James (GDude) and a nice bonito  from the Mole

Posted by Mahigeer — Date: April 30, 2009 — The following report is about the trip, rather than the fish count. The trip preparation for me actually started a month before the event. I usually get all of my fishing gear out and go through them. Then I decide what to take and what to leave. I had to get goodie bags from Marty Golden at NOAA, and get prizes from Bass Pro Shops etc. etc. Then over-pack as usual. This time I had to build a new cart as well, which worked fairly well. It needs some reinforcing for the next year.

Wednesday April 22nd — Pre-trip —I had my roommate to be, Santa, drop his gear at my house so we could pack the car. This way we were able to leave early on Thursday morning. He also helped me rebuild my Penn reel. After sharing a light supper with Santa, and the Jones’s it was on to bed for an early rise and departure on Thursday.

Thursday 23rd — The Trip — We (Santa and I) stopped at the Paul’s Bait and Tackle in San Pedro to pick up bait. They gave us $ 240.00 worth of bait free.

Next it was on to the Catalina Express Terminal where we found the Skipper and his wife Pat along with Rita and Kyle. Catalina was having a special “flying fish” season so I took a picture of everyone wearing their flying fish hats.

Mike (Santa)

We went to the line to get on the boat. I was first in line, and Santa saw the attendee, giving a dirty look to my “four wheel” cart. To his amazement I pulled a couple of pins out and it  met the requirement for a “two wheel” cart. On the way down the ramp to get on the boat, I did not see a protrusion, and the top heavy cart went flying. Fortunately Santa and Skipper helped me to upright the cart and Mrs. Jones took my clothing bag thus, reducing my load. We got on the boat and stored our gear at the stern of the boat. There was a clothing bag on top of this cart before the incident. I was proud of my cart and wondering if I looked liked a professional “pier rat”, but I was told by some visiting Floridians that I look like a homeless person with all of his possessions in tow!!

I was relaxed and happy to be on board. I decided to take a look at the dock to see what was going on. I suddenly see my jacket and the rod holder tubes still on the dock. When the cart went over, I had put them down to work on the cart. Then I forgot to take them. Fortunately the Captain was right there and he allowed me to go get my jacket and rods.

Derby Pics #1

Cabrillo Mole

The ride to the island was smooth for the most part. I took a pill and put on my wrist bands. This helped me recover, with no sea sickness. Upon arriving at the island, we decided to go to the Green Pleasure Pier (GPP). They had moved the floating dock and the ramp to one side, so there was plenty of railing space to fish from. One problem though, the entire back area was closed due to the construction going on. It happened that the man in charge was a “ham vatan” countryman in Farsi. Whether because I made friends with him or Skipper talking to him or to the Harbor Patrol, they provided us with a place to fish from for the duration of the weekend. Good thing, otherwise the Skipper would have been unbearable to be with. He looooves that pier.

The hotel was nice enough to let us check in early and after unpacking and a quick lunch, Skipper, Rita, and Kyle, went to the GPP. Santa and I went to check the Descanso Beach, for a possible surffishing site.

Derby Pics #2

SteveO and a barracuda

Rita with a bonito

Giant Kelpfish

After we returned to the hotel, I went to the GPP, and Santa went to the Casino jetty. Kyle got some good-size opaleye and sheephead, Skipper got his usual variety, and I got some short bass and medium-size opaleye.

We decided to meet later at Antonio’s with Gordo and Baitfish and family. I was the only one left at the pier when I saw the party of Gordo, and his guests arrive at the island. I used my small binoculars, and tried to wave at them. They waved back, but I am not sure if Gordo was waving one or five fingers!! After a nice dinner and conversation, everyone but me went to bed. I walked around with a powerful flashlight in hopes of seeing some thing, like a lobster, or flying fish.

Derby Pics #4

Eugene with a kelp (calico) bass

Rebecca (Roosterqueen( with an opaleye

Friday 24th — Pre-event —I wanted to meet Adam at the Mole around 5:30 AM, but did not set the alarm correct. Around 6:20, while I am washing up, my cell phone goes off and there is a picture send by Adam holding a 2-1/2 lb. bonito, and smiling. As though he is saying “see what you are missing by sleeping.” By the time I got to the Mole he had caught and released four bonito. We fished till it was time to meet others at the Jack’s for breakfast.

After breakfast, I had to take care of some organizing business and did not get to the Mole till afternoon. People started to show up and we fished the Mole. In the afternoon, some of the gang went to see the famous Tuna Club. I fished till it was time to clean up for the dinner at the Mia Casita’s. After dinner I again went for a walk at the GPP, where I saw Minnow magnet getting fish after fish.

Derby Pics #5

Scott and Steve waiting for bonito

Adam (Baitfish)  with a sheephead

Hashem (Mahigeer) with a bonito

Saturday 25th — the main event —I was at the Mole around 6:00 am, having set and worn my wristwatch, and having my cell phone next to my pillow in bed. The first bonito of this trip was landed around 6:30 or so. This time Adam was sleeping late. I fished till 9:00 am, at which time I went to the hotel to get all the necessary items for the “main event” By this time more and more people were arriving and setting up at the Mole.

After the derby, lunch, raffle, and distribution of the trophies, we took a group picture and then everybody went back to fishing or packed up to go home. It was dark when we left the Mole to clean up at the hotel and meet for one more dinner at the Antonio’s.

This time it was Baitfish and Rosterqueen, Santa, Gordo, SoCalNewb, and yours truly. We had a nice dinner and lots of laughs. After dinner I went for my after dinner walk, and checked the GPP. While there, Steve-O hooked in to something big. He will report on that I am sure.

Derby Pics #6

Mike (Santa)

Friends—Rita, Ross and Kyle

Adam (Baitfish) and James (GDude)

Day 4, Sunday 26th — The Saddest part of the trip! — After another breakfast at Jack’s we said good–by to each other, and went back to the hotel to pack and check out. Santa and I were on the 6:00 pm boat, so we went to the Mole, where we met Scooterfish and Steve-O. They were in their usual form of slaying bonito after bonito. We fished and had tourist fish with our gear, re-organized our stuff and cooler full of fish, etc. At one point while Santa was removing hook from a bonito, Scott, Steve, and I had a triple hook up on bonito.

The ride home was smooth as silk with no problems except the weight of the cart. We arrived at the Long Beach Terminal to find my wife waiting patiently for us. As with all good things in life, this event had to have an end. That is the sad part. Now I/we start to count the days to the next one.

Derby Pics #7

Jimbojack with a sheephead

James (GDude) with a bonito — background support Eugene and Adam

Barracuda

Here are some side notes: I mainly bought the “wave cast” reel for this trip. It did not disappoint me. I even had veteran casters such as baitfish and Scooterfish, cast some with it. They seemed to like it too. It is not the ultimate reel by any chance, but it will do for me. While cleaning the bonito at my house, two of them had hooks in their throats. The 1/0 hooks are still in pretty good shape, with no sign of rust.

In Conclusion, I would like to thank Scott, Adam and Rebecca for coming such a long way to fish and visit with us. Thank you Gdude and family for the food, and the prizes donated. Thank you Gordo for collecting donation instead of fishing, and putting up with my singing! Thank you everyone who endured long drives and perhaps some monetary hardship to come join us and making this one of the best gatherings yet. Thank you to all who attended from far and near. Without your participation it would have been just a fishing trip, rather than a Gathering.

Derby Pics #8

Rita with an ocean whitefish

Bonito

Cole with smallest fish award (sheephead)

Posted by Scooterfish — Date: April 30, 2009

Another Catalina event comes and goes! As I expected, this was another spectacular year for fishing and for catching up with friends. This report contains no pictures because I was too busy fishing to take many… I will post the pics I did take later once I have processed them. Steve-O is having trouble logging on the board for some reason, so his pics will come later (including a couple of a real monster!)

I left my house Friday morning at 5:00am CST, and arrived at Long Beach Airport at 12:55 PST. Steve-O was waiting for me after flying down from San Jose, and we grabbed our shuttle to Long Beach Downtown Terminal for the Cat Express. Upon arrival we noticed a fellow fisherman already waiting, which turned out to be SoCalNewb and his lady friend. Took our seats up in the Commodore Lounge, had a beer or two, and before we knew it we had pulled into the harbor at Avalon.

Derby Pics #9

Adam with a bonito  

Cole with an opaleye

Barracuda

Upon disembarking, the usual suspects were fishing the Mole… Quite a few Bonito had been caught just before we arrived, so we high-tailed it to the room, checked in, loaded Bonito gear and headed back to the Mole. Fished for a couple of hours for nothing but jumbo mackerel before it was time to return to the room and then head over to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. Dinner was good, drank Raki in moderation washed down with a few beers, and then back to the hotel.

Rigged up a pole with a Big Hammer and headed for the GPP for some nighttime Calico action. I managed a couple of legals and several dinks on artificials before calling it a night.

Following morning (Saturday) I woke up at 4:45, loaded up and headed for the Mole to secure my favorite spot for the derby. Caught two nice bonito before the derby started at 10:30. Once the derby started, I got focused and really hammered the fish!! Most of the bonito were nice sized, with an occasional 5-6lb’r mixed in. Fish number 5 was a killer for me Sad I have fought and landed lots of fish on my G-Loomis, and this one was no different. I usually land these fish by reeling down until my rod is pointing straight down at the fish, then I pendulum swing the fish onto the Mole. This was a slightly larger than average bonito and I did my standard swing landing with very little load on the rod (mostly on the line) but when I reached the apex, the top half of my rod just snapped loudly in two! I was bummed for a minute, but since it was the middle of the derby, I went to my backup rod (8.5’ G-dude special) immediately and kept catching fish. I landed 11 bonito during the derby, officially counting 10 towards my score. (One fish that was caught near the end of the derby was returned to the water before I could find someone to record it.) The Loomis will cost $50 to replace with the lifetime warranty.

Scott and a bonito

After the derby and raffle concluded, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R. Napped for a couple of hours, grabbed some dinner at Antonio’s, then grabbed our heavier gear and headed for the GPP to soak some bait. Using whole fresh squid we landed a couple of 10-12lb horn sharks, which is something like fighting a wet blanket… Pretty boring fish to catch, although cool to look at! We jigged up some nice 8” Jack Mackerel and threw them in as live bait. I was first hit, on my Ugly 7’ Tiger with a Penn 965 spooled with 50lb PowerPro and a 50lb mono leader. The fish took two long smoking runs against max drag before breaking off the 50lb leader halfway up. Steve-O was up next on a Jack Mackerel he had just tossed out. Steve was rigged with a 10ft MedHvy Ugly Stik with a Shimano BR6500 loaded with 65lb braid. The fish took the bait slow, Steve set the hook, and the fish headed seaward at a steady rate. 5 minutes later and nearly spooled, Steve got the fish turned around, it came in very slowly, lots of pump and grind kept it moving in. Halfway back to the GPP, the fish broke off the 65lb mainline. Whatever it was, it was huge! We had a couple of small hits after that, before calling it quits and getting some much needed sleep at 1:30am.

Fish On! — SteveO and a big one on the line

Sunday was a mellow day… we fished the Mole all day, picking off bonito at a steady pace, with the occasional mega-mackerel thrown in. We were the only fishermen out there most of the day. Capped off the day with another dinner at Antonio’s and decided to save ourselves for Monday’s fishing.

SteveO with a nice-sized bonito

Monday we slept in a little, but still hit the Mole by around 8:00am. Bonito were sporadic early but still present in good size and numbers. Early afternoon was epic! At some point, seemingly out of nowhere, the entire Lover’s Cove area lit up with a huge school of giant mackerel chasing smaller bait up against the beaches, and all of the associated Seagulls and Pelicans taking advantage of the situation. I wish I had my camera with me at the time, as it was incredible to watch. This continued for quite some time before the macs headed offshore a bit and the birds followed. We caught more jumbo macs (16-19”) than we could count, with quite a few bonito mixed into the bunch.

Scott with a kelp (calico) bass

We also met a fisherman named Harold at the Mole Monday afternoon. He was on the island for a fishing day trip. This guy knew his stuff from top to bottom, and was an expert at fishing the Mole. He limited on big Opaleye, and caught two Calicos that were at least 4.5-5lbs (with a couple of other nice ones for a limit of Calico). He also had a heavy lever drag rig that was loaded with 150-lb braid. He threw a big 9” smelt on as live bait and threw it just past the kelp. 10 minutes later the smelt was picked up and the clicker started a slow deliberate crawl. Harold waited patiently for about 12 seconds before setting the hook hard on the fish. He was instantly pinned to the Mole railing by the fish surging out to sea!! After a very long, dogged battle though the kelp, this MONSTER ray appears… in the water it looked bigger than it was, but we taped it at 58” or 59” wide with a massive head and body… Steve-O has the pics, which will be put up later… I had never personally seen one this big, and certainly had never seen anything that size landed through kelp like that!! The two huge calicos were also very impressive fish!

Nice bat ray from the Mole

We fished Monday to the point of exhaustion, and headed back to the hotel. We stopped by the GPP and found it was closed off at the end again, so our plan for night fishing there was cancelled, and we decided on a good night’s sleep instead after a final dinner at Antonio’s.

Woke up, finished packing and checked out for our 8:00am departure. Arrived at the Mole and realized we had no time left to fish, so we snapped a couple of pics and jumped on the ferry home. 28 hours 4 shuttles and 4 flights later I arrived on my front doorstep… Long story short we had mechanical failure in Phoenix that kept us on the runway for 1.5 hours, causing me to miss my connection in Denver, resulting in a free hotel room in Aurora, Colorado, followed by two more flights (Denver–>Charlotte, Charlotte–>New Orleans), My luggage came in on the wrong airline so I had to go through hell to find and claim it…. Woo Hoo!! I was so exhausted when I got home yesterday, but I promised my wife I would take all the baby feedings, so STILL no sleep for me, and I’m back at work already….

The trip was awesome as usual… Great to see and catch up with all of you! I look forward to next year’s event. Thanks to all that helped organize, prepare food, prizes, etc… Now just counting the days until next year! Scooterfish

Derby Pics #10 — The Food

Posted by minnowmagnent — Date: April 30, 2009

My dad and I drove down Friday and arrived at the ferry terminal at about 5:00pm. I fished a while around the ferry terminal with jigs and missed two hits and saw a guy catch some undersized sand bass. We got on the ferry at 7:00pm and arrived at the island just after 8:00pm. To my surprise there were still many garibaldi under the docks. We stopped at the hotel and my dad went to bed and I came out to the Pleasure Pier at about 8:45 pm. I started catching calicos one after another using jigs as soon as I got there. within the first 45 minutes I caught at least 10-15 with two about 12″ and one at 14.” After that the calico bite slowed down a bit and a few others joined me. I ended up catching a total of 27 calicos and a scorpionfish. I also saw some big fish that started surfacing just after midnight. I stared getting these soft hits on my big rod and then around 1:30 am I finally hooked one, I took off running and I could feel head shakes. It was not a bat ray, it jumped a couple times a couple hundred yards out then broke off. I ended up leaving around 2:00.

I got up around 6:00am on Saturday and was at the Mole by 6:45 am. I set up on the corner and started catching calicos and small opaleye on peas, then around 8:00 the wind picked up and I moved down to another spot. There I started catching lots of fish on peas including opaleye, calicos, smelt, sheephead, mackerel, halfmoon, blacksmith and wrasse.

Minnow Magnet with a nice–sized opaleye

After the derby started I continued my method of fishing for opaleye with peas and caught a few opaleye in the derby along with many other fish all caught free-lining a single pea with 4-lb fluorocarbon. That method came through for me and I ended up getting second place overall and the award for the most fish. I moved back to the corner and continued catching macks and opaleye. Then I caught a nice garibaldi about a pound on free-line ghost shrimp.  A little while later I caught a nice opaleye about 2lbs.

Minnow Magnet with a garibaldi

I caught a few more fish before we caught are ferry at 7:30pm. We ended up driving all night to get to the Sierras to fish for trout. We stopped a few times and got to our first spot around 7:00am. We fished all day and I ended up; spending a lot of time stalking some suckerfish that were very difficult to catch. I ended up catching five of them up two about 2-lbs and eight trout all around 2-lbs. The suckerfish fought real hard and I could not get the to hit on 6-lb line and had to change to 4-lb fluorocarbon, they fought like carp and jumped when hooked.

Posted by santa — Date: April 28, 2009

FIRST Catalina Get Together, FIRST time fishing on island, many new FIRST time species caught, and the best FIRST was meeting many new friends/anglers, (as well as renewing ties to dear friends).

Some visiting Aussies!  

Highlight of my trip was having a dad and three young daughters work together and reel in a decent Bonito (near right knee of girl in middle of pic). I had just hooked off the Mole. They were visiting from Australia and were watching us fish while waiting for boat to mainland, gave him my UPSAC business card and told him to E-me and I’d send them a pic. Great food, great friends, great time. Kudos to Hashem for all his hard work in setting up and coordinating the overall event. Thanks to all the folks who, worked, donated time/food/prizes/money, made suggestions, shared a meal/drink/laugh/conversation, and just being there. Whew! Still unwinding from trip. Talk about your getting back to the REAL WORLD shock.

Mike (Santa) and a bonito

Mike (Santa) with an opaleye

Posted by SoCalNewb — Date: April 27, 2009

Alright, so my report: I played hooky from work so my girlfriend and I could catch the 2 pm ferry from Long Beach on Friday. While waiting I spotted the only other two people carrying rod cases, with a suspicion they were pier rats. Once we got in line, my suspicions were confirmed, and I met scooterfish and steve-o for the first time.

After a couple rum and cokes, (sorry, I’m bad with time…) the ferry reached the Mole. As tempting as it was to just start fishing, I decided to check in first (I didn’t want to have to unpack all my gear out on the pier) before heading down to Vons for some frozen shrimp and peas before going to check out the fishing. I’m guessing by then it was sometime around 5.. I settled into a spot near the corner where scooterfish and steve-o had set up casting for bonito and met Mahigeer who wasn’t too far away, and soon after met Gordo and Santa, and later Mr. Ken Jones himself. I met a few more forum members that night, but at the moment I can’t recall who I met on Friday and who I met at the derby. (hint: too many margaritas that night) but I’m pretty sure I met everyone there before it was over.

Derby Pics #11 — The Raffle

Ross (GordoGrande)  aka “Raffle Master”

The water quality was incredible — my photos can’t do it justice. There was only a mild swell and so I decided to set up a high-low and drop straight down between the pilings. My bait was stripped many times until I figured out just the right size to cut it for it not to be stripped — the peas were just hit or miss. My first catch was a seniorita — unfortunately it had somehow been foul hooked deeply through the side… Not a nice way to start the trip. A few minutes later I picked up a decent-sized (about 6 inches) blacksmith perch, followed by another seniorita and a nice sized garibaldi (6-7 inches, but fat.), which was promptly returned to the water. I was using an 8′ ugly stick 8-20-lb. for those hookups, with spinning reel outfitted with 20-lb. braid, and 8-lb.-15-lb. leader, varying between high-low and single surgeons loop.

My bait continued to be stripped for some time before I hooked up with another garibaldi — again it was promptly returned. For a change, I was busy spending more time talking with the people around me than paying attention to my rod, and so I lost a few hook ups after. I decided to switch to my Sabiki rig while the others were getting their gear packed up to get ready for the dinner. I was using a 20 dollar 5′ Ugly Stik kit with 6-lb braid, and a size 12 circle hook Sabiki. Jigging produced nothing, so I switched to a 1 oz weight and tried my luck casting. Immediately I began to hook up with small jack mackerel and a few good-sized Pacific mackerel, keeping a handful of them for bait. Once it got dark, I packed it up to go to dinner myself.

Derby Pics #12 — The raffle

Hashem (Mahigeer) wins a  prize

SoCalNewb wins the “Grand Prize” — GDude hand wrapped Rod and a Reel

I came down to the mole later, with some glow sticks and bait hoping to hit some more mackerel, but, no takers for two hours before I gave up and went back to my room at the Hermosa Hotel.

Saturday morning I hit the Mole a couple hours before the derby was to begin, and took up the same spot near the bait board between where Hashem had taken up residence, and the corner that Scott and Steve-O were sharing… which happened to end up directly in front of the lunch/raffle table.

My luck before the derby was just decent — a couple jack mackerel, my first calico, a little 4-5 inch thing, and a garibaldi. During the derby I didn’t do much better — a seniorita, a jack mackerel, and another, smaller calico if I remember right. Scooterfish and Steve-O were slaying the Bonito, and I spent more time just enjoying watching their battles over paying attention to my own line, making for some good photos. I remember seeing a massive sheephead pulled up, and a nice barracuda being landed, and watching G-Dude wrestle in some nice bonito of his own. Some kid and his dad were trolling in a boat, and everyone enjoyed the show as a kid landed a 32-inch or so barracuda out in the area where the bonito were being caught from.

Derby Pics #13 — Awards

Jimbojack

Rita

Robert

Lunch was great, and Gyozadude’s potstickers were incredibly good. After the derby, the winners received their trophies, and a few goody bags were handed out. I won a few small prizes at the raffle — a couple towel clips, some tackle, some nice lead-free split shot that I later put to good use.. After all the other prizes had been awarded, the big draw came up; most of the numbers pulled had been much higher than mine, and the competition was pretty fierce. it must have just been beginners luck, because the final ticket just barely fell into the low end of my spread… I’ll post a couple close ups of the details on the rod, it’s a piece of art. yet another thanks to G-dude for donating it, and the Daiwa Excel reel he paired it with.

I had gotten pretty sunburned after my girlfriend had borrowed my jacket against the wind (the swells were like a washing machine, snags were unavoidable, though I only lost 6 hooks and 3 sinkers including a “snag free” sinker) so I decided to head back to my room to rest and recover, as well as to safely stow the new rod, despite the temptation to use my spooled light reel on it for the time being. (after watching and hearing Scotts rod break, I had bad visions in my head…) After a late second lunch with my girlfriend, I returned to the mole for some late afternoon fishing with Scott, Steve-O, Hashem, and Ross, and got to chatting with Adam and Rebecca. Towards sunset as everyone began to pack up, I decided to toy around with my cheapo 5′ rod again, and sure enough began picking up mackerel. I had decided because of the time I was only going to cast as long as they were biting, or until I caught a dozen… that only took me 7 casts, and so I managed to catch up with everyone else on the way back to the hotel.

My girlfriend had received some tough news regarding a family emergency and wanted some alone time so I tagged along to dinner at Antonio’s with Hashem, Ross, Mike, Adam and Rebecca, for some good food and better conversations. The dinner was a blast, and lasted til long after they had stopped seating customers.

Derby Pics #14 — Awards

Minnow Magnet and Kyle

Adam (Baitfish)

Award Winners

I decided to call it a night and rest my back and legs rather than night fishing  and on the way back Hashem received a text regarding horn sharks at the Green Pleasure Pier if I recall correctly, which tempted me, but with my sunburn sleep beckoned.

I woke up early, and went down to the Green Pleasure Pier Sunday morning around 6:30 to get some photos, where I found Mr. Jones in the corner with his lines out. After getting some photos of the casino and the harbor, I retreated to let him fish in the morning peace. The crowds were still in their hotel rooms, and the bay was still and quiet, perfect for photos and fishing. I made my way out to the Mole to get more photos before returning to my room. My girlfriend and I decided to pack early to get it done with, and so I only left my 5′ rod out, with one of my mini-trays with artificial baits and that Sabiki that had been working wonders.

Leaving our gear in the room, I took the rod with just a 2-inch pumpkin seed grub on a 1/16th oz jig head, and my girlfriend and I walked down to the pier. I tried jigging it a couple times, nothing, so I cast out as far as I could underhand with such a light jig, not far. I let it sink for a couple minutes until I guessed it had reached bottom, and began a slow retrieve. I got a couple nibbles the first couple casts, then nothing. I promise my girlfriend one last cast and of course then I catch my first fish from Green Pleasure Pier, a 7 inch or so calico. After returning to the room to store my gear, we ran into Mr. Jones on the way out and I heard about some bat rays he’d hooked up with that morning.

Derby Pics #15 — Group Pic

United Pier and Shore Anglers of California (UPSAC) Banner

The 2009 Catalina get Together Pier Rats

My girlfriend wanted some food, but it was still a couple hours before the breakfast the others had invited me to, and so I indulged her, deciding that I would go to the other breakfast at 9 am anyways… I got back to my room around 8, and returned to the Green Pleasure Pier thinking I’d just get a couple casts in. After a couple more small calicos I realized it was already well past 9 and that I’d likely missed the breakfast.

We got our gear and decided to head to the mole, just in time to see Adam, Rebecca and Ross about to get on the ferry before I could exchange any words—unfortunately. I set up beside scooterfish, steve-o, mahigeer and santa and proceeded to get skunked at the Mole while waiting for the ferry. A big thanks to Mike for rigging up a strap for my wide brimmed hat , without it I would have had to retreat to the benches in the shade, rather than being able to enjoy everyone’s great company while waiting for the ferry, even if I did get skunked.

I sure hope I can make it to the get together next year, whatever happens I know the next time I head to Catalina, I’m arming myself with those launcher floats and heavier gear so I can target those Bonito myself!

Posted by gyozadude — Date: April 25. 2009

So much to report, but sooooo Tired … with a capital T. Smile It was a great time to fish with all of you and what fishing it was! Perhaps the best bonito fishing of any year I’ve attended was Scooterfish’s opinion and I have to agree. We really hooked up this year and my arms, back, legs are slow, cramped and burning as proof. More to come as I process the images.

The official 2007 Catalina Get Together Logo

This proposed logo finished second among PFIC voters

This proposed logo was considered just a tad bit too risqué

Another Catalina Report—by Ken Jones — More Than You Probably Wanted To Know About The Sixth Annual Catalina Get Together

KJ and Friend

Scene 1A:  It is somewhere around 1 PM on April 20, 2007. An aging, out-of-shape angler stands at the railing of the Cabrillo Mole at Avalon on Catalina Island. The angler is soaked to the skin/bone—and cold. He has a hat, and a hood from his jacket covering his head, but drops of rainfall steadily from the puddle crowning the cap. The Thought-O-Meter LE200 records his thoughts —“Maybe Algore and his Goebell Warning is responsible for this rain? Or perhaps it’s Adam and Rebecca? After all, we never had rain until they gave up their title as hosts and moved to sunny Florida. But wait, I’m one of the ones hosting the event this year; maybe it’s partly my fault! God I hope we don’t have rain tomorrow when we have the tables and food and raffle items and kids and wives and the banner and whatever! No, come on, snap out of it, quit worrying about the rain and be ready for the fish. An opaleye is starting to inhale that shrimp; should I strike now or give it a couple of more milli-seconds? Strike—and fish on! Be cool little fish; come this way instead of heading down into that kelp. A really nice day on the opaleye, just wish I wasn’t so dad blasted cold.”

Scene 1B—Alternative version:  It is somewhere around 1 PM on April 20, 2007.  An angler wearing a semi-transparent, yellow rain poncho over stylized fishing apparel is singing (and dancing?) next to the railing of the Cabrillo Mole at Avalon on Catalina Island.

I’m fishing in the rain — Just fishing at the pier — What a glorious feelin’ — I’m happy again

I’m laughing at clouds — So dark up above — The sun’s in my heart — And I’m ready to fish

Let the stormy clouds chase — Everyone from the Mole — Come on with the rain — I’ve a smile on my face

I stroll down the rail  — With my rod and my reel  — Just fishin’, — Fishin’ in the rain

Why am I smiling — And why do I fish? —Why does Catalina — Seem sunny as spring?

Why do I get up — So early each morn’? — Happy and head up — With joy in my heart

Why is each task — A mere trifle to do? — Because I am living —A life full of you.

Fade to large fish (opaleye or male sheephead) on surface of the water

With apologies to Don Lockwood, lyricist for Singin’ In The Rain.

Yes, Catalina Get Together Number 6 has come and gone once again and, as most years, it reflected a personality all its own.

Quick thoughts: (1) The heavy rain Friday morning didn’t stop anyone from fishing but eventually took its toll. Most were ill prepared as far as “real” raincoats and eventually the coats and layered clothing were wet to the core. In time people were not only watching the water drop in rivulets from brow but were experiencing a cold to the bone feeling that was unexpected on Catalina. Too heavy to be popsicles (with the exception perhaps of JimboJack initially and Scott and Steve later) we looked more like frozen stout bars. However, the slightly more murky water provided some top-notch fishing and that fact, along with the refusal of anyone to cry uncle, led most to brave out the conditions. If Mola Joe can survive snow and ice, we can survive a little wind and rain. However, most were glad (even if they didn’t admit it) when the time came to return to the hotel and change clothing and equipment for the surf derby (which was rain and fish free).

(2) Several of the long-distance, partygoers drove all-nighters this year and, as a result, were really tired out upon arrival. Whereas most years there is a straight line to the motel followed by a straight line to the pier, this year people actually got some sleep and rested before starting their fishing adventure. People were asking where’s GDude, where’s Ben, where’s Minnow Magnet? Little did they know they were enjoying some peaceful bliss before renewing the quest.

(3) The group itself was smaller this year but also very cohesive and seemed to have a really friendly and helpful karma, a somewhat unusual trait for such a disparate group. And while the numbers of fish were down slightly (at least during the actual derby), the number of larger fish like opaleye, legal sheephead and bonito were up, reflections of improved bait—ghost shrimp, and improved technique. A logical extension provided by anglers who had given thought to past experiences.

(4) The only thing that didn’t seem to change was the events designation as the highlight of the year and a call for additional visits—where and when possible. Perhaps unsaid was a little envy by those who had traveled down from the Bay Area, the home of a vast bay that seems at times like an inland sea. Drives of 30-40-50 miles to fish are common. Why, given the short one-hour ferry ride from Long Beach, are there not more southern PFIC members present at Catalina? Even more, why would those who live close not travel over the Catalina Channel several times a year? Would more frequent visits make the experience less special?

KJ and opaleye

The Prelims — There are many things involved in setting up such an event. Luckily the three caballeros—KJ, Ben and Mahigheer —were able to take the past work of Adam and Rebecca, and the lessons they learned, to give us guidance this year. Early on I posted the general specifications—with only a few modifications from what Adam and Rebecca had originally done. Notification and permission to use the Mole was then gained from the Harbormaster. Once that was done we needed to figure out the Friday night “Surf Get Together” and the Saturday “Derby—Food—Raffle.”

We decided to do the Friday dinner at the Buffalo Nickel different this year—pre-pay for dinner, use their menu, etc. (Good thing because we didn’t catch a single fish at Pebble Beach.) Ben was assigned the task of talking to the restaurant manager and events went as planned even though we wound up walking over earlier than expected. Due to a road closure we were even able to get the restaurant to provide transportation to and from the restaurant. For Saturday’s event we needed UPSAC materials stored in San Diego—which Mahigheer drove down and retrieved. With materials on hand and some additional prizes I was able to scrounge up from different sources (including a Beachmaster Rod Holder), we felt we had a decent list of raffle prizes even before seeing GDude’s beautiful rod and reel.

Where’s the banner, where’s the raffle tickets, do we have bags for the fish fillets, do we have cards for the derby and pens to mark them? What about tables and chairs and certificates for the winners? Ben spent part of Wednesday making certificates in his classroom.  Mahigheer and KJ spent part of Wednesday night going through the various materials and figuring out how to carry it to Catalina. Thursday—nothing to do other than the trip itself.

Thursday — A 6:30 journey to Mahigheer’s house resulted in a free breakfast, free storage space for my truck for the next four days, and a loaded van full of the various accouterments needed for the trip. I of course had my pier cart together with a duffel bag and one of Pablo’s rod bags. Mahigheer had his normal equipment plus a cooler filled with prizes for the raffle drawing and extra rods/reels.

Once on our way we headed to San Pedro and Paul’s Bait and Tackle. There we met up with Matt who graciously filled 30 of the large Styrofoam containers full of ghost shrimp—30 per cup. Normally selling for $8.00 a large cup (he also has two smaller sizes) this represented a retail value of $240. I had actually tried to talk Bill the owner into less shrimp but he said no, one cup per person per day and better to be as little over than a little short. This would be free bait for participants for Thursday and Friday. Another load of free live shrimp, 36 containers, was to be picked up by Eugene on Saturday (or a value of $288). All told, Bill and the bait shop donated $528 worth of bait to the Get Together. Everyone at the gathering  (PFIC and UPSAC members alike) should appreciate the donation and I sincerely hope that local anglers who need bait remember this largess and give Bill their business.

Next it was on to the Catalina Landing in Long Beach for the 10 AM boat and one-hour trip over to the island. Unfortunately, at the boarding, Mahigheer was given grief and told his four-wheel cart, heavily loaded with items, would not be allowed to be pushed onto the boat. Instead he would have to hand-carry the items onto the boat and then return for more items. Only problem: a catch 22 situation in which once he carried an item onto the boat he would not be allowed to leave the boat for another trip. What to do? Luckily Gordo Grande was taking the same boat. A couple of additional items were tied down on top of my cart, a couple of additional items were tied down to the top of Gordo’s cart, and Mahigheer has several items piled on top of his big cooler (thankfully one with wheels) while hand carrying his four wheel cart. Once on the boat we all sighed in relief. On the trip back the deckhands jumped right in to help carry everything off of the ship; no such help on the way over. But we made it and didn’t lose a single bag.

Immediately upon arrival we (KJ, Mahigheer and Gordo) headed toward the Hermosa Hotel but on the way we saw Harry (Graybeard) eating breakfast and told him to join us in fishing when he finished. We then checked in at the hotel, unpacked our fishing equipment, and headed down to the pier.

Green Pleasure Pier

While Gordo and Mahigheer grabbed a bite to eat, I headed out to the end of the Green Pleasure Pier where I found myself alone with all the fish. The fishing was fast and furious with a nice mixture of fish. A short time later Harry joined in the fun while Mahigheer and Gordo arrived a little later. Everyone was catching fish and once again the Catalina experience was taking place.

Surprisingly we didn’t see anyone else that day except for GDude and family at Antonio’s, the spot where we traditionally have our first night’s dinner. That scene was repeated and I, for one, was rewarded with a delicious calamari dinner. Should we go fishing after dinner? No, we were all too tired.

Friday — This day we’re scheduled to fish the Mole in the morning and do the surf fish derby at Pebble Beach late afternoon. Unfortunately when I make my bi-hourly pee run at 4 A.M. I notice an additional little pitter-patter, this time coming from the roof. A look out the door reveals rivulets of rain tracing their mercurial way down the vines of the bougainvillea on the deck. Great!

Instead of a 6:30 journey to the Green Pleasure Pier (normal routine) Mahigheer and I do breakfast. The Mole can wait until 8 when we join Gordo. Luckily even though the rain is steady so is the fishing—including numbers of good-sized opaleye who seem to like the ghost shrimp.

Eventually the cast of the Get Together begins to arrive—Ben and Brandy, Jimbojack, Scott and Ben, Redfish and Sylva, Ark and his wife, and of course Minnow Magnet, Robin and friends from the north, Dylan and Dave. By late morning the Mole is filling up and fishermen, rods, pier carts, bait and assorted fish are littering the deck. Early afternoon the sun arrives along with some bonito and GDude limits out in fairly quick fashion with his Buzz Bomb. Things are looking up and it even appears a dry surf derby is on tap. Most people head back to their cabins around two o’clock to change into dry clothes and drop off excess equipment. Then it’s back to the Mole and a hopeful pick up by the restaurant’s shuttle vans.

GDude and a bonito

Everything seems to go smooth at first, although somehow we lost Scooter and Steve, but then the surf derby is a bust.  We had been told the whitefish were late this year and hadn’t made a showing but we hoped some would still show up. Nope, they wouldn’t cooperate and none of the other species would fill in for them (maybe it’s a union thing?). Anyway, after two hours, only a few nibbles, no fish, and increasing winds, we decided to walk over to the restaurant for dinner.

The Buffalo Nickel provided good food and with an encouragement from Mahigheer’s Raki (Lion’s Milk) everyone opened up and really seemed to have a good time. We talked the van driver into taking us back to our hotel where most went to bed. Ben and Jimbojack headed back to the Mole where Ben got a nice-sized rubberlip perch.

Saturday—Everyone was at the Mole bright and early but the sun was out and the fishing had slowed. It seems to always be the case that the fishing during the Saturday event is somewhat slow and as soon as the event is over the fish pick up the bite. It happened again.  Of course about 9 A.M. the three caballeros are discussing final plans for the food.

What additional food is needed to supplement the items GDude is bringing? KFC has closed so we’ll do the chips and salsa routine to match his Mexican food along with soft drinks and a few sweets. People pitch in money while Ben and Brandy (since they’re younger and stronger) are stuck making the actual run to Von’s Express (and they come back with a big honking cart of stuff). We’re well on our way to once again having more than enough food.  Then it’s time for the derby and raffle. Cards are passed out and people fish; some even catch fish.

Although several additional people fished and watched, only twenty-two people actually signed up for the event: GordoGrande, JimboJack, Gray Beard, Mahigheer, Eugene & Mina, Scooterfish, SteveO, Dompha Ben, Pop, Mom and bro. Johnny, Ark, Redfish and Sylva, Robin & Minnow Magnet, Dylan & Dave, Lee, Warren and Amanda.

The derby was catch and release using a point scale: and as seems usual, the fishing during the derby was slower than that before or after the event. Ten to two are not the best hours for fishing, especially when you have the crystal clear purity of water that you find at the Mole, and action seemed somewhat desultory. One difference this year was less small fish, reflecting the use of ghost shrimp by many contestants. Less small fish and thus less fish in the total count but more big fish than at most derbies. MinnowMagnet though was able to use small bait and hooks to snare enough jacksmelt to win the junior division. James (Gdude), who had a limit of bonito and would have won the derby, was strictly catch and keep so ineligible for the derby.

Then the announcement of the winners:

Adult Category: 1^st Place — SteveO; 2^nd Place — Scooterfish; 3^rd Place — Lee Smgley

Junior Category: 1^st Place — Minnow Magnet; 2^nd Place — Dylan; 3^rd Place — Warren Liu.

The raffle followed with Amanda picking out the tickets. Lastly it was time for a group shot of this year’s participants to finish off the festivities. Finally, back to more fishing.  The events had gone as planned and everyone seemed to have a good time. Around 6 PM the group starts to break up and people head off to various haunts for dinner. Several of us go to Antonio’s one more time for an excellent dinner. Ben says he wants to do a little late night fishing at the Mole and I agree to meet him. But I could barely make the walk back up to the hotel and with sore back and legs am forced to forgo the search for my moray eel (for the first time at a derby I felt my age). Ben heads down with Mahigheer, Scott and Steve. But after fifteen or so minutes, and not much action, they head back.

Pier Rats — 2007

Sunday — Last day and I am up early and out to the Green Pleasure Pier at 6:30. I know there are some good fish there so I’m casting bigger baits and have the pier to myself. I don’t get a lot of fish but in two hours manage three keeper-size sheephead along with another large opaleye in a mix of a dozen and a half fish. Then it’s back to the cabin where I meet Mahigheer for breakfast prior to checking out. From there we haul all of various bags down to the Mole to fish until our 3:45 ferry departs to Long Beach. Good-by Catalina — for now!

Personal fishing: As always the fishing was superb but there was a slight drop-off in overall numbers for myself partly because I fished fewer hours and partly because I chose to fish with the “Pier Rats” at the Mole rather than at the too congested Green Pleasure Pier. Thursday, the first day, I did fish the pier and averaged more than 20 fish an hour but it was potpourri fishing, anything goes . However, with its various ropes, cables, boats and docks interfering with space only a few people can now fish the pier at a time. Thus most people drift over to the Mole where the fishing space is more open. The Mole is also home to some of bigger species such as bonito, barracuda and an occasional yellowtail. However, it’s my firm belief that you can catch as many, if not more, BIG opaleye and BIG Sheephead at the pier; it’s just harder to hook and land them. The time at the Mole did give me a chance to check out the rocky inshore section a little more and I managed a couple of new rockfish species that I had not caught previously at the Mole—a kelp rockfish and two brown rockfish. The time also gave me a chance to land a new pier species for myself, a Mexican scad, an uncommon species rarely caught in California (which makes up for the eel I wanted to catch)* The variety was good as were the number of big opaleye that were caught and the legal-size sheephead. Both figures were undoubtedly up because of the ghost shrimp.

The variety: Cabrillo Mole (16 species) — opaleye, halfmoon, garibaldi, blacksmith, rubberlip seaperch, sheephead, rock wrasse, senorita, California scorpionfish, giant kelpfish, treefish, kelp rockfish, brown rockfish, kelp bass, jacksmelt and one new species—Mexican scad (looks similar to a jack mackerel).Green Pleasure Pier (8 species) —  opaleye, blacksmith, sheephead, rock wrasse, senorita, kelp bass, jacksmelt, island surfperch

Graybeard and a friend

Date: April 20, 2007 — From: gyozadude — Subject: Catalina; Prelude to PFGT 2007

The family and I arrived Thursday. Gordo, Graybeard, Mahigeer and the Skipper had arrived already and were fishing. I didn’t fish much and had dinner with the family, opting to get up earlier today to fish.

Well, we didn’t wake up that early, but Ken and Mahigeer were already on the Mole in the morning, and we bumped into Gordo on the way out. Ken and Hashem had picked up a whole bunch (hundreds of dollars worth) of Ghost Shrimp live bait from Paul’s Bait in San Pedro on Thursday. Most of it was in Gordo’s fridge and the bugs were still mostly moving except for a few of the ones that froze by accident on the top level of the fridge.

Mahigeer

The weather was wet -— raining cats and dogs during the morning, but finally stopping after lunch time. I saw Minnow Magnet and Rockin’ Robin’s pier cart early in the morning next to a breakfast restaurant in the heart of Avalon’s main strip, but couldn’t find them inside or out, but I was sure that was their equipment.

I was skeptical about ghost shrimp, but Wow! They work. Just ask my kids. My daughter’s new fishing rod with pink wraps and she got her first Opaleye. Big one too. My son had lots of lost fish too. All on ghost shrimp. and no need for hyper-thin leader. They  crave these shrimp and hit hard. Ken cleaned out a lot of great opaleye at the Mole. And all the while the rain was coming down, sometimes, hard. Not a bonito in sight, and I was getting disappointed that all the rushed work to build a 10-ft spinning rod for underhand casts would be wasted.

Mahigeer helped out lots with his net, and we used it a lot. It was small, compact, and the new weights on the base really gave it great support. The rain stopped after lunch some time, and the calm surface beckoned me to cast again for more bonito.

Meanwhile, DOMPFA, Red, Scooterfish, Jimbojack, Ark and others showed up on the ferries as they took turns to dock. Minnow and his friend showed up just as the bonito started to bite. Scooterfish dropped by as well and we started casting bobber and golf ball rigs. I got a limit of these in a fairly short time and decided to go back to the cottage and clean the fish and rest up for tonight’s dinner. Not a bad day so far. And if the weather holds, it looks like tomorrow will be even better.

Date: April 21, 2007 — From: gyozadude —  Subject: PFGT Catalina 2007

A great day and great weather for this 6th Annual PFGT. I met a lot of old fishing friends and some new ones as well. Fishing was pretty good through most of the day, and for my kids as other familiar pier rats, there were some “first evers.”

Watching the kids watch the water

Again, I limited out on bonito today — 2nd day in a row! They were a bit deeper today and not always on the surface. But they fell victim to a blue-pearl size 4W Buzz Bomb. I am impressed with the performance of the Cabela’s Fish Eagle II 10 ft. steelhead spinning blank and the Daiwa Exceler 3500 reel. They let me toss 1.75 oz. of metal underhand more than 60 yds. — more than far enough. I’m looking forward to ordering a few more FEII blanks while they’re still on sale. More stories from others to come, I certainly hope, and at this hour, some folks are night fishing and still making more stories.

Dompfabryan lands a kelp bass

Date: April 22, 2007 — From: gyozadude — Subject: Buffalo Nickel

The crew had headed out yesterday to fish the Pebbly Beach from 3pm until dinner, which was scheduled at 7:30 pm. I headed back to our room to rest up and clean my fish instead and start the freezing process.

Then my son got a hunkerin’ for more fishing, so around 6pm, we headed out and walked to the Mole and saw no one there. We kept walking toward the Buffalo Nickel and about halfway, there was a sign warning against Pedestrians walking further due to rock slides. I realized that this was going to be a problem and decided to call the restaurant to see if they had a shuttle/van that could pick us up out there. The line was busy for quite a while, but just as I made my 4th attempt to call, their new van drove by and I was able to flag the driver down and the two of us got a ride, which saved my already aching feet.

When I got off at the restaurant, I poked my head inside, even though it was only 6:30. But behold! The skipper, Dompfa and his better half, Ross, Rockn Robin, Minnow, Mahigeer (with Lion’s Milk Liqueur!) and others were already having dinner. The story was that they all fished for two hours and didn’t have a single bite, so they came in from the now colder breeze and had dinner early.

My wife and daughter were still on the old schedule of 7:30pm so I tried to call her on the mobile phone — but they had no service on that side of the island. But my son and I got into conversations so much that we just decided to start and place our orders and before we knew it, my wife and daughter showed up via Shuttle.

The service was pretty good at the Buffalo Nickel. I had the chicken/ribs combo with fries and even my son liked the ribs and had his fill. They also drove us back all the way to the Hermosa, and we paid to rent a couple of tables and chairs from them for the Mole for the PFGT event the next day, which they’d deliver, set-up, and then come back to pick up. Yes, they’re out of the way, but the food is reasonably priced, tastes good, and their service is great.

And yes, I gotta give kudos to Mahigeer for the “Lion’s Milk.” It’s a potent drink with strong licorice flavour that perks you up, even served just on the rocks. I think Mrs. Dompfa like the stuff as much as I did.

The junior division — Warren, ?, and Minnow Magnet

Date; April 22, 2007 — From: gordo grande — Subject: Catalina GT 2007

First and foremost… Adam and Rebecca…We missed you! The fact that we even had a Catalina GT without you guys is a tribute to how hard you worked through the years organizing all the previous events. You better be there next year! I’m writing this on Sunday evening, so I hope I get all the facts right. Please forgive me if I don’t.

Graybeard, Jimbojack and Gordo at the railing

I went out early this year, hoping to get as much fishing out of my system as I could before the big event. It’s a good thing, too, since the only luck that I had seemed to come on Thursday. I happened to run into Ken and Mahigeer on the 10:00 boat, and we found Graybeard already on the island when we got there.

Our first stop, after checking into the Hermosa, was the Green Pleasure Pier. I got immediately slammed on my very first cast with a double—a calico bass and an opaleye! The bite there was pretty consistent, thanks to the ample supply of ghost shrimp that had been generously donated to our group. After a while I wandered over to the Mole  by myself, where I connected with another few calicos, an opal-eye, a rock wrasse, and an almost legal sheephead. Dinner that night was at Antonios, and then off to bed for an early rise and another trip to the Mole.

Friday morning was wet, wet, wet!!!!!! The rain started as a drizzle, but it built and ebbed as the morning wore on. At times we were standing there in a deluge, but it didn’t seem to slow us down much. The bonito hadn’t really showed yet, but we were getting a slow pick on most of the other typical Catalina species.

Jimbojack with a halfmoon

We were joined by G-dude and family, who had come in the evening before, and by Jimbojack who arrived on one of the morning boats. By about noon I was chilled to the bone, and was the first to throw in the towel. All I can say is that most of my clothes were still wet when we packed up to leave Sunday morning.

Friday afternoon we made our trip out to the Buffalo Nickel. The road had been closed due to rockslides, so the restaurant agreed to shuttle us out there. Last year we caught a ton of fish out there at Pebbly Beach, and had them cook it up for us. This year we changed the game plan. We were still going to fish, but we would just order regular dinners at the restaurant, e.g. prime-rib, chicken and ribs, etc.

Good thing, because we were out there for two hours and never got a solid hit! We would have starved if we had been relying on our catch. It was still pretty darn cold as well, so we packed it in early and headed in to eat.

Unfortunately, I think Scooterfish and Steve0 got left behind at the Molee  due to some confusion over the transportation arrangements. Sorry about that guys. G-dude and family came at the scheduled time, but we quickly made room for them, and continued to enjoy some fine spirits and good conversation while they ate. Dinner was good, and we all survived the Raki that Mahigeer provided for us.

Put it back Scooterfish!

Saturday promised better weather, and the whole group slowly assembled. It was great to see Rockin Robin and Minnow Magnet, and their friends Dave and Dylan, Jimbojack, Scooterfish and SteveO (nice to meet you guys), Graybeard, Dompfa Ben, Brandy, Dompfa Pops and Dompfa Mom and other assorted Ackers, Redfish and Sylvana, Ark, Eugene and Mina, and of course the wonderful G-dude Clan, James, Dora, Warren and Amanda. Forgive me if I’ve forgotten anyone.

SteveO with a bonito

A pleasant surprise was the addition to our group of a gentleman from Long Beach by the name of Lee. He happened to start talking with my wife on boat trip out to the island Saturday morning, and she told him about our get-together which was already in progress. He stopped by as he got off the boat, and started chatting. I offered him the use of a spare rod, and that was all he needed. He stayed all afternoon, and ended up taking third place in the derby. He’s promised to stop by the website and post a few messages.

A special thanks to Paul’s Bait and Tackle in San Pedro, (I hope I got the name right), who generously donated several hundred dollars worth of ghost shrimp. We can’t thank you enough, and I can tell you that it worked wonders. They got bit on almost every cast, and really made the difference for us. I’m sure that Ken will correct me if I didn’t get the name right, but I couldn’t post this report without thanking you.

Finally, the best part for me was the fact that Mrs. Grande finally made it to her first Catalina GT, and she had a great time. She even managed to catch her first fish! She asked me to thank everyone for being so kind to her, and she promises to be at the next one as well.

Date: April 22, 2007 — From: Jimbojack — Subject: More Catalina

I left my house on a rainy Friday morning. I got a few miles down the freeway when I remembered that I forgot to grab the bait. I was having visions of my wife finding the plain, innocent looking Styrofoam boxes in the fridge and opening them up to discover the writhing masses of multi-legged lugworms inside, screaming, and throwing the contents all over the kitchen. So, I turned around and got the bait to continue on my way.

Because of the little delay, I arrived at the Catalina Express ticket counter just in time to see my 6:15 AM boat pulling out. Next ride wasn’t until 10:00 and I had the entire terminal to myself. A few minutes later, two guys with fishing gear show up. I had to inquire, and was finally fortunate enough to meet Scooterfish and SteveO. We talked a bit, and since we had three plus hours to kill went to check out the little finger pier near the terminal. Absolutely no bites, so we went back just in time to avoid the heavy rain.

It was pouring rain when we arrived at Avalon, but several of the guys were out at the Mole fishing anyway. I stowed my gear, put on my rain suit and joined in the craziness. Fish were plentiful as usual, and were very much liking the generous supply of ghost shrimp from Paul’s Bait & Tackle. After awhile, the rain stopped, and eventually, the sun broke through for a beautiful afternoon.

We met up at 3:00 for the shuttle over to Pebbly Beach. I was so looking forward to this since we had such heavy action there last year. What a disappointment! Not one fish was caught. I had a few weak nibbles. We left a little early and hung out at the Buffalo Nickel restaurant for a pretty good dinner and excellent company and conversation.

Dompfaben with a bonito

After dinner, Dompfa Ben and I fished th Mole for about an hour. It was pretty slow. Ben caught a pretty big rubberlip.

The derby on Saturday had some pretty good fishing for us, but it always has its slow times too. As usual, I always catch my best fishes before or after the tournament. I got a keeper sheephead, a huge halfmoon, rubberlip, blacksmith, and a few big opaleye. I avoided the usual plethora of smaller fish by sticking with bigger baits and bigger hooks.

Jimbojack and a small sheephead

The fishing on Catalina is nothing short of amazing. The whole PFIC group there every year are just good people that are good to hang out with. They welcome old friends and newcomers alike. I always leave wondering how soon I can come back to fish again. A huge heartfelt thanks to Ken, Dompfa Ben and Brandy for all their hard work. Thank you to Gdude and Dora for all the food and the absolutely beautiful spinning rod I won. Already looking forward to next year. Jim
PFGT cont’d

Date: April 23, 2007 — From: v6v6v6 — Subject: Catalina

Mina and I enjoyed our first PFGT which was also our first trip to Catalina. Just wanted to thank Hashem and Leslie for being sweet to Mina–she had a rough morning (throwing up twice on the boat, nipped by the pelican, admonished by Hashem–haha, just kidding). Also, a very special thanks to Dora and Amanda for taking Mina to the playground and treating her to ice cream! She mentioned Amanda several times to my wife when we got home.

Mina

The fishing was all too brief (ended up with two short calicos and two  bonito in four hours) but it was nice to be fishing amongst friends. My only regret is that I didn’t spend more time greeting everyone. Gyozadude, jimbojack, greybeard, and ark, it was nice to meet you. Also good to see Ross, Ben and his wife, and Ken again. Congrats to all the winners and hope to see you next year (or sooner)! Boarding the boat… nasty runoff from the LA River after the

Date: April 26, 2004; To: PFIC Message Board; From: Ken Jones; Subject: A Catalina Report 2004

Day One — Thursday, April 22, 2004. Following a quick 5 1/2 hour drive down from Lodi, I caught the 12 o’clock ferry to Catalina (which was late), arrived a little after 1 o’clock, and soon checked into the Hermosa Hotel.

Arrival in Avalon

The bags were soon put away and I got ready to fish. I lathered sun tan lotion on every conceivable inch of exposed flesh, and headed out to the pier. HOT and sunny but just a slight kiss of breeze—which was welcomed—and a slight ruffle to the water. Rigged up the usual rigging—two size 6 baitholder hooks and a one ounce torpedo sinker and was soon landing a few fish. Did try out a variety of baits: pile worms, ghost shrimp, squid, market shrimp, frozen peas, anchovies, and some exotics I had brought—garden snails and abalone trimmings. The latter two baits had been brought along in a attempt to solve the problem that always exists at the pier. You need small hooks and small baits to get the large opaleye but the smaller fish—senorita, rock wrasse, blacksmith, etc., will generally grab your bait first. You need to have bait that is tough enough to withstand the ravages of the smaller fish but still attractive to the opaleye. The tough little snails actually proved good for this task while the abalone didn’t seem to work as well at attracting the fish.

 Tossing one of many fish back into the sea at the Green Pleasure Pier

Fished from 2:30-7:30 p.m. —Results 61 Kelp Bass – but only three legal size fish, 15 Senorita, 11 Blacksmith, 7 Halfmoon, 5 Rock Wrasse, 1 Garibaldi, 1 Sheephead and 1 Jacksmelt

After a short trip back to the hotel to change into something a little warmer, I grabbed a snack, and then headed back to the pier where I was joined by Gdude and his brother-in- law.  As soon as the sun disappeared over the Catalina hills the species changed. That   was o.k. since I was seeking out some mackerel, sculpin, and possibly a shark or ray (generally horn sharks or swell sharks). Unfortunately the pelagics were absent, the bass bite had slowed, and the close-in waters were invaded by a hungry group of fat, gravid shinerperch which had the audacity to keep hitting my light line. Even though I switched to larger hooks, the shiners kept grabbing the bait (initially worms but then squid strips and/or shrimp). I was now also using a second pole, and a larger rigging for the sharks/ray, but my plans were thwarted by a group of maurading lobsters that seemed to grab hold of the squid bait as soon as it reached bottom. They were determined to frustrate me, and they succeeded. Disgusted by the shinerperch and lobsters, and a little tired out, I decided to quit early and head to the arms of Morpheus.

Dusk at the Green Pleasure Pier

Fished from 8:45-11:00 p.m. Results—13 Shinerperch, 12 Kelp Bass and 1 California Scorpionfish

Day Two — Friday, April 23.  Overslept and didn’t make my 6 a.m. fishing goal. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful morning with just a slight breeze. Unfortunately the water was a little too placid and crystal clear. Even worse the bite had slowed, due perhaps in part to a grunion run the previous night. Once again good variety but slow compared to the previous day.

The “Skipper’s Corner” early in the morning

Fished the GGP from 6:30-10 a.m. Results—19 Kelp Bass, 14 Rock Wrasse, 13 Senorita. 3 Halfmoon, 1 Sheephead—legal size and 1 Blacksmith.

Was joined during the morning by Joromaca and JimboJack after their arrival from the mainland. Nice to see their familiar faces and they too immediately began to catch fish.

Fished the GGP from 12:30-2:00 p.m. Results — 8 Senorita, 4 Kelp Bass, 2 Rock Wrasse, 1 Garibaldi, 1 Scorpionfish and 1 Blacksmith.

 KJ and GDude at the GPP

We all decided to visit the mole in the afternoon to check out the site of the next day’s derby—and to see if we could get some bigger fish. There was a gentle current and the kelp was avoidable. In addition we located some big opaleye (I got three derby-size fish, one on a garden snail, one on a pile worm, and one on a ghost shrimp). Not too many bass though and all the bass were smaller here than at the GPP.

The Cabrillo Mole and a couple of the “submarines”

Fished the Cabrillo Mole from  2:30-5 p.m. Results — 4 Senorita, 3 Opaleye, 2 Sheephead, 2 Halfmoon, 2 Kelp Bass, 2 Blacksmith and 1 Rock Wrasse

Collage — KJ and an oplaye (top left) — GDude (James) unhooking a fish (top right) —Baitfish (Adam) with an opaleye (Bottom left) — Baitfish (Adam ) bottom right.

However, the wind came up (as in TOO WINDY). After having the top of my cooler blow into the water (got it back with the help of JimboJack’s net), watching two bicycle racks blow over from the wind, and being just a tad bit uncomfortable, we decided to head back to the hotel before dinner. Following an excellent dinner with the fellow pier rats (around twenty) took a look outside at the same blustery conditions and decided to call it a night.  Gdude headed out to the pier and later said that the wind was much diminished by 10 p.m. or so and that the fishing was decent.

 A Catalina sunrise

Day Three — Saturday, April 24.  Had to get in a little GPP fishing before the derby at the Mole so got up early, woke up JimboJack, and we headed down to the pier. Was greeted by a reduced wind and a beautiful sunrise to the east portending another wonderful day.  Expected a possible sculpin or shark due to the early hour but instead found an ocean whitefish hitting my squid bait. Got a picture but it was still kind of dark so don’t know how it will turn out.   As usual in the early morning, the wrasses (rock wrasses and senorita) were asleep so initially the action was on bass. As soon as the wrasses awoke they began to attack the baits — rock wrasses hitting on the bottom, senorita at mid-depth.

Fished the GGP from 5:50-8:20 a.m. Results — 10 Kelp Bass 8 Rock Wrasse, 2 Scorpionfish, 2 Senorita, 1 Garibaldi – a large fish, 1 Ocean Whitefish – legal size and 1 Sheephead

 At 8:30 headed back to the room to put on shorts and the “official” t-shirt.

Joramaca with a garibaldi

At the Mole I set up next to Joromaca and JimboJack in the same spot where we had enjoyed success the previous day. Unfortunately the conditions were not the same in the morning: no wind, bright sun, an uncooperative current that kept the leaves of the kelp directly in the path of the lines.

Tournament time and slow fishing, a somewhat disconcerting chain of events given the fact that a photographer from Inside Sportfishing was scheduled to film the derby for posterity. But a nice turnout: Baitfish and Rebecca, Rich and Tammy, Ark and Josephine, Shorepounder and Cindy, Josh, his brother and dad, Pescador, OB PierRat, Joromaca, Jimbojack, the large Liu clan and a few people that I failed to get the names (sorry).

Top picture KJ, bottom picture center JimboJack

Fished the Mole from10 a.m. — 2 p.m. Results — 3 Garibaldi, 3 Kelp Bass, 2 Giant kelpfish, 2 Opaleye,  2 Blacksmith, 2 Senorita, 1 Halfmoon and 1 Jacksmelt

Pescador with a small bass

All in all the fishing was slow (except for Shorepounder and Cindy who used slip sinkers, size 16 circle hooks, and frozen peas to attract a number of good sized opaleye up to their waiting arms. But the company was great, got a chance to socialize with the fellow pier rats, and even got to partake of some of Gdude’s famous pot stickers once again. What more do you need? As for the photographer, his camera malfunctioned and the audio wouldn’t record properly. He took a couple of pictures of Cindy pulling in some opaleye but that was about it.

 A variety of fish were caught.

At 2:30 the derby ended, the prizes were given out (thanks again Inside Sportfishing—and Adam), and some final group pictures were taken.

Roosterqueen (Rebecca) and the GDude clan (Amanda and Warren)

Prizes: Ist Place—Cindy with a 2.5 lb. Opaleye; 2nd Place—Joromaca with a 2 lb. Opaleye; 3rd Place—KJ with a 1.6 lb. Opaleye. Several sheephead were close to these weights in size.

The winners and the group from 2004

 And, as the festivities wound down the tidal conditions changed and the fishing picked up.

Fished the Mole from 3-5:30 p.m.

6 Garibaldi,  5 Jacksmelt, 5 Blacksmith, 4 Senorita, 2 Kelp Perch, 1 Sheephead and 1 Striped Kelpfish

Shared a good meal that night with Adam, Rebecca, Shorepounder, and Cindy before retiring once again to the soothing sounds of Catalina at night.

Day Four — Sunday, April 25.  Got up early in order to get a little more fishing before the required 11 a.m. exit from the motel. Most of the worms were now gone as well as much of the shrimp and squid. Decided to use anchovies and, as usual, that meant more bass.

Fished the GPP from 5:50-9:50 a.m.

30 Kelp Bass,  4 Rock Wrasse, 4 Senorita, 2 Blacksmith, 1 Jack Mackerel, 1 Garibaldi and 1 Scorpionfish

Once again headed back to the hotel with memories that will last a long, long time.

Some lessons learned:

1. The species and their numbers at the Green Pleasure Pier have changed little over the past four decades. With the exception of more sheephead and (I believe) more sculpin (scorpionfish), the records are almost the same. In fact, my fish per hour and point totals are nearly identical to those recorded in the ‘70s. The biggest variance year to year is in the pelagic species—Pacific mackerel, jack mackerel and Pacific sardines. Some years finds all of these, some years none, and some years just one or the other. The bottom species are pretty consistent.

2. Late afternoon, and a LITTLE wind, seems to helps the fishing. One result is that the fishing after the derby is often better than during the derby.

3. The bass love worms, cut anchovies and mackerel, and strips of squid best.

4. The rock wrasse love worms fished on the bottom; worms hanging mid-depth may get you some bass, blacksmith and halfmoon but usually will result in senorita who seem both more numerous and more aggressive.

5. Halfmoon definitely prefer strips of squid.

6. An ungodly number of bass, many legal-size, hang UNDER the pier, but there are so many ropes, cables and other obstructions that it can be almost impossible to fish that area let alone land a fish if hooked in that area.

7. At night, bait dropped straight down or under the pier will almost assuredly attract a bug (lobster) and that often means lost riggings if you are using light tackle.

8. The opaleye are there but are more wary in the crystal-clear waters around the pier than at the mole. Light line and small hooks are your best bet along with peas as bait. The trick though is having the bait survive the onslaught of senorita, blacksmith and halfmoon until such time as the opaleye grab the bait.

Two logos were available for the 2nd annual Get Together

May 1, 2003; Memo To: PFIC Message Board; From: Ken Jones; Subject: Catalina Get Together #2

Green Pleasure Pier (Avalon, Catalina Island) – It was pretty much non-stop action for the pier rats who invaded the pier last Friday-Sunday. An assortment of fish on the bottom together with a mixture of mackerel, jacks and sardines on top if you got bored with bottom action. Personally, I fished the pier for 17.5 hours between noon on Friday and 9 a.m. on Sunday (had to take a few hours off to fish over on the Mole on Saturday). Results: 91 Pacific mackerel, 69 jack mackerel, 48 kelp bass, 32 Pacific sardines, 14 senorita, 7 blacksmith, 6 rock wrasse, 5 California sheephead, and 3 California scorpionfish. Also caught 2 lobsters and I lost I BIG spider crab that broke my light line as I tried to lift it up to the pier. Surprisingly, didn’t catch a single halfmoon or an opaleye although Sunday morning there were about a half dozen BIG opaleye teasing the anglers (me). They were down midway to the bottom and refused to bite anything I threw at them – ghost shrimp, bloodworms, cut shrimp, or even peas. They would swim up and eyeball the bait in the crystal clear water but refused to even take a quick nibble. Just a little frustrating to sit and watch them refuse my humble offerings. But what a great weekend. A highlight on the pier was Friday night when Rich and I saw a large sea lion speeding after something in the water. All of a sudden we see a large flying fish take off in the spotlights from the pier and it must have sailed 30-40 feet out in front of that sea lion. I’m sure the sea lion must have wondered what happened. The pier is a special place at night!

 Posted by Rich Reano — Sitting on the Catalina Express waiting to depart. The get together was awesome. Many thanks to Baitfish, the people and companies that donated gifts, and for the pier rats who came. Fishing was stellar. Complete reports will come I’m sure. Last night, saw a sea lion start chasing something then all of a sudden, a flying fish took off and glided a few hundred feet to safety. Pretty cool. I said to myself, you don’t see that every day. Well I did. Today, another flying fish took flight for safety but ended up flying right into a stack of Cobra Kayaks. His fate is unknown.

Pierhead (Boyd Grant) and a sheephead from the Green Pleasure Pier

Josh and a rock wrasse

Baitfish (Adam) and a sheephead

Roosterqueen (Rebecca) and a sheephead

Posted by gyozadude —I  arrived back home about 3 hours ago; it had been a long drive back from Long Beach and I’m now resting; a little sun burnt on the neck, face and tips of my ears, and happy to have made the trip and met all those Pier Rats. This second annual Catalina Get-Together was great. Lots of old faces and some new ones too. Met with Ken and some of his family, Rich, Josh and Family, Pierhead, Catfish and crew, Joromaca, Jimbojack, Baitfish and RoosterQueen and quite a few others. We arrived around 1:15 pm and unpacked our things and did some grocery shopping at the local Von’s supermarket. I didn’t bring any bait, and just to be sure I bought a half pound of prawns at Armstrong’s Seafood market and restaurant. But I later found that was simply a waste of money because bait was plentiful everywhere.

Fishing started for me around 5:30 pm. I met some Pier Rats already fishing the end of the Green Pleasure Pier. A glance down below showed swarms of thousands upon thousands of schooling mackerel. Some bigger macks were caught on spoons and lures. Smaller ones on small bits of bait, usually cut mackerel. I established a personal best of 6 consecutive macks the same piece of skin on the hook.

The The whole party met at Antonio’s Pizzeria and Caberet where we dined al fresco next to the water. After dinner, most of the folks walked back to the rooms to grab their gear to meet up for some night fishing. I missed out on most of the earlier action because I had to put my kids to bed, and my son wouldn’t sleep until midnight. By the time I headed out, Ken and Rich were heading back in. Some diehard anglers like Josh, Adam, and Jimbojack were still fishing though, pulling up lots of macks, some calicos, a couple of horn sharks, and quite a few lobsters, where were out of season and illegally caught on hook and line. There seemed to be a few poachers of the south east Asian/Filipino kind who occupied the corner and were pulling up many bugs and keeping them. Ken apparently had told them these were illegal, but they decide to keep them anyway. After I arrived and talked it over with Adam, the two of us confronted these folks and after a brief lecture from the two of us, they seemed to have thrown their lobsters back. I managed to hook into my first bug that night, which was fairly large, Adam tells me. It was tossed back after Adam took a photo. I hope to get it to prove it to my wife, who was sound asleep back at our rental cottage. Adam and I called it a night and headed back sometime around 1:30 am. It was a bit chilly, but most of all, I needed to get ready to wake up and cook  for the Get-Together in the morning.

The Cabrillo Mole

Posted by joromaca — I arrived early Friday morning and by 8 o’clock was busy fishing the pier only to be humbled by one of the locals (he must of been all of 12 or 13 years old) who proceeded to catch 4 or 5 legal calicos using cut swordfish. I tried using his method of a big hook and big bait but all mine were still short. Fishing at Catalina was like fishing in a huge overstuffed aquarium…many species and superb water clarity. I was later joined by baitfish and the skipper and throughout the day many other pier rats made their way to the pier. The fishing was excellent as was the company. Many thanks to all who participated and helped to make this a truly enjoyable experience…Oh yeah…as for the winner of the smallest fish at the derby…thank goodness I lost the coin flip!`

Joramaca and a sheephead at the Cabrilo Mole

My daughter Kim and a garibaldi

My son-in-law Dave and a garibaldi

My Danish “son” Martin with a giant kelpfish

Posted by jimbojack —I arrived at Catalina late afternoon on Friday. Went directly to the hotel, rigged up my gear and headed out to the Green Pleasure Pier before finally taking a breath. Rounded up all the usual suspects: Ken Jones, Baitfish, Roosterqueen, Rich, Josh and his family, and Joromaca. Later joined by Gyozadude. Lots of mackerel. Huge schools that would just hang out and wait for you to drop a hook. Shortly afterwards, we split up and got ready for dinner at Antonio’s. We sat outside right on the water, and of course thought it was a shame that we couldn’t fish while dining. Ken went over his outline for UPSAC. It was nice to sit and get to know people, but I could tell towards the end of dinner that I wasn’t the only one anxious to get back to fishing. Catfish (Tom) showed up with his GF and made the rounds before we adjourned to get back to fishing. Back out to the pier and it was crowded at the end. Same old macks. I fished in shallow for awhile until some people cleared out. I was dropping a bare Sabiki over the rail and picking up baby macks for bait. Caught one smaller calico and got constant hits from smaller fish trying to steal the bait. Later on, I moved out to the end where a group of poachers were keeping lobsters. I think we all caught plenty of macks as well as occasional calicos. Caught my first lobster as well as a horned shark. Fish are pretty much nonstop and you are hard pressed to keep two rods rigged and in the water. Gdude showed up later and sternly but diplomatically told the poachers about their illegal lobsters. They thought about it, discussed it and then threw them back! Way to go James! One by one, everybody made their exits for the night. I left at about 2:00 AM and left Josh to claim the title of The Most Hardcore.

Jimbojack fighting a fish

A collage of the Green Pleasure Pier and Cabrillo Mole by gyozadude

Marcus with a kelp (calico) bass

Grreenrag (Martin) with the winning derby fish — a moray weighing just over three pounds

Catfish (Tom) waiting for a bite

Baitfish (Adam) with a barracuda

Pierhead (Boyd) telling a story

An ocean whitefish

Baitfish (Adam) and a nice calico

The “Pier Rats” at the Mole

The Oceanside Pier — 2005

This used to be a two-sack pier; that was what I learned one day while talking to a pier regular. The regular, a gentleman of a youthful 78 years of age, and one who fished about 350 days a year, told me the story: “Back in the thirties you needed to bring two gunnysacks with you when you visited the pier because of the barracuda. Back then we called them logs, you know, big fish about 10 or 12 pounds each, and you could only get about five in a sack lengthwise. You fished until you loaded a couple of sacks then you stopped, no sense overdoing it. Of course you might need a little help carrying the sacks off the pier.” How accurate that memory is after 50 years can only be speculated. There is no doubt, however, that fishing can be very good at Oceanside and that it probably was outstanding  “back then.”

In fact, old pictures and faded newspaper stories that once sat under glass near the lifeguard tower gave evidence of how it was “back then.”  Several pictures of large black sea bass (giant sea bass) that were caught from the pier highlight the pictures; one was of a 286-pound fish taken in 1936. Another picture was of a 200+pound hammerhead shark taken by Max Gray on September 8, 1949. A third showed a 42 lb. 1 oz. yellowtail taken from the pier in July of 1955 by Elmo Nealoff. Stories tell of an 11 3/4-pound bonito and a 10 3/4-pound lobster taken from the pier—both evidently records for the pier.

The entrance to the pier — 2010

Of course the big pier is more than just a place to fish to many residents, it’s a place to gather, to see what’s going on, and to be seen. Most any summer night will find the pier crowded with fishermen and others simply out to sample the sights and sounds of the pier at night.

One such night I witnessed a group of teenagers huddled around three young men getting ready to dive from the end of the pier near Ruby’s. The three got up on the railing where the leader announced he would do a reverse tuck (I believe). The other two were satisfied to do a simple dive. With cell phone cameras ready to record the action they called out three, two, one, and jumped. The dives were successful and a cheer went up from their friends (as well as more than just a few interested spectators). Soon the young men had climbed the nearby ladder back up to the pier. Last I saw of them was one peering boldly into the back door of Ruby’s. Looked like he was seeking out one of the red-and-white, pinstriped waitresses.

Nearby stood two ravishing young ladies shooting pictures of each other near the pier railings. Around the corner came a buxom platinum blond decked out in Hollywood chic and holding an all white miniature poodle. Next to me stood Jimmy and Eddie, two construction workers from Fort Smith, Arkansas who were taking in the whole scene. They commented that they just didn’t have this action back home. Such is California in the new century.

             Oceanside Pier — 2015

Looking back from the end — 2006

The pier seems to be about as productive as when I first fished it in the mid-1960s although quantity is more common than quality. A lot of fish can still be caught but relatively few of the “trophy” fish common in years past. Fish typically caught here are the normal sandy-shore, long-pier variety.

Spotfin Croaker — 2010

Inshore, you will find barred surfperch, corbina, yellowfin croaker, spotfin croaker, sargo, round stingray, guitarfish, too many (at times) thornback rays, and an occasional California butterfly ray (first recorded from the pier by scientists in 1952).

Midway out, you can catch halibut, white croaker, yellowfin croaker, queenfish, jacksmelt, topsmelt, butterfish, walleye surfperch, bass, more guitarfish and sand sharks (smoothhound sharks).

The pier — 2007

The pier, at 1,942 feet is one of the longest on the coast and out toward the end you may catch any of these fish but also the more pelagic species like mackerel, bonito, barracuda (today, usually a small pencil instead of a log), small white seabass (usually called seatrout), and an occasional small (firecracker size) yellowtail. The end area is typically also the best area for kelp bass, barred sand bass, salema, rockfish and other rock-frequenting species (including infrequent, but occasional, sheephead). It’s also the best area for the larger sharks (leopards, threshers and blues), the biggest shovelnose guitarfish, and the monster bat rays (including one that weighed an estimated 150 pounds in April of 2001.

Shovelnose Guitarfish caught by Bernie in 2015

If the fish aren’t biting just sit back and relax—or head down to the Ruby’s at the end of the pier and have a hamburger, fries and a milkshake. Watch the dolphins that seem to show up most days at the pier and, if it is wintertime, you might even see a grey whale migrating by the pier. The pier is a great spot to simply sit and enjoy the ocean.

Rubys — 2015

Most piers will see pelicans occasionally; some have pelicans that are resident members of their pier and Oceanside is one such pier. Almost every day you will see the birds in their favorite spots just past the bait shop and almost every day you will see people lined up trying to get pictures with the birds. Ed Gonsalves, who owns the bait shop has been known to toss an anchovy or two at one of the birds, the one the regulars call Michael Jackson (since he likes to dance). Another pelican, Charlie, is a little more staid and prefers to simply sit on the trashcan by the shop (where he gets a LOT of attention).

Charlie the Pelican — 2009

Fishing Tips.  This can be an excellent pier for halibut, sand bass, and guitarfish. Live anchovies are best, but the bait shop doesn’t offer them; instead, try to net some bait or snag a smelt, small queenfish, anchovy, or even a baby mac, and use the fish with a live bait rigging. Mid-pier is the best area for the halibut, especially from May to July (although flatties caught in the winter are often the largest of the year). For guitarfish, try the mid-pier to the end. If live bait (fish-type) isn’t available, try bloodworms, ghost shrimp, cut mackerel or frozen anchovies.

The end of the pier can be good for bass including barred sand bass and some calico bass (kelp bass).

Kelp Bass aka Calico Bass — 2013

Sand Bass — 2013

Generally the spring and summer are the best months for the bass. The end area can also, at times, be great for bonito and mackerel. Generally the mackerel will hit best on a small strip of squid or a bloody piece of mackerel. The larger bonito (some up to 6-8 pounds), prefer a splasher, cast-a-bubble or golf ball with a feather trailing behind it. Late summer to fall months will also see some barracuda. Most of the barries show up at night and your best bet to catch them is generally a gold or silver colored spoon like a Kastmaster or Krocodile. As far as sharks and rays, and many are taken from the pier, regulars say a long cast out from the southern corner of the pier is a prime spot.

Halibut — 2016 (Picture courtesy of Oceanside Pier Bait Shop)

The mid-pier area is a good area for fish besides halibut and guitarfish, although the halibut certainly receive the majority of attention from May to July. It is the best area for a number of the smaller species such as herring (queenfish), tomcod (white croaker) and jacksmelt. It yields a lot of yellowfin croaker, some spotfin croakers, sargo, China (black) croakers, and quite a few smoothhound sharks, thornback rays, and bat rays. Almost all of these can be caught on high/low leaders with the bait deciding the type of fish that will hit. Queenfish and white croaker will strike on small strips of anchovy, jacksmelt prefer worms or a small piece of shrimp, most sharks and rays get all excited and goose bumpy when they smell a bloody piece of mackerel or a delicious piece of calamari (oops, squid).

Inshore, and this is the area preferred by many locals, try sand crabs, ghost shrimp, bloodworms or mussels for barred surfperch, corbina, spotfin croaker, and yellowfin croaker; remember to use a fairly small hook, no bigger than a size 4. When fishing around the pilings, try mussels, bloodworms, or ghost shrimp; use a bait holder-type hook for the bloodworms and mussels, a Kahle-type hook for the ghost shrimp. These baits will be your best bet for most types of perch (although walleye surfperch also like a small strip of anchovy). Best time for the barred surfperch is winter to spring while summer to fall is considered the prime time for both yellowfin croakers and spotfin croakers. However, the bite can start early, especially if the water warms up. May of 2007 saw a run of large spotfins (some exceeding six pounds) with baby mussels being the irresistible bait.

Spotfin Croaker — 2012

If the pier isn’t too crowded, try artificial lures such as Scampis for the sand bass, the already mentioned feathers with a cast-a-bubble for the bonito, and multiple-hook, bait rig outfits for the macs and jacksmelt (although 3-5 mackerel twisting up a Lucky Lura/Sabiki leader isn’t so lucky—it often results in the loss of the $2-3 leader).

California Scorpionfish — 2013

A few sculpin (California scorpionfish), buckets of salema, and other rock-loving species will be attracted by the rock quarry artificial reef out toward the end of the pier. I say buckets of salema because people literally catch and keep enough of the small fish to fill buckets, although the limit is ten and some of the people are going to face some stiff fines one of these days. This is also the best area for people seeking lobsters during their season with most of the spiny creatures being taken at night.

Although sheephead are never common, quite a few have been caught out at the end of the pier (to 27 pounds); in most instances the bait was ghost shrimp or pieces of market shrimp (although crabs and mussels should also be good bait, and both bloodworms and live anchovies have been reported as successful baits at the pier). If you want to try to catch one of the big-toothed creatures be warned that they only feed during the daylight hours (they sleep at night) and are most common during the winter months.

Although not a noted pier for sharks, enough are taken to keep the local shark fraternity busy. The usual suspects are encountered—leopard sharks, spiny dogfish, shovelnose sharks (guitarfish), and thresher sharks while every so often a blue shark or 7-gill will show up to keep things interesting. In some warm-water years hammerheads have even been taken. Best bait for most of the sharks is a large, bloody piece of mackerel while the threshers prefer a live mackerel on a sliding leader. Bat rays, and there are some big ones here, prefer a big piece of squid. Do remember though that if you’re seeking out the big critters to bring a net since it’s reported to be 32 feet up from the low water mark to the pier surface.

Striped Bass — 2016

Unusual fish from the pier have included a deep-water lancetfish. Striped bass were consideed uncommon when a 27” striped bass was taken in July ’00. However, many stripers have been taken from 2015-2017 including a 37″ fish in 2015. Although not really rare, basketweave cusk-eels (Ophidion scrippsae) are an infrequent catch from piers; scientific records list at least two of the cusk-eels as being taken from the pier—in 1947 and 1966. A common fish, although uncommon to southern California piers, was a grass rockfish taken in April of 2015. Last, but not least, a number of shortfin corvina were caught at the pier in 2016. More common to Baja waters they’ve become common in San Diego Bay and apparently have spread out from the bay.

Shortfin corvina taken by Luis in 2016

Perhaps the most rare species taken at the pier was a Pacific tripletail (Lobotes pacificus) taken in early October 2014. Typically found in the Sea of Cortez, and along the Pacific coast of Baja California south of Guerrero Negro, only a few of the fish have ever been taken in California waters. As evidence of the warm waters in 2014, another tripletail was taken in San Diego Bay in August of the same year.

Pacific Tripletail — 2014 (Picture courtesy of Oceanside Pier Bait Shop)

Bonefish have also made occasional appearances. Bonefish were taken in February of ’01 and August 2007 but an earlier report from 1963 showed an even greater catch of the elusive bonefish:

John E. Fitch, research director of the DFG Marine Resources Operations on Terminal Island {reports} fishermen have been catching from one to a half-dozen bonefish daily off the Oceanside Pier. Either there has been a successful catch in our waters in recent years or these fish have wandered north with a tongue of warm water in late September and October.

—Donnell Culpepper, Fishin’ Around, Long Beach Press-Telegram, November 13, 1963

A striped bass taken by Jeff in 2017 (Photo courtesy of Oceanside Pier Bait Shop)

 An unusual fish due to its was a 9-pound kelp (calico) bass caught by a neophyte angler in October of ’02. He rented a pole, bought some frozen squid, and came back to the bait shop a short time later with the huge calico. Most anglers will fish a lifetime from a pier and never catch a 9-pounder (in fact, it’s a pretty good calico even from a boat).

Salema can be very common out toward the end in mid-depth water. They look somewhat like a miniature version of a striped bass although more colorful.

A fish that was becoming rare, and was considered endangered just a decade or so ago, is the giant (black) sea bass, a Goliath of the sea that never fails to startle pier fishermen used to the smaller species. The earliest PFIC reports of a giant sea bass capture at Oceanside was a 143-pound fish that was hooked on Memorial Day Weekend in 1997. Three drops of a treble hook gaff were needed to snag the fish and then four people were needed to haul it up onto the pier. These bass are of course illegal and the smart move would have been to simply cut the line when the angler saw what it was. Instead, the determined angler headed up the pier dragging his catch behind him—only to meet a game warden coming down the pier. It was a TRULY DUMB act since the fine is around $2,000.

Then, in the fall of 2002, several were taken during September and October—including one that most of the regulars said would have topped 200 pounds if not released. May of 2003 saw a fish estimated at 150 pounds, a “giant” fish was caught on July 4, 2008, and a fish estimated at 200 pounds was seen in early June 2009. That fish was hooked on heavy line and wound up tangling the line around the pier’s pilings. Eventually the bait shop was able to contact lifeguards who swam out to the fish and cut the line allowing it to swim free (nice job!).

Today there are almost regular reports of anglers hooking the large bass at the pier and occasional stories of knuckleheads who think they should keep them. In response, Fish and Game “sting operations” are run fairly often at the pier so don’t join that group of knuckleheads.

Humboldt Squid — 2007

Another giant, although of a quite different species, is the Humboldt squid and every few years will see a run of the large cephalopods at the pier. One such run, although short lived, took place in May 2007 and resulted in the usual crowds and excited anglers hooking the large (up to around 30 pound) squid. A cousin cephalopod, although of a much more diminutive size, are the small octopus that are sometimes encountered while fishing at night from the end section, especially in the winter months.

One final non-fish catch that I find interesting was a tropical turtle that was caught by a startled angler on July 4, 2000. The creature was netted, the hook removed, and the big fellow (or girl?) was gently lowered back down to the sea.

A whale “shooting the pier” on January 1, 2018 (Photo courtesy of Oceanside Pier Bait Shop)

Although never landed, quite a few whales have been hooked over the years when they decided to swim between the pilings.

Persevering twins reap late reward of one giant lobster

It was another marathon Saturday with dad, starting with a 6:30 a.m. tee time and finishing at midnight at the Oceanside Pier. But it turned into a very special day for Blake and Garett Spencer, a pair of 9-year-old twins who teamed with their father, Todd, to catch a lobster of a lifetime.

“Saturday is my day with the boys, and we started with 18 holes at Temeku (Golf Course),” said Escondido’s Todd Spencer, manager of a collection agency. From there, it was on to Oceanside Pier for some hoop-netting for lobsters, an activity the boys later told their dad they’d pick over playing video games.

“This was only our second time hoop-netting,” Spencer said. “We went at the end of last season and fished off Ocean Beach Pier. We didn’t get anything, but the boys loved it.”

Last Friday, the boys asked their father: “When are we going lobster hunting again? Spencer promised they’d go after his golf outing the next day. They packed their rig with items that don’t necessarily go together like ham and eggs: dad’s golf bag and gear, a couple of hoop nets and 2 1/2 pounds of mackerel for lobster bait.

Golf and hoop-netting, an outdoorsman’s daily double, for sure.  Golfing done, Spencer said they arrived at the Oceanside Pier at 6 p.m. and started fishing the windward side of the pier. “We were the only ones with hoop nets, and I was beginning to think the Oceanside Pier wasn’t the right place to hoop-net for lobsters,” Spencer said.

He turned to his boys after a few hours of not getting anything and asked them, “Would you guys rather be home with your new X-Box games, or would you rather be out here on the pier fishing and not catching anything?” They chose being on the pier over playing video games. This was more fun, and besides, it was quality time outside with dad. “That made me feel pretty good,” Spencer said. “I’m from Northern California. I grew up in the foothills of Yosemite, out in the country. My kids are city kids, but they have the same interests I have. They love being outdoors.”

Shortly after their talk, Spencer switched to the leeward side of the pier, and the change produced two short lobsters, each about 1/4-inch short, just after 10 p.m. They sent them back like good sportsmen. Another pick of the net produced a giant spider crab, about a 6- or 7-pounder, Spencer said. He was about to throw it back, but a man told him to keep it because it was very good eating.

“It looked nasty, but he said it was good,” Spencer said. “I cooked it later, and it not only looked nasty, it tasted nasty. Next time, it’s going back into the water.” The spider crab provided a thrill to Spencer and his boys, and since it was getting close to midnight, Spencer felt it was time to go.

But then Spencer heard the cry of, “C’mon dad, one more pull, one more pull before we go.” “One more pull” to a hoop-netter is what “one more cast” is to a fisherman, what “one more shot” is to a bird hunter. Spencer gave in. They made a set, left it for a while and made one more pull.

“It was the last pull of the night,” Spencer said. And what a pull. As the net came up, Spencer and his boys couldn’t believe their eyes. There in the net was what Spencer later called the “mutant lobster.” He never weighed the giant crustacean, but, including its antennae, the giant bug was at least 46 inches long, nearly as tall as his boys, who are 56 inches tall. He estimated it at 15 pounds.

California spiny lobsters have been known to go as high as 25 to 30 pounds. Biologists figure a lobster that big could be anywhere from 50 to 150 years old.

“I have a friend who dives, and he’s saying it’s a minimum of 15 pounds,” Spencer said. “I wish now I would have taken it to a supermarket or somewhere and weighed it,”

Spencer and his boys celebrated the next day with a lobster feast. “You know how people say the big old lobsters are tough and not good eating,” Spencer said. “That’s not so. This lobster was tender and sweet. Really god eating.”

Looking back, Spencer said he likely would have quit around 9 p.m. had the boys chosen to go home to play video games. “It was all because they wanted to stay,” Spencer said. “It was our day out. And what a fantastic day.”

—Ed Zieralski, Outdoors, San Diego Union-Tribune, October 20, 2002

E-Mail Messages — A Bakers Dozen

Date: November 14, 1999; To: Pier Fishing In California Message Board; From: VincentC; Subject: Oceanside pier fishing report

Went to Oceanside today. I caught 1 legal halibut near the surf line but let it go; was 22” even anyway. Caught 1 corbina, 5 yellowfin croaker, 2 spotfin croaker, and 1 walleye surfperch. One guy caught a bonefish. I was positively sure it was a bonefish. He said he caught it near the surf line on bloodworms. How can that be possible? Another guy caught a 20-pound bat ray on a Lucky Lura out at the end!!

Date: February 22, 2001; To: Ken Jones;  From: Fishermanchuk (Chuk Stoianovici); Subject: The bonefish I caught at Oceanside Pier

On 2/19 my friends and I were fishing at the Oceanside Pier. At 7:23 we caught a 13-inch bonefish using a chunk of mackerel. I know you’re a big fish fan so I wanted to let you know.

Date: December 20, 2001; To: PFIC Message Board; From: jllgzt; Subject: Oceanside Pier

Two teenagers pulled up a 28-inch halibut off of the Oceanside Pier on 12/15/01, it was caught under the pier at the north west corner behind their restaurant. Three weeks ago a giant black sea bass around 4 feet was pulled up from the same area. Fishing is slow, but there are still some gems here and there off of the Oceanside Pier.

Date: January 13, 2002; To: PFIC Message Board; From: Needlefish; Subject: Oceanside Pier

I fished the pier yesterday from about 1:00 to 4:00 pm. It was mobbed. I did alright on the south-facing side of the pier, caught a short (15” ?) halibut on plastic (clear redflake 3” grub with a 1/2 oz head) and a lizardfish on squid. I thought I would be clever and use the lizardfish as live bait. Nothing hit it…hey I didn’t even want to touch it. That is one ugly fish. The lizardfish hung me up on something and that cost me a rig. I seem to remember (too late) they like to burrow into holes and crevices and structure etc. Back to the plastic… caught a short sand bass on the north facing side of the pier, jigging the grub between the pilings. Then on the south side again I got a nice halibut (looked to be around 20” or so) on the grub but I didn’t have my net and the hook must have ripped out halfway up the pier after a really great fight on 6 lb. test. Elsewhere on the pier not a whole lot was going on…  A few cats on the end of the pier got a short white seabass and a nice sculpin. I think they were using live bait. The inshore mussel soakers weren’t getting anything as far as I could tell. So I hope this helps. I would say fish way out near the end on the south facing side and have a few different baits and lures to try. Still, great people watching, lots of pretty girls and beautiful weather… how can you go wrong?

29-inch halibut caught in 2011

Date: July 12, 2002; To: PFIC Message Board; From: caliasian909; Subject: Tight lines, friends (in reply to Fishing at Oceanside)

I fish Oceanside Pier about 2 to 3 times a week. I’m not sure about the open ocean fishing on a boat, but the pier does really well. Even rare occurrences of the Giant Black Sea Bass are hooked. Two weeks ago one was caught at the end of the southeast corner and a MONSTER was caught early this morning (around 2:30am, July 12) at the end of the northwest corner. I caught 2 shovelnoses, 36” and 48”, using chunks of herring. Best fishing in my opinion is at the end and I noticed some boats right out of the casting range. From what I understand, there seems to be some sort of reef out there… who knows?

Date: July 19, 2002; To: PFIC Message Board; From: caliasian909; Subject: Oceanside Pier — July 18-19

Well what can I say? I am forever addicted to fishing and this pier is one to give thanks to!! Okay, here’s the report. I got to the pier around 11:00pm Thursday night and fished until 4am Friday morning. I fished the southeast corner at the end all night. Total fish count: 4 Shovelnoses (one nice 4-footer!); 1 9.5”-Sculpin (released); 4 HUGE HITS that I choked on!! I must have not set the hook right!!

My Buddy got— 3 Shovelnoses (one fatty!); 2 baby Kelp (Sand) Bass (I mean baby’s!! like 2” and 3” in length!!); Too many macs and croakers to count.

Around me people were catching the regular sort too… mackerel, croaker, bass (all undersized). There was one odd sighting though. Giant Squid in large schools invaded the pier. People who had their squid jigs were catching them from 1am till I left. They were pretty nice too… one was given to me that was about 2’ long. Though there wasn’t as much variety of fish as I wish there were that night, Shovelnoses were hitting all night. If you’ve never fished Oceanside Pier, you have to try it. It’s awesome there. The people are nice, the waters clean, the surroundings are quiet, all positive in my opinion… but then again I fish late nights/early mornings. Happy Fishing!!

 Date: July 23, 2002; To: PFIC Message Board; From: Stuman; Subject: Oceanside pier/squid

I went at 9:30 pm Monday night. I didn’t fish but I did observe a lot of others fishing. In the surf zone there were several good anglers with 5-10 fish (yellowfin, spotfin, and corbina). Most were caught on mussel. At the end of the pier they were catching some small mackerel and some 2-ft squid. I was at the end of the pier for 30 min and saw about 6 squid come over the rail. I think without the full moon they would have been more attracted to the lights. They said on Friday they landed about 70 squid. Also, saw one nice sized bat ray hooked but not landed. Another shovelnose was lying near a bucket.

Date: May 31, 2003; To: PFIC Message Board; From: charliethetuna; Subject: Oceanside report

Hey fellow pier pier rats, I hit Oceanside pier today and it wasn’t very productive. However there were two nice fish taken in by other people. A guy managed to pull in whopping 150-lb. Black Sea and then shortly released it  (Biggest damn fish I’ve ever seen in my life). Another guy managed to pull in a 24-in halibut with live smelt. It took the black sea bass guy 30 mins to reel the fish in it was the most insane battle I’ve seen on a spinning reel. I managed to pull in three 16” jacksmelt, and three small croakers.

Date: October 1, 2003; To: PFIC Message Board; From: Mikey; Subject: Oceanside Pier 10/01

Well, looks like the boneheads might be making a late run this year. I took a walk this afternoon to shoot the bull with some of the regulars. I didn’t see any bonito caught, but heard the guys say they caught a few fish earlier — maybe 3-lbs or so. Also, talked to a guy that landed a yellowtail (yeah, that’s right) on the end fishing for bonito. I saw the yellow — he was a good 8-lbs. Also, while I was there, there were plenty of mackerel, and boils from what I’m pretty sure were yellowtail — just too big to be mullet, and chasing baitfish.

Date: August 23, 2004; To: PFIC Message Board; From: carlsbadsvt; Subject: Oceanside Pier

I hit the O-Side Pier with my two sons today and had what I felt was an amazing day. We arrived at the pier at 9:30am and intended to only stay for a few hours. We headed to the very end of the pier behind Ruby’s. I do not know all the technical jargon yet, but I will try to describe what we were using. We tied a 2oz. round sinker to the main line, then used an artificial minnow crank bait app. 4 feet below that. On our very first cast, we caught an 18-in bonito that weighed app. 3lbs. I didn’t have a scale, but will pick one up before next time out. Between 10am and 2pm we didn’t go more than 2 casts without catching a bonito. They ranged between 12 and 18inches. At app. 12:30pm my knot came undone and we lost our incredibly lucky little minnow, so we switched to the same rig and a silver/blue spoon. Retrieval was a steady medium speed. We were not nearly as lucky with this rig, but seemed to catch bigger fish. Since it was my very first day pier fishing, and my son’s first time fishing outside of trout fishing in Montana, we were all very happy! Every fish with the exception of one was released, there was one fish (app. 14-inches) very early on that devoured the lure and was pretty much dead but the time I got it out. It was given to the couple next to us.  On a sour note, we did see MANY people who were taking BUCKETS of bonito out, many of which appeared to be under 12 inches. I didn’t understand the reason for this, and we didn’t see a Fish and Gamer guy all day. Things we learned on our first day out… SUNSCREEN is a must, snacks are a must if you have kids with you, get more minnow crank baits, take camera, and did I say USE SUNSCREEN??? Sorry if this was too emotional and not informative enough, I’m just a little jazzed right now! My sons have been bouncing off the walls since their first hookup!

 Date: August 25, 2004; To: PFIC Message Board; From: carlsbadsvt; Subject: Oceanside Pier 08/25/04

Quick report. My sons and I went back to O Side pier today. Got out around 11:30 and went straight to the same spot we had so much luck two days ago (the first bench past the rest rooms). We decided to do a little experimenting, so instead of the sinker, we tied on a golf ball that I had rigged up last night. We rigged app. 5 feet of 25-pound test after the golf ball and tied on another lucky Rapala (3 inch silver. red minnow with small bill). First toss, BAMB an 18.5-inch bonito weighing just over 5 pounds. It caught me off guard because it hit as soon as the lure hit the water. I didn’t even crank the reel one time and the fight was on. During the next two hours, we tried changing the retrieval speed a little and found that a pretty fast and steady retrieval was the most productive. But, on two occasions we allowed the golf ball and lure to sink and then did a really slow steady retrieval and pulled in two small halibut. One measuring 12 inches and the other 13 inches. This was especially exciting, because it was a new species for all three of us! I’m not quite sure what the halibut were doing going after the Rapala (the guy next to us didn’t believe that was what we caught them with…) In total, we caught 21 bonito, one fish that was identified as a croaker (with a huge chunk out of its side) and the two halibut. We had plenty of sunscreen this time, food, soda, and a camera.

Date: November 17, 2004; To: PFIC Message Board; From: rockfisherguy; Subject: Oceanside Pier 11/17 am

Just got back from the pier. Plenty of action on bonito. Interestingly, it seemed like 95% were caught on the southern side, between the sinks and the end. They were really boiling in that area, even jumping completely out of the water occasionally. Looked like everything was working again. Mine all came on jigs. The first on a purple/black 2.5oz Megabait. Luckily he wasn’t hooked bad and was an easy release. I then switched to a green/chrome 2.5 oz Kroc and pinched down the barbs of the treble. I caught six casting into the boils. It was like casting on breaking yellowfin tuna at the Cortez bank. On a couple of casts I’d get hit, pulled on for a few seconds, dropped, then immediately picked up again after a few cranks. Doesn’t get too much better than that! However, I also caught three just jigging the Kroc straight up and down below me. Bonita will try to wrap you around the pilings of the pier, so you have to pull hard if you do this. All fish were released safely except for one that completely ate the Kroc, and I had to wait until he was dead to get the hook out, even with the barbs pinched down. That’s how aggressive these fish are. I gave him to a old guy that kept getting sealed. Speaking of which, there were probably a dozen sea lions and a couple harbor seals making the rounds.  Nice conditions at the pier, 64-degree water, little bit of breeze. Nine bonito in two hours is a nice day by anyone’s standards. Bring at least 15-lb test line, and a reel with a good drag system if you’re gonna throw a jig. I wouldn’t go less than 12-lb with bait. You have to turn the fish and get them up before the seals get to you, and the bonito aren’t too line shy. I was using the mid-size Baitrunner on an old seven foot Berkley big game stick with fresh 17-lb P-Line. It came in handy when I was hanging them right between the pilings below me.

Humboldt Squid — 2007

Date: May 27, 2007; To: PFIC Message Board; From: stuman; Subject:  Sunday squid Oceanside

Walked out on the pier to see if the squid report was true. At 11:30 PM I saw 3 squid on the pier—looked like they were just caught. We watched another angler lose one, before they could drop the net. Saw some free swimming in the water. There were about 20 anglers fishing for the squid.

Pier Fishing In California Fishing Reports — Some old reports, some good, some bad!

May 1997—Charley at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop reports the arrival of warmer water and better fishing. Water temperature hit 64 degrees last week and the fishing exploded. Inshore, anglers are catching barred surfperch, corbina, spotfin croaker and gray smoothhound sharks. The perch and croaker are hitting on fresh mussels or bloodworms while the sharks are hitting on squid. Best spotfin of the past two weeks was a beautiful 9-pound fish that hit on mussels. Further out on the pier, anglers are continuing to pull in bucketful’s of small walleye surfperch and some small-to-medium sized Pacific mackerel. Halibut have also started to bite and a number of keepers have been taken — mostly on live shinerperch or anchovies that have been caught with snag lines. Summer is getting closer!

June 1997—Charley at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop says the water is warming up (70 degrees) and the fishing is getting hot. Top news has been the number of halibut landed along with a lot of big croakers, both spotfin and yellowfin. The halibut are hitting all around the pier with the best bait  being anchovies or live bait that has been snagged; most days are seeing 3-5 keepers. The croakers are hitting inshore and are smacking fresh mussels and bloodworms. Buckets of mackerel are being caught at the end of the pier, most on bait rigs, and they’re running a nice 1-2 pounds in size. White seabass are also being taken out toward the end but almost all are shorts — and make sure you don’t keep them. Finally, although perch fishing is slow, quite a few sculpin (California scorpionfish) are being landed and they’re one of the best tasting pier fish.  Dumb move of the Memorial Day weekend was the capture of a black sea bass weighing around 150 pounds. It took three drops of a treble hook gaff to snag the fish and then four people were needed to haul it up onto the pier. These fish are of course illegal and the smart move would have been to simply cut the line when the angler saw what it was. Instead, the determined angler heading down the pier dragging his catch behind him — only to meet the game warden. A severe fine will be the result; perhaps in the two grand, $2,000 category. TRULY DUMB!!! (By the way, a more positive story concerns a black sea bass taken far to the north in San Francisco Bay. A halibut fisherman (on a boat) pulled in a blackie estimated to weigh about fifty pounds. Deckhands quickly netted the fish, removed the hook, and gently lowered him/her back into the water. That was the right thing to do. Let these fish make a comeback!!!)

Croakers — yellowfin and spotfin

July 1997—Charley at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop reports one of the best runs of bonito in years, both as to numbers and to size of fish. Most of the boneheads are falling to bonito feathers. There’s still a lot of medium size mackerel at the end of the pier and quite a few spotfin croaker, some approaching 5 pounds in size, falling to anglers fishing the shoreline. He says there’s also been a good run of sargo inshore. The spotfin are falling to bloodworms and fresh mussels, the sargo to mussels. Only a few halibut lately as well as some shovelnose guitarfish and bat rays. He says he’s seen 3 bat rays in the last week that averaged 60-70 pounds each.Bonito — Justin’s first fish

August 1997—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop, reports a potpourri of species at the pier. Mackerel are thick out toward the end and anglers have also taken quite a few bonito. Most of the boneheads are running 2-3 pounds but several 6-8 pound fish were also landed. Most of the tuna hit on feathers and spin floats but some have been landed on Krocodile and Kastmaster lures. Inshore, to the mid-pier area, anglers continue to land corbina, yellowfin croaker and spotfin croaker on the bottom. The good sized fish are hitting mainly on bloodworms and fresh mussels — so get some! Action is rounded out by sand bass (on squid or small live bait), illegal size white sea bass, barred surfperch, pileperch and opaleye. Most of the perch are falling to mussels.

September 1997—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop, reports continued good fishing. Leading the list has been a number of large spotfin croaker which have been landed in the inshore areas by anglers using mussels, bloodworms or ghost shrimp. The same area is also producing a lot of nice sized yellowfin croaker — primarily in the evening hours. The mid-pier to end areas are yielding quite a few halibut including 4-5 keepers most days. Out at the end, anglers continue to pull in good numbers of mackerel while bonito do their here one minute, gone the next routine. Most of the bonito that are landed are nice 4-5 pound fish. Most unusual fish recently was a 6-pound sheephead landed on mussels near the bait shop. (I fished the pier for two and a half hours on the morning of August 1st. The visit produced 17 salema and 2 jacksmelt at the far end of the pier, and 3 yellowfin croaker and 1 jacksmelt in the inshore area.)

Date: October 1997—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop, says things are still hopping, although there aren’t the number of fishermen that you found during the summer. Inshore, spotfin croaker and buttermouth perch continue to hit mussels and bloodworms. Further out, from the mid-pier area to the end, there have been huge schools of big sardines (10-12″ range) which have been filling buckets for anglers so inclined. Carl says there are also a lot of sand bass and calico bass (kelp bass) being caught. Seems the life guards are stripping the mussels off the pilings in an attempt to lessen the weight of each in case El Nino storms hit the pier. The food which falls into the water by the removal of the mussels seems to be attracting scads of the tasty bass. Shark action is fair although lots of shovelnose sharks (guitarfish) and quite a few bat rays continue to add excitement. Carl said it was 80 degrees and beautiful the day I called (November 1st) and the water temperature remained a warm 68-69 degrees.

Nice scorpionfish taken by Smithy in 2016

February 1998—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop, says that the water temperature is down to 61 degrees but fish continue to bite. Mackerel are in and out but large schools of jacksmelt seem to offer steady sport. A number of sheephead have also been landed recently, most on ghost shrimp, and almost all out by the end. Both sand bass and kelp bass continue to offer some sport on squid but the corbina and croakers have stopped biting, you can still see them in the shallow-water areas but they’re not hungry. However, barred surfperch are hitting on fresh mussels in the inshore area and a few buttermouth perch (blackperch) are hitting around the pilings. At night a few lobsters continue to be brought in to the pier.

March 1998—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop, says that the water is a pleasant chocolate-brown color, just right for bottling. Unfortunately, the water is also cold and the fishing has plummeted. A few small barred surfperch do continue to be landed on mussels, and there was a decent run on 4-6 foot long leopard sharks last week, but everything else is slow. Most visitors to the pier are sightseers looking at the big waves. The day before I called the waves were up to the roof of the lifeguard shack on the pier, and frightening the brave souls who were dining out at Ruby’s at the end of the pier. Luckily there hasn’t been any real damage done to the pier—knock on wood. Carl said the brown water is caused by mud from the San Luis Rey River which enters into the boat harbor, and shortly thereafter into the ocean, just north of the pier. Carl also said the main road down to the harbor has washed out, a significant event to the people who work at the restaurants and boat landing in the harbor.

May 1998—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle, reports that fishing was slow with a pretty rough ocean (on the first). Anglers were getting a few mackerel and sardines out toward the end of the long pier, and a smattering of croakers and corbina in the inshore area. A few sand bass, calico bass (kelp bass) and halibut were also beginning to be caught out at the end. Most interesting were the catches of sheephead during the month, including a 12-pounder and a 27-pound fish. Most of the sheephead have been landed on shrimp.

April 1999—George, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that the fishing is finally starting to pick up. He says it was the worst winter for fishing he has ever seen but anglers are now starting to pick up good numbers of yellowfin and spotfin croakers in the inshore areas and big shovelnose sharks out at the end of the pier. The shovelnose are running 3-5 feet long and there seems to be a pretty good run.

A BIG spotfin croaker taken in 2016

July 1999—George, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that all Hell has broken loose and the fish have really started to bite. The water temperature jumped up to 66 degrees and corbina, yellowfin, spotfin, bass and halibut have been on a good bite. Its also seeing sharks and rays so it’s a little bit of everything.

August 2000—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), reports that fishing is pretty good. He’s seeing corbina, croaker and perch inshore, while out at the end anglers are getting some BIG mackerel and BONITO. He says the bonito are small “but they’re here” – after being gone for a couple of years.  The bonito are taken on feathers and spin floats. Unusual catches recently included a 27” striped bass caught in the surf area and a turtle that was brought in and released on July 4. He says there are also lots of small sharks.

November 2000—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), reports that fishing has slowed somewhat with the advent of cold and windy weather. However, there have been some interesting catches recently. As example, there was a good run of spotfin croaker inshore toward the end of the month and some barred surfperch have begun to enter into the picture. Out at the end of the pier there have quite a few opaleye perch taken on mussels together with several nice sheephead (including a 23” and 24” fish). Mackerel are still around but not in the numbers seen recently.  Carl says it has been dead on sharks and rays.

May 2001—Dan, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), reports that anglers are picking up yellowfin and spotfin croaker while working the surf areas along with a few barred surfperch. Try fresh mussels, ghost shrimp or bloodworms. Mid-pier to the end, the action’s been mostly on walleye surfperch and smallish-sized mackerel. What wasn’t small was a 150+pound bat ray taken on Sunday. Unfortunately the fish was pretty carved up by the time they got it onto the pier, Dan says the water is still a cold 60 degrees.

Tony the Tiger says “Fresh mussels are GREAT”

November 2001—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that mackerel and bonito are being caught – most of the boneheads on ball and feather set ups.   A few bass and halibut are showing up in the mid-pier area while some BIG spotfin croakers and small corbina have been taken inshore. He’s also starting to see a few sargo and barred surfperch so perch season may be fairly close at hand.

February 2002—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that things are slower than slow. He says it has been too cold for the fishermen (the pier was covered in frost one morning this week) and the ones who do show up aren’t catching much. Mainly it’s walleye surfperch. Hardly anything else.  

May 2002—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says fishing is finally starting to pick up. Says he’s seeing some nice corbina, spotfin croaker and barred surfperch inshore; herring (queenfish) and jacksmelt out at the end. He’s also seen quite a few shovelnose sharks (guitarfish) lately. He did report one bad sign. Seems there is an algea in the water affecting the sea lions and seals. Says there are several sick or dead sea lions on the beach. Lastly, there was a short mini-run of sheephead and scorpionfish out at the end of the pier a couple of weeks ago but they seemed to have stopped

Sunrise, October 2017 (Picture courtesy of Oceanside Pier Bait Shop)

June 2002—George, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that “everything is exploding. People are landing lots of halibut (one guy landed 6 keepers in two days ON FROZEN MUSSELS) while inshore the action is hot on croakers, corbina and stingrays. He’s also seeing lots of bass and increasing numbers of sharks, especially shovelnose (guitarfish). Bait rigs on the end are pulling in quite a few sadines and mackerel are finally starting to show in good numbers” This may be one of the piers to hit now.

September 2002—George, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that the fishing is still very good with lots of spotfin and yellowfin croaker along with some halibut (including a few keepers) and some small white seabass. He says shovelnose are all over the place; around 20-25 a day. No bonito to speak of although a small 8-inch fish was caught this week; mackerel come and go – hot action followed by dead. One thing that is in big numbers is sardines—night and day; use bait rigs. Two final notes: (1) giant squid are making a short appearance most nights and (2) a 20-pound black sea bass was caught this week and finally released after George gave the angler a big warning. Good thing George was there or the guy would have kept it.

Two halibut taken by Mark in 2016

October 2002—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that a 9-pound calico bass (kelp bass) was taken by an angler using squid on 9/29. The fish was caught mid-way out on the pier, just past the restrooms. He also says there have been lots of yellowfin croakers and spotfin croakers taken inshore. At the end anglers are still getting mackerel while anglers fishing on the bottom continue to pull in a fair number of shovelnose sharks (guitarfish).

November 2002—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that things are starting to slow down although some yellowfin and spotfin croakers continue to be caught inshore along with a few barred surfperch. It’s slow further out on the pier although a few mackerel continue to be taken. Biggest news recently was the capture of a 210-pound giant (black) sea bass taken and released by Ben Seto. Don’t know how it was weighed but Carl says they’ve seen 3-4 fairly big giant sea bass in the past two months. He also chuckled over the 9-pound calico (kelp) bass caught by a neophyte angler who rented a pole, bought some frozen squid, and then came back a short time later with the huge calico. Most anglers will fish a lifetime from a pier and never catch a 9-pounder (in fact, it’s a pretty good calico even from a boat).

December 2002—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that with a few exceptions, things are slowing down. There’s been some spotfin croakers showing up along with a few keeper halibut and mackerel – on some days. The macs seem to come and go and you just have to be there when they show up. Of interest was a 20-lb, 32-inch sheephead and two more giant (black) sea bass, both estimated to weigh over 100 pounds. That makes about a half dozen giant sea bass in the past two months topped by the (estimated) 200-pound fish in October.

Wintertime is the time for lobster

February 2003—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that things are very slow, a few jacksmelt, barred surfperch (inshore) and small bass (calicos and sand) out at the end. Biggest news recently was the capture of a 20+ pound sheephead by 12-year-old John Kinsey. He caught the bucktooth creature out at the end of the pier on mussels. The water temperature is only 58 degrees which partly explains the slow fishing.

June 2003—George, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), reports that the fishing has exploded. Inshore there are lots of croaker – spotfins, yellowfins and corbina (although most are in the 2-3 pound range, not any real big fish). Out at the end lots of calicos (kelp bass) are showing up together with some big shovelnose sharks (guitarfish) including one that weighed a little over 25 pounds. In addition, big schools of mackerel and sardines have covered the water on some days.

November 2003—George, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), said it was cold and raining the morning I called BUT fishing had been excellent with LOTS of bonito and mackerel. He said the end of the pier has been like summertime, i.e., crowded. But the bonito haven’t been around for a while so I’m not surprised. George says there are lots of anchovies in the water and they’re bringing in the boneheads and macs – so enjoy it while you can. If seeking out the bonito try feathers with a cast-a-bubble or lures like Krocodiles.  Croaker action has died off as has most bottom action. George says it has been fun watching the dolphins feasting on all the local bait.

May 2004—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that things are still somewhat slow but picking up. A few halibut have been landed (including a 36-inch, 22-pound fish, and a 30-inch, 12 1/2 pound fish). Inshore, anglers are getting a few yellowfin croaker while further out herring (queenfish) and walleye surfperch are more common. Bat rays and shovelnose guitarfish are hitting on the bottom.

September 2004—Charlie, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says a lot of bonito are being taken on live bait, feathers, and top running lures. There is a lot of bait—anchovies and sardines—in the water to attract the boneheads. In addition, he is seeing quite a few sargo (most on fresh mussels) and some huge shovelnose sharks (guitarfish). Inshore there are some yellowfin and spotfin croakers; the croakers are falling to bloodworms, fresh mussels, or shrimp.

October 2004—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), reports continued good action on bonito and mackerel with tons of bait in the water. One angler, Romeo, landed a 40-pound or so halibut using live bait. Many white seabass are also showing up but most are small, illegal fish (usually called sea trout). It’s been a little slow on the inshore croakers.

Halfmoon (left) and Sargo (right) from the pier

November 2004—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), reports fantastic bonito action along with LOTS of short white seabass and mackerel. He’s also seen quite a few bat rays but the action on halibut is slow and the croaker bite is non-existent. Leopard sharks re being taken on squid, sardines and cut mackerel.

August 2005—Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), reports that the red tide has finally bid adieu after its two-month visit and the result is improved fishing—and catching. Out at the end there are many, many mackerel along with a few bonito (caught on feathers w/bubbles). Mid-pier the herring (queenfish) are thick along with a few walleye perch. A few halibut have shown but most are shorts; use live smelt or small queenfish as bait. The surf area continues to kick out some corbina and yellowfin croakers (use bloodworms, fresh mussels or ghost shrimp). It sounds like it’s the time to go!

May 2006—Dino, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says that there has been a really good bite on croakers—yellowfins and spotfins—with many of the spotties hitting 3-5 pounds. Try fresh mussels or ghost shrimp. There’s also been some good perch fishing with a combination of species. Corbina are also picking up—try fresh mussels by the bait shop. A few mackerel are hitting out at the end but the action is sporadic. Biggest news recently was a HUGE bat ray that was supposedly weighed in at 250 pounds; a picture was supposed to be sent to the Oceanside paper. I’d appreciate a copy.

Spotfin Croaker — 2012

June 2006—Charley, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says the fishing has been really good recently. The last week saw a number of BIG spotfins show up led by 6 and 8-pound fish.  There’s also been good numbers of yellowfin croaker and barred surfperch inshore. Out at the end there was a decent run of good-sized 5-6 pound bonito but they apparently have moved on and been replaced by smaller bonito. Most of the bonito were taken on spoons such as Kastmasters and MegaBaits rather than bubbles w/feathers. He said it is slow on halibut. One side note, a lady did commit suicide by jumping off the pier last week and there was a fisht between a fisherman and a surfer. Sounds like  things were busy down there.

October 2006—Charley, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says people continue to pull in good-sized spotfin croaker to about four pounds together with nice yellowfin croaker. He says there are tons of mackerel and lots of bonito but you have to be there when the bonito decide to visit the pier. When they get to the pier just about everyone gets them but they only make a visit a couple of times a day. Other than that it’s mostly perch with almost no halibut showing up. (Snookie always says when the bonito are around you will not catch the halibut).

April 2007—Verg, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says things have slowed somewhat from a few weeks ago. There’s still barred surfperch inshore but lesser numbers of the yellowfin and spotfin croakers. A few shovelnose are being caught along with mackerel they move in for short visits to the pier. Biggest news the day I called was the 100-pound or so giant (black) sea bass that was going up and down the pier in water shallow enough to put on a show. Luckily no one was trying to hook him.

June 2007—Charlie, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle (on the pier), says it’s spotfins, spotfins and more spotfins with many of the fish hitting close to five pounds in size. Best bait according to Charlie are baby mussels but ghost shrimp and worms should also attract them. Other than that it’s pretty slow for most other species although some (Humboldt?) squid are being brought in. Not big numbers but the squid are being taken during both the day and night hours. They range in size to about 5 feet in length

No boats necessary

Dedicated pier patrons are proud and happy to spend their days fishing from California’s shoreline pilings

 Basketball has its gym rats, golf has its range rats and, yes, fishing has its very own pier rats.

They are a special breed of angler, these fanatics who fish from pilings, whether they be concrete or wooden. Pier rats don’t care.

“Our motto is no boats, no kayaks and no freshwater for posts on our board,” said newby pier rat Garth Hansen of Escondido. Their message board is on www.pierfishing.com.

Garth and his daughter Lisa

In his excellent book, “Pier Fishing in California,” Ken Jones, the modern-day Pied Piper of this new breed of pier rat, leads his cult-like followers to 113 piers, including those in the Carquinez Strait (about 20 miles northeast of San Francisco) and West Delta. In his second edition of the book, Jones includes an enlarged fishing-tips section and also details a history of the piers. There’s an entire section on fish identification, and he tops it with a section called “The Pier Rats Speak,” a dozen classic posts from the “Pier Fishing in California” message board on www.pierfishing.com.

At a recent get together at Oceanside Pier, Hansen was joined by John Kim of Carlsbad, Reid Mimaki of San Marcos, Rod Mina of San Diego and Rich Reano, the site’s Web master from Chula Vista, for some early-morning shore fishing followed by a trip to the pier.

Hansen discovered the group while searching the Web one day. “The fishing report is one of the more useful things about the site,” Hansen said. “I’m a beginner, so it helped me with good fishing information and tips. I took my daughter out to the pier the first time. Except for a 16-inch smelt, we got skunked. But since then I’ve landed my first legal halibut, first legal sand bass and way too many croakers.”

Reano fished from the beach early and, like the others, landed a handful of barred surf perch. He used a unique offering, a size 8 Wooly Worm fly with a half-ounce barrel sinker, a standard Carolina rig. Reano has been the group’s Web master since 1997. “We get just over a half million page views a month,” Reano said. “We’re small compared to boards like Allcoast Sportfishing, but for pier fishing, we do OK. We have a narrow focus, but still have a lot of views for that.”

There are 8,000 registered members of the board but, as Reano said, “many more lurking out there.”

Mina said the reports and pictures that pier and shore anglers post make the site valuable to those looking for information, tips and places to fish. “Part of it is people want to educate others about pier and shore fishing, but part of it is people want to brag, too,” Mina said.

The group stresses that all pier and shore fishermen follow Department of Fish and Game regulations, a big issue on the state’s piers. Many pier fishermen are recent immigrants who often plead ignorance on fish and game laws. They have a reputation with other fishermen for taking over-limits and fish or lobsters out of season. “We place a huge emphasis on rules,” Reano said.

Ben Acker and Bryan Burch traveled from Pasadena to join the others for the rare get together last Saturday. Acker, a sixth grade teacher in Arcadia, is a veteran hoop-netter and pier angler. “I have five younger brothers, and my mom said the only thing we could ever do without fighting is fishing and singing,” Acker said. Acker converted an old baby jogger into a fishing pier buggy that he loads all his gear on for an easy trek to a spot along the pier’s rail. As Acker was setting up his gear, a tourist passed by and said: “Do you need a fishing license to fish on a pier?” Acker responded, “No.” And the guy winced and said, “I just lost a $5 bet with this guy because I bet him you needed one.”

Anglers don’t need a fishing license, but knowledge of the shoreline structure under the pier is a huge benefit. And knowing how to rig for the various fish is equally important. “It’s a sharp learning curve, but if someone puts the time in, it’s not that hard to learn,” Acker said.

Acker said piers are the best-kept secret for hoop-netting lobsters. “I’ve probably hoop-netted more lobsters from a pier than I have from my kayak,” said Acker, who has his own special way of lowering his hoop net. He cradles it under his arm and tosses it the way someone would toss a discus. He got a good 30 yards on his toss on this day.

Down the pier from Acker, Daniel Elrod of Lancaster, another bona fide pier rat, displayed his invention, the L-Rodholder that he uses for rods and even a pulley arm for pulling hoop nets up from the depths. He sells them for $45 to $59. “I’m 46 years old and I’ve been pier fishing my whole life,” Elrod said. “My dad started me out when I was young.” Elrod said he visited Ocean Beach Pier during lobster season last year and asked a hoop-netter there if he’d like to sample his pulley arm device for pulling up his net. Elrod said the man hoisted up 30 lobsters in two hours before the men were kicked off because there was an electrical problem on the pier. “It was the middle of the day, too,” Elrod said. “I mean every pull, every 15 minutes, he’d have five, six lobsters in there. It was incredible because they were all keepers (legal-size) except for one.”

Elrod had his 14-year-old son, Kyle, along with him, doing his part to pass on the pier-rat tradition. “I’m on that pierfishing.com site every day,” Elrod said. “It’s an addiction. I like to read what’s going on in Northern, Central and Southern California, and it’s a great place for that. Everyone has their own style of fishing, their own personality. But by knowing what’s going on along the whole coast helps me plan my own fishing trips and excursions.”

Boyd Grant is vice president of United Pier and Shore Anglers of California. He travels in his motorhome and checks on piers. He’s a mobile pier rat with a shell. “I’m a full-time volunteer and field representative,” Grant said. “I drive the entire coastline and check out the beaches and the piers. I have over 30 years of fishing every pier in California.” Grant said one of the other features of www.pierfishing.com is that it includes a link to Ken Adelman’s www.californiacoastline.org. The site offers up-close and updated looks at beach access and fishing areas. Grant called “Pier Fishing in California” author Ken Jones “the best piling fisherman I’ve ever seen.” “When we go to Catalina, we get 20 fish. He catches and releases 200 or more,” Grant said of Jones. “I don’t care where it is. Any pier, any piling. He’s the piling master.” Grant said he loves the entire atmosphere that can usually be found on a fishing pier. “There’s a lot more to pier fishing than just hooking fish,” Grant said. “I’ve found that no matter where in the world we go, when we visit a pier we have so much in common with the people there. Within five minutes, we’re talking like we’ve known each other all our lives.”

As Grant spoke, the Flatt family fished behind him on the north side of the pier. Steven and Melissa Flatt were there with Kalyn, 2. It was a family, glad to join the ranks of the pier rats. “He wanted a fisherman, so Kalyn now is into fishing,” Melissa Flatt said. “This is her first time fishing the pier, but she’s caught bluegill and has fished in Yosemite already.”

—Ed Zieralski, Outdoors, San Diego Union-Tribune, January 22, 2005

Sunset at the pier — 2004

Special Recommendations. A lot of small, undersized (and illegal), white seabass (generally called seatrout by anglers) are caught on this pier. Please return them to the water and help this species once again become a viable resource.  You may also avoid a large fine and the loss of your fishing license!

Note No. 1. At one time the Oceanside Pier had its own Sportfishing operation. One of the old pier items that I have is an unopened package with a wire barracuda leader. The printing on the package states it is from Art & Bill’s Tackle Store and says, “Save a Boat Ride—Drive to Oceanside. McCullah Bros. Sport Fishing, Oceanside Pier.” For reservations, one simply called Oceanside 4467. I’m not sure of the date of this package, it could have been anywhere from the thirties to the fifties.

Note No. 2. Two major surf competitions take place adjacent to the pier in June—the West Coast Pro-Am and the National Scholastic Surf Association—and parking can be pretty gnarly. If you plan to fish the pier on those weekends (check the newspapers for dates) get there early.

A beautiful sunrise in January 2018 (Photo courtesy of Oceanside Pier Bait Shop)

Note No. 3.  Did you know that the Oceanside Pier is seen in the movie Bring It On?

Note No. 4.  Fishing at a pier can teach many lessons about life. Here we’re presented the age-old question: Is a fish story really a lie?

Not all the sharks are big ‘uns. This is a baby leopard shark.

We Get Hooked on Fish Story

Carlsbad, Calif.—There has been some fishing and some lying, none of it too successful. As is customary, we visit the Oceanside pier from time to time while on vacation here to (as I believe they say it) wet a line, but mainly, I think, to get hot chocolate and doughnuts at the end of the pier. ,

The fishing is secondary. It is nice that way. It’s regulars, the old folks who settle down for the day with sack lunches, folding chairs and battered straw hats, put their lines in, but they are there to visit and take the sun and breeze. Mine just happen to take the hot chocolate.

The sports congregate at the end of the pier, probably 1,000 yards out from shore, and they are elbow to elbow and intense and want the fish to bile. One old girl, about an ax handle across the stern, seemed to be the star performer out there the other day.

She was dressed in jaded blue overalls, with a man’s blue workshirt bnttoncd at the neck, canvas shoes and a wide straw hat with the trailing edges reaching her shoulders. Probably she was in her ‘70’s but she whooped and hollered every time she pulled in a fish and she truly seemed to have the touch.

As I walked by from the end of the pier with a black coffee “to go,” her pole bent sharply again, waving, and she warhooped again.

Well, this is the serious fishing spot, and I suppose that it is because it is farthest from land, but you can’t fool ‘em about halfway out in. I have caught halibut there, and mackerel, tomcod, rays and small sharks, but the best thing to do is visit the small fish market located there.

The children got bored the other day after about 15 minutes and left me with the poles while they trooped out for chocolate

“Give me two bonitas, please,” I asked the young fellow behind the counter. I dropped them in my sack.

And I was standing there, looking rather unconcerned, line in the water, when they came back and asked what was in the sack.

I told them to look. “Gee, did you catch those?” the young fellow yelled. “He bought them at the fish market,” his slightly older and wiser sister stated. “Let’s tell them we caught them when we get home.”… her brother was enthused with the plan. “Yeah.” He said. “You caught one and I caught one. I get to carry the sack”…

Parents are supposed to teach their children that lying is dreadful, leaving them to pick it up as they mature. “This is not really lying.” I told them, and they nodded.  “This is what they call a fish story, and it is different.” They nodded again.

They went roaring into the house when we got home, displaying their trophies. The big girl looked up from her book. “You bought those at the pier, didn’t you?” she queried, “Yes,” I said. What a know-it-all.

—Bill Sumner, Vacation Report, Pasadena Independent, August 17, 1961

Oceanside’s beach — 2008

Note No. 5.  A good pier article is always welcome

Oceanside pier attracts all ‘walks of life’

OCEANSIDE —- When Rico Nguen moved to Escondido from Texas, one of the first things he wanted to do was to check out the fabled Southern California beach scene a few miles to the west. A town with a name like Oceanside had to be a good place to start, he figured. But when he got here, it wasn’t the sand or the surf that struck his fancy—it was the pier.

“I’d never been to California before I moved here, so I figured I should take advantage of it,” Nguen said this week while supervising his girlfriend’s 11-year-old son, who was casting his first fishing lines into the surf 40 feet below. “It’s nice to come out here and relax.”

Ten-year-old Dale Wuehler of Vista tosses a hungry pelican a fish that he caught as his sister Tina Ayers, 22, watches while on the Oceanside Municipal Pier.

The Doull family of Fallbrook, from left, Brittney, 11, Shane, his wife Nina, and Cayla, 9, gets splashed by the surf as they have a family portrait taken next to the Oceanside Municipal Pier by wedding photographer Andrea Welding on Sunday.

Victor Estrada of Vista drops a bat ray back into the ocean after he caught it while fishing at the end of the Oceanside Municipal Pier on Sunday.

Chris Miller, Nguen’s charge for the day, wasn’t there to relax. He was bumming baitfish from a fellow fisherman while simultaneously setting a line and trying in vain to pet a seagull. He was too busy to talk, but acknowledged with a chuckle that, yes, catching a shark would be pretty cool.

The Oceanside Municipal Fishing Pier stretches 1,954 feet into the sea, providing about 1 million tourists per year with an expansive view and lost souls with the temporal satisfaction that, for the moment, there’s nowhere else to go.

If Oceanside has a symbol, the pier would have to be it.

On a clear day, the pier is visible from La Jolla on the south to well into Orange County on the north. It’s even easier to see at night, when the rows of Victorian-style streetlights—pierlights?—turn the utilitarian structure into a ribbon of lights leading into the misty dark. There’s nothing except a restaurant at the end of the ribbon, but that only urges visitors onward. Some mumble to themselves. Most take pictures.

“The pier gives visitors a unique perspective on the California coastline,” said Mike Francis, director of tourism for the California Welcome Center’s Oceanside branch. “It was always a central point for me and my friends when we were growing up. That’s where we went to meet people who weren’t from here.” …

Ruby’s runs a shuttle—an extended golf cart—from the shore to the restaurant, allowing customers to keep their new calories for just 50 cents, rather than walk some of them off in the salt air. It’s a very popular service, judging by the number of people clambering off and on at each end.

Maintaining the pier comes with its own challenges. Topside, seagull droppings and fish guts must be hosed off constantly. The railings were recently replaced because years of bait-cutting had permanently rutted their surface. And slats in the fence featuring the names of people who paid $25 in 1988 for the honor of being displayed on the pier have to be replaced or, at least, re-carved from time to time due to weather and because the legally carved names tend to attract illegal imitators, said John Shepard, the pier’s only full-time maintenance worker.

Things get a little trickier underneath, Shepard explained. The pier was built without a catwalk, so Shepard has to borrow a few colleagues from elsewhere on the city’s harbor payroll to help set up scaffolding so he can inspect the wooden pylons and steel braces that support the structure. It’s a long process. In his 15 years on the job, Shepard has been out and back beneath the pier just three times, he said.

Shepard is currently gearing up for his annual ritual of intensive bottom-side maintenance. The pier attracts fewer visitors in the winter, resulting in less wear and tear up top. That gives him more time to prowl below.

“Right now, we’re stripping the accumulation of mussels off the pylons because they increase resistance in rough weather,” Shepard said. “Mostly, I grind rust off braces and coat them with zinc and tar. I have to replace them occasionally, which takes four or five guys. I only replace deck boards when it’s absolutely necessary. They’re 24 feet long, and that’s a whole tree.”

“I love my job. People from all walks of life make the trek to the end of the pier. The furthest you can go west is our pier. People who feel lost, and who are looking for something, they always come out. They can’t go any further.”

 —John Flink, North County Times, December 1, 2002

Headin’ out to the pier — 2008

Note No. 6.  Having friends who are elderly and disabled I can easily see the need for trams at some of the larger piers, especially those with wooden planks. On the other hand, it is economically feasible?

Condition of Oceanside pier raises concerns — Without a tram, visits tough for some people

Oceanside—The Municipal Fishing Pier is the longest wooden recreation pier on the West Coast, but it is too long and its wooden planks are too uneven for many elderly and disabled to enjoy.

“It’s always a bumpy ride, let me tell you that,” said Jackie Camp, who uses a wheelchair. Camp is director of Able/Disabled, a nonprofit service and advocacy agency.

Longtime Oceanside resident Patte Prentiss said the planks are too bumpy for her frail husband, so he no longer can enjoy one of his few pleasures in life, fishing off the pier during mackerel and bonito season. Prentiss said her husband, Gerald, 76, was almost in tears from fear his scooter chair would turn over the last time she tried to wheel him down the pier. She wants the tram that used to traverse the pier returned to service.

“They have to find a way,” Prentiss said. “It’s our pier. We paid for the pier. We can’t use it.”

Until a couple of years ago, the four-seat tram was operated by Ruby’s Diner, a restaurant perched at the end of the pier. The tram, which resembled an oversized golf cart, took passengers for a 50-cent fee. Camp said no one has contacted her organization to protest the pier’s condition or the elimination of tram service. City officials have asked Camp to meet with Frank Quan from the city Department of Harbor and Beaches on Tuesday to demonstrate difficulties wheelchair users may have accessing the pier.

City officials experimented with a rickshaw on the pier Friday, said Councilwoman Shari Mackin, and they planned to repeat the trial yesterday.

While some decry the elimination of tram service, Dolores Skolimowska, who uses a motorized scooter chair, said the tram really wasn’t the answer because it could not accommodate wheelchairs. Skolimowska said she navigates the pier with her scooter “very slowly, very carefully.” “It is very rough,” Skolimowska said. “But I can make it.”

City Attorney John Mullen said Ruby’s operated the tram until former City Manager Steve Jepsen allowed it to discontinue service a couple of years ago because of the financial hardship to the restaurant. “We wanted to operate it,” said Ruby’s general manager Chris Jones. “We did not want to get rid of it.”

Jones said that city officials told Ruby’s that it had to buy a public-transportation license and provide insurance as a public carrier. That was too expensive for a four-person tram. The restaurant had run the small tram from a public parking lot on the east side of Pacific Street down the 1,942-foot-long pier since it opened in 1996.

Most people thought it was required to do so. Mullen said the contract signed with the city in 1996 was “not a model of clarity.” It states that the city shall provide two tram vehicles and the lessee (Ruby’s) shall pay the costs of maintaining them, including the driver and necessary insurance. The city was to pick up half the cost as a credit against the rent the restaurant paid the city. The rent is a flat fee, now $87,500, plus a percentage of profits. Mullen said the contract did not say how often the tram was to run. While Mullen and city officials debate how the tram came to be sidelined, older and disabled residents say they still can’t get down the pier and would like to do so.

Don Hadley, city director of harbor and beaches, said the city still owns the tram and has asked Ruby’s to use it as much as possible to take supplies to the restaurant instead of driving heavier vehicles on the pier.

The pier predates many laws about disabled access…

“It’s one of my highest priorities right now to get access to the pier,” Interim City Manager Barry Martin said Friday, adding that “we’re looking at several possibilities,” ranging from pedicabs to a return of the tram.

Prentiss said she wondered why the city couldn’t just put a 3-foot-wide asphalt strip over the wooden planks to provide a smoother surface for wheelchairs or unsteady walkers. Hadley said the city has rejected that idea because asphalt destroys wood, although the damage often can’t be seen.

Mackin is pushing for an answer because her own octogenarian father, George Thornton, finding no tram, attempted to walk to Ruby’s for lunch a couple of years ago and found the trudge too hard on his heart. He needed medication and a lift off the pier from lifeguards. “How terrible was that?” Mackin said. “Scary.”

San Diego Union-Tribune, July 9, 2006

You do not need a license on a public pier in California

Note No. 7.  Competition for space between pier anglers and surfers is an ongoing problem that just doesn’t seem to end. The Oceanside Pier is one of the piers entangled in the war.

 Face-off at Oceanside Pier — City tries to ease tension after anglers, surfers fight

Oceanside—Adam Beutz sometimes packs scissors in the sleeve of his wet suit when he paddles out to surf at the Oceanside Pier. The scissors come in handy when he needs to cut through someone’s fishing line.

Adam, 16, a Vista High School junior, has been surfing the pier for several years, and he has been snagged by fish hooks and tangled in fishing lines more times than he cares to count. On Memorial Day, after Adam was forced to free himself from a line by gnawing through it with his teeth, he and his friends got into an argument with the fisherman who cast the lure, leading to a fight on the beach.

Such is life at the Oceanside Pier, where surfers and anglers have jostled and sparred for decades over who has rights to the same small swath of ocean. Now Oceanside is studying its ordinances to see if anything can be done to reduce tensions between the two factions.

At 1,954 feet in length, the Oceanside Pier is the longest wooden pier on the West Coast. Dozens of anglers line its edges on any given day, their bait buckets filled with mussels and squid, their rods dangling over the frothing surf. The croakers that swim in the shallows are a particularly popular catch. “They melt in your mouth when you cook ‘em,” said Zack Oller, 46, an Oceanside construction worker who fishes at the pier several times a week.

Surfers say the pier produces one of the best waves in North County. With every big swell comes a steady supply of barreling water. Although a local ordinance requires surfers to stay at least 100 feet away from each side of the pier, the best place to catch a wave is often at the edge of the pilings—a temptation too great for many surfers to resist.

“When the wave is good there, it’s really good,” said Scott Prestie, 44, a surfer who happens to be a captain with the Oceanside Fire Department. “It’s just something you can’t pass up.”

When the waves are pumping, surfers head out in droves, even if they have to navigate a forest of dangling fishing lines. When paddling from shore, they tend to stay as close to the pier as possible to get the benefit of a rip current near the pilings.     Arguments are a daily occurrence. Surfers say anglers purposely cast in their direction. Fishermen accuse surfers of deliberately slicing their lines. “They’re all over the place, like flies,” fisherman Bob Sugita, a Vista security guard, said one recent morning, standing on the pier and motioning toward the surfers bobbing in the waves below.

Nate Pitcher, 25, said he nearly came to blows with an angler who hooked his wet suit and yanked him off his board. Pitcher paddled to shore to confront the fisherman but backed off when the man pulled out a fishing knife. “It’s an everyday problem,” Pitcher said of the tension between the two groups.

Open hostility between surfers and anglers long has been an issue at many piers in Southern California, although Oceanside’s problem appears to be the worst in San Diego County. At Imperial Beach, surfers routinely ignore the ordinance that requires them to stay at least 20 feet from the pier. In 2003, partly out of concern for the safety of surfers, the Imperial Beach City Council banned bow-and-arrow fishing on the pier. At the Ocean Beach pier, surfers are supposed to maintain a distance of at least 75 feet, but they often disregard the rule so they can “shoot” the pier, meaning surf underneath it from one side to the other. Conflicts at the Ocean Beach pier are rare because anglers fish the deeper water, while surfers catch waves closer to shore, said San Diego lifeguard Lt. John Greenhalgh.

Over the years, Oceanside officials have considered and rejected a number of proposals to remedy the problem, none of them particularly practical or safe. One idea—using buoys to create a demarcation line—would pose a danger to surfers because their leashes could become tangled in the buoys.

At the Sept. 28 meeting of the city’s Harbor and Beaches Advisory Committee, Oceanside lifeguard manager Ray Duncan said he would study the problem and see whether the situation could be improved. The city could increase the buffer zone to 200 feet, Duncan said, or pass an ordinance mandating that