Category Archives: Saltwater Fishing

Saltwater Fishing

Pier Fishing in California — Concourse d’Pier Carts

March 13, 2013 by kenjones

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 California (that seems to weigh several pounds itself). Of course you also need something to help you carry off that 30-pound fish that you’re going to take home for dinner. Some are simple (i.e, old grocery carts), some are commercially available models found at most hardware stores, some are elaborate home-made contraptions containing all sorts of personal innovations. However, simple or complex, inexpensive or expensive, they must do the same thing: provide a platform by which to haul that sometimes fairly heavy equipment out to the end of the pier. And, they must be sturdy enough to be hauled up and down stairs as well as over rough-hewn planks. In addition, they must be able to survive the vicissitudes of car trunk and pick-up truck travel. They’re a MUST HAVE piece of equipment.

One day we had a thread on Pier Fishing in California about pier carts and someone sent in the following title (which I’ve changed for this article). We also received a plethora of pictures of people’s favorite carts.

These first two pictures are of my pier cart (minus the rod holders) and I’ve used this one or similar ones since the ’80s

KJ Pier Cart 2016 at Citizens Dock in Crescent City

Art and his pier cart — Newport Pier

Crabman’s pier cart — Newport Pier

Matty and Gordo Grande — Hermosa Beach Pier

Rockhoppers pier cart — Berkeley Pier

Gyzodude’s “green monster” cart —Berkeley Pier

Kim’s pier cart — Goleta Pier

Dumbarton Dave’s pier cart — Dumbarton Pier

Jason’s pier cart

DompfaBen’s pier cart

Pier cart at Malibu Pier, 2007

Gordo’s pier cart

Unknown pier cart

BigdaddyO57′s pier cart

Jimbojack’s Cart

Riorust’s pier cartReelHabit’s pier cart

Sinker’s small pier cart

Mark and the “Magic Pier Cart” — Oceanside Pier

Pier cart at the Huntington Beach Pier in 2015

Pier cart at Manhattan Beach Pier in 2006

Pier Cart at the Balboa Pier

Pier Cart at the Port Hueneme Pier

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

March 12, 2013 by kenjones

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 was a contest. Here are some of the designs over the years.

This was the official 2002 winner!

This design was a runner-up in 2003

The winner in 2003

2004 winning entry — a small copy

The winning entry in 2005

The winner in 2006

This one wasn’t selected in 2007. Some felt it was in bad taste, some thought it was great.

This was the winning 2007 entry

We had two winners in 2008, a men’s and women’s version

The 2009 winner

The 2010 winner (front)

The 2010 winner (back)

The 2011 Winner

The 2012 winner

The 2013 Winner.

California’s SoCal Bass — #3 — Spotted Sand Bass aka Bay Bass

March 11, 2013 by kenjones

Sea Basses—Family Serranidae

Spotted sand bass from the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier in 2004

Species: Paralabrax maculatofasciatus (Steindachner, 1868); from the Greek words para (near) and labrax (a European bass), and the Latin words maculato (spotted) and fasciatus (banded).

Alternate Names: Commonly called bay bass, spotted bay bass, spotted bass, rock bass, red spotted rock bass, spotted, spotty, spotted cabrilla, pinta cabrilla. Also grumpy (large fish), Johnny verde, sand bass and one I don’t understand—nuked fish (San Diego Bay bass). In Mexico it’s called cabrilla de roca.

Identification: Bass-shaped with a dorsal fin similar to that of barred sand bass. Identified by the numerous reddish-brown or black spots that cover the body and fins.

Spotted Sand Bass from Coronado Ferry Landing Pier in 2002

Size: Length is to 23 inches and weight to 7 pounds. Most caught off piers are less than 12 inches. The California record weighed 6 lb 12 oz and was taken at Newport Bay in 1994.

