March 2013 archives

Yellow Snake Eel — Eew!

  A yellow snake eel from the Balboa Pier Species: Ophichthus zophochir (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882); Ophichthus, from two Greek words meaning serpent and fish, and the Greek zophochir, for darkness and hand (dark pectoral fins). Alternate Names: Eww, a snake!  In Mexico called Tieso Amarillo; in Peru called Anguila amarilla or Culebra marina. Jimbo [...]

Rare fish caught at Belmont Pier — catalufa

Rare fish caught at Belmont Pier Casting a bait and then sitting down and watching the rod tip on Belmont Pier isn’t the most glamorous and exotic fishing along the Pacific Coast, but it’s restful and sometimes productive for perch, an occasional halibut and other species. Then too, you meet interesting people. Gerald Osier of [...]

Pacific Electric Ray — the shocking details

 Good old sparkie! Species: Torpedo californica; (Ayres, 1855); from the Greek word torpedo (for numbness—from the electric shock) and californica (for California, where the first specimens were taken). Alternate Names: Torpedo ray, numbfish, crampfish or torpedo. Called torpedo del Pacifico or torpedo in Mexico. Identification:  An oval disk that is thick and flabby; the tail [...]

Pier Fishing in California — Concourse d’Pier Carts

Almost every pier rat that I know, or at least those who frequent the long piers in central and southern California, has a pier cart. It’s needed when you’re loaded down with rods and reels, tackle box, bait bucket, cooler, hoop net, magic potents, good luck charms, and your personal copy of Pier Fishing in [...]

The Catalina “Get Togethers” & a few designs over the years —

For over a decade the “pier rats” from Pier Fishing In California (pierfishing.com) and United Pier and Shore Anglers of California (UPSAC) got together at Avalon on Catalina Island, caught a few fish, and had a chance to see their friends once again. Every year there was a design for the t-shirts and often there [...]