discovered the bait stealers were really a HUGE concentration of small 2” rockfish. Got stung in the thumb by one and it still hurts today. Suddenly got a huge hit and landed a 17.5” black rockfish on a size 6 octopus hook and a tiny piece of shrimp using light line. Landed a nice perch (striped or rainbow)? Used Sabiki to catch live bait (herring and topsmelt) for live bait resulting in three huge hits but no hook ups.

8/20: Trinidad: Used Sabiki rig to catch more live bait (shiners this time) no big fish for me but three short lings were hooked and landed. Had to plead with a guy not to keep a 23” ling but he did put it back.

8/22: Last chance at Trinidad. Fished live bait again for three fights ending in broken lines, and a brief fight for bait with a river otter. Please don’t ask. One short ling was caught, as was another striped/rainbow perch of respectable size. I caught the largest walleye perch I have ever seen, and caught two MACKEREL!!!!???? while fishing for shiners.

Tackle notes.

1) Bring LOTS of terminal gear when fishing Trinidad Pier, you WILL lose lots of gear.

2) I CANNOT recommend Stren Extra Strength for fishing in structure. Its ability to resist line fraying is VERY poor. All of the big fish I lost were the result of Stren XS 20/39 line failing due to line fraying.

3) You need small hooks to catch Greenling but they often result in deeply hooked fish. If undersized, do not try to remove hooks that are deep, just cut the leader. The use of cheaters seems to improve bite frequency.

4) Use store shrimp for bait, it is MUCH cheaper than bait shrimp, and you can always eat it if you don’t catch any fish.

Date: September 27, 2003; To: PFIC Message Board; From: Davey jones; Subject: Trinidad Pier

Fished from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, with the most productive time around 9:00 am or the incoming tide. DSRTEGL arrived after all my action and then proceeded to catch greenling and a slab striped perch, so you are going to have to wait for his report. I tossed the crab net for a while and only caught 1 crab, they were not there. Weather was foggy in the morning and overcast for the rest of the day.

My bait for the day was mack chunks that I cut down to size and size 6 hooks.

My gear 6-6 1/2 rods and Shimano 2000 and 4000FX reels with 8lb mono and 15lb Power Pro; 3/4oz sliding sinker and #6 hooks.

I have got to say that the Power Pro is so much different in fishing and not breaking as compared to the mono line. It was nice to be able to pull the hook out of the kelp and still have a rig, albeit a straight hook but still my rig was intact; whereas the mono line would break at the knot and cost me a rig and maybe leaving a bait trap for whatever would see the rig.

Had a nice day but would have liked to see more fish and more fish in different places than just the kelp. Trinidad Pier faculty were out in force clearing it up for winter; they have removed the charter dock and rental boats so the area surrounding the pier was vast and open making it nice to fish.

1 black rockfish about 12” — 2 greenlings 12” and 8” — 1 small barred surf perch 4” — 1 red crab 3 ½” across the shell — Gazillion starfish

Date: October 4, 2003; To: PFIC Message Board; From: Davey jones; Subject: Trinidad 10/3/03

Fished Trinidad Pier from 7am-5pm

1 cabezon 12” — 7 greenling 6-12” — 3 dungies (short) — 1 red crab (short) — 1 shiner — 1/2 dozen starfish

Everything released except the shiner, which I used for bait. Fished both sides of the tide, but the morning was when all the bites happened. Was trying for that single ling they say lives near the rock out from the pier, but no luck. The crabs were out in force, walking my bait into the rocks, where they would anchor down and eat the bait. Foggy mostly during the day, but the sun did come out later. All the boats and buoys in the bay are now stored for winter, with only a few boats coming in with lings and rockfish. I asked one of the anglers for a ling body when he was done dressing the ling out, and he gave me a good 30”, which I used for the hoop net.