Range: Mazatlan, Mexico and the Gulf of California to Monterey; uncommon north of Cayucos. Very common in Newport Bay, Mission Bay, and San Diego Bay. (Reported from San Francisco Bay in the late 1800s.)

Habitat: Typically found in shallow (2 to 30 feet), warm-water areas in bays and harbors as well as protected inshore environments along the coast. Most commonly found where there is some form of structure—eelgrass, surfgrass or rocks.

Spotted sand bass from the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier in 2004

Piers: Generally caught from piers in bays but seen at almost all southern California piers. Best bets: Coronado Ferry Landing Pier, Embarcadero Marina Park Pier, Shelter Island Pier, Oceanside Harbor Pier, Dana Harbor Pier, Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier, Cabrillo Pier and Redondo Sportfishing Pier. Primarily caught March to November.

Shoreline: One of the main catches for shore anglers fishing in bays in southern California.

Boats: One of the main species for boaters fishing in southern California bays.

Brian and a spotted sand bass from a pier in Newport Harbor in 2006

Bait and Tackle: Adult spotties are opportunistic feeders grabbing whatever seems to look like food. Although they primarily eat crabs and clams, especially jackknife (aka razorback) clams and littleneck clams, they also will snack on ghost shrimp, shrimp, snails, algae, brittle stars and small fish. Since crabs and clams are their main food, both are considered good bait. Other good baits, all fished on the bottom, include ghost shrimp, bloodworms, fresh mussels, other types of clams, and live small fish—anchovies and topsmelt. Tackle should be light with hooks size 6 or 4. They’ll often hit artificial lures like swim baits, grubs and even feathers.

DompfaBen and a spotted sand bass from a pier in Newport Harbor in 2006

Food Value: If you are lucky enough to land a keeper-size fish you will have a good meal. Spotted sand bass have a mild-flavored meat suitable to almost any kind of cooking. They can be used as fillets, baked whole, or cut into smaller pieces for deep-frying.

A spotted sand bass from the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier in 2004

Comments: In the “don’t know why category.” it’s reported that spotted bass in the Anaheim and Newport Bays reach the legal 12-inch size in 2-3 years. However, the spotties typically can take up to 8 years to reach legal size in San Diego Bay. Fish from Marina del Rey are also fast growin’ while those from Long Beach Harbor and the Catalina Harbor are somewhat in the midpoint in growth rate. Overall, the average southern California spotty is of legal size by 3 years excepting those poor fish down in San Diego Bay. Of course that does give the “Diego clan” a few more years to enjoy the fun of being caught and returned (we hope) to the water by SoCal anglers.

A spotted sand bass from the Shelter island Pier in 2009

Another spotted sand bass from the Shelter Island Pier in 2009

Spotted Sand Bass from the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier in 2007

Spotted Sand Bass taken by Arvin at the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier in 2002

Spotted sand bass taken at Carlsbad

Spotted sand bass taken by calaznfisher in 2011

California’s SoCal Bass — #2 —Barred Sand Bass

March 11, 2013 by kenjones

Sea Basses—Family Serranidae

Sand bass from the Dana Harbor Pier in 2013

Species: Paralabrax nebulifer (Girard, 1854); from the Greek words para (near) and labrax (a European bass), and the Latin words nebul (smoke or dark) and fer (to bear), in reference to the color on their sides.

Alternate Names: Commonly called sand bass; sandy, grumps or grumpy (large fish), ground bass, rock bass, sugar bass or Johnny Verde bass. Also given the unflattering names of pussgut and turd roller. In Mexico it’s called cabrilla de arena.

Sand bass from the Oceanside Pier in 2013

Identification: Easily differentiated from kelp bass by the coloring and the shape of the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin is long and continuous, with a notch between the spiny and soft ray portions but not as deep as on kelp bass; the third spine of the dorsal fin is much longer than the fourth and twice as long as the second. The color is generally dark gray to greenish on the back, with faint bars on the sides, and a whitish-colored belly. There are usually small golden-brown spots on the cheeks. A 10-inch albino sand bass was landed in July of 1965 from the Sportfishing boat Palomar while fishing 8 miles northwest of Oceanside, and one mile offshore from the San Onofre power plant. A similar-colored, 12-inch albino sand bass was reportedly caught just two weeks earlier by the sportfishing boat Sea Lure. It was caught approximately a quarter mile away. The first fish is now a resident of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History; the second fish was not saved.

Sand bass from the San Clemente Pier in 2015

Size: Length to 25.6 inches and weight to 14 pounds. Most caught off piers are less than 12 inches long (although a 12-pound fish was reported from the Shelter Island Pier in February of 1997). The California record weighed 13 lb 3 oz and was taken at the Huntington Flats in 1988.

Range: Bahia Magdalena, southern Baja California to Santa Cruz. Commonly found south of Point Conception.

Habitat: Usually found around sandy areas near kelp or around rocks near the bottom. Concentrated 15-85 feet deep.

Piers: Best bets: Ferry Landing Pier, Embarcadero Marina Park Pier, Shelter Island Pier, Imperial Beach Pier, Oceanside Harbor Pier, Dana Harbor Pier, San Clemente Pier, Seal Beach Pier, Belmont Pier, Long Beach Finger Piers, and Hermosa Beach Pier.

A sand bass from the Dana Harbor Pier in 2010

Tom and Krista with a barred sand bass from the San Clemente Pier in 2005

Shoreline: A common catch for shore anglers in southern California.

A large sand bass from the Redondo Sportfishing Pier in 2012

Boats: One of the main species for boaters in southern California, especially during spring spawning times.

KJ and a small sand bass from the Ocean Beach Pier in San Diego in 2015

Bait and Tackle: Another opportunistic feeder grabbing just about anything that moves. The smaller fish that hang around piers (under 12 inches) focus in on mysids (tiny shrimp-imitating critters), crabs, worms, clams, and small fishes. All in all it’s probably a healthir diet than that experienced by young pier anglers—corn dogs, French fries, and soda pop. Adult sandies, much like adult humans (sure), eat a more refined diet focusing in on fish, octopi and crabs. Like kelpies and spotties, the sand bass is usually caught on the bottom with light tackle. Best bait is live anchovies or smelt followed by strip bait, ghost shrimp, bloodworms, or fresh mussels. They’ll often hit artificial lures like swimbaits.

Pierhead (Boyd Grant) and a sand bass from the Goleta Pier in 2003

Food Value: If you are lucky enough to land a keeper-size fish you will have a good meal. Barred sand bass have a mild-flavored meat suitable to almost any kind of cooking. They can be used as fillets, baked whole, or cut into smaller pieces for deep-frying.

Comments: Sand bass are a seasonal catch (primarily May through October) and when available may be caught in good numbers. Adults spawn during the summer; young appear inshore during fall and winter.

A nice-sized sand bass taken by Vance from the Dana Harbor Pier in 2009.

A small barred sand bass from the Cabrillo Pier

Mike and a small sand bass from the Oceanside Pier in 2004

Sand bass taken at the Hermosa Beach Pier by Fedexfisherman in 2010

SDFisherman and and a barred sand bass from the Navy Pier in Coronado

California’s SoCal Bass — #1 —Kelp Bass aka Calico Bass

March 11, 2013 by kenjones

Sea Basses—Family Serranidae

Kelp Bass from the Shelter Island Pier in 2013

Species: Paralabrax clathratus (Girard, 1854); from the Greek words para (near) and labrax (a European bass), and the Latin clathratus (latticed, referring to the coloring on the back).

Alternate Names: Commonly called calico bass; also rock bass, bull bass, checkerboard bass, kelp salmon, lockee cod, cabrilla, bucket mouth (a large bass) and dinner bass. Weird name—police car, a name probably invented by an angler who watched too many episodes of Cops. Called cabrilla sargacera in Mexico.

Ken Jones (me) and a kelp bass I caught in 2010 at the Catalina Mole

Identification: Typical bass shape. Kelp bass have a single dorsal fin notched between the sections, and the third and fourth spines are of about equal length and taller than the soft-rayed section. Their coloring is brownish or olive on the back, brownish white blotches on the uppersides, tinged with yellow on the underside, and yellow fins.

Rita and a nice calico from the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon in 2015

Size: Length is to 28.5 inches and weight to 14.5 pounds. Most caught from piers are less than 12 inches in length. The California record fish weighed 14 lb 7 oz and was taken near San Clemente Island in 1958.

Range: Bahia Magdalena, southern Baja California to the Columbia River, Washington. Uncommonly seen north of Monterey Bay.

DompfaPops and a Catalina kelp bass in 2008

Habitat: Rocky areas or around kelp, from surface down to 130 feet, but common from 8 to 70 feet. Milton Love, our favorite über-marine biologist, says “kelp bass actually should be called stuff bass, because what they really like is, well, stuff. And they don’t care what the stuff is. Sewer pipes, old tires, oil platforms, chunks of sunken streetcars, it doesn’t really matter. If a kelp bass can stare at it, sort of cuddle up to it and the stuff doesn’t turn around and eat it, that’s all that counts.”

Dompfa Ben and a large calico from the Cabrilo Mole in 2008

Piers: Oceanfront piers with artificial reefs or extensive summer kelp see the most kelp bass. Best bets: Embarcadero Marina Park Pier, Shelter Island Pier, Ocean Beach Pier, Oceanside Harbor Pier, Dana Harbor Pier, Redondo Harbor Sportfishing Pier, Green Pleasure Pier (Avalon), Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Stearns Wharf (Santa Barbara), Goleta Pier and Gaviota Pier.

Scott and a kelp bass from the Cabrillo Mole

Shoreline: One of the main catches for rocky shore anglers in southern California, especially if fishing near kelp.

Boats: One of the main species for boaters in southern California. Most are taken on live bait although lures are increasingly popular.

Nice “calico” caught by Arcadian at the Cabrillo Mole in 2016

Bait and Tackle: As with their brethren bass, they are opportunistic feeders grabbing just about anything that looks palatable. They’re also carnivores subsisting mainly on small fish—anchovies, smelt, sardines, perch, queenfish—as well as squid, octopus, crabs, shrimp and worms. Most kelp bass that are caught off piers are caught while anglers are fishing on the bottom for other species. Typical gear is a high/low leader with number 4-2 hooks. Best bait is live bait—anchovies or smelt—followed by strip bait, such as anchovy, mackerel or squid. Live bloodworms, fresh mussels and ghost shrimp will also attract the calicos, as will well-presented artificial lures.

Jennica and a kelp bass from the Cabrillo Mole in 2012

Food Value: If you are lucky enough to land a keeper-size fish you will have a good meal. Kelp bass have a mild-flavored meat suitable to almost any kind of cooking. They can be used as fillets, baked whole, or cut into smaller pieces for deep-frying.

Mahigeer lives up to his name (fish catcher in Farsi) with a nice kelp bass from the Hermosa Beach Pier in 2008

Comments: One of the favorite sport fish of southern California anglers but not really a leading species on piers. However, the number of small, immature, and illegal bass found at times around the Green Pleasure Pier at Avalon is almost unbelievable. An interesting discussion took place one week on the Pier Fishing in California Message Board. The question was asked as to which fish was a better fighter—kelp bass or largemouth bass? With one exception, those anglers who have caught both species gave the nod to the kelp bass. The lone dissenting vote did not rule in favor of largemouth bass. He simply said that calicos (kelp bass) fight differently in open water than they do around kelp. He felt around cover they fight incredibly strong, in the open water they fought somewhat less, likening it to the fight of a smallmouth bass which he still thought was superior to that of a largemouth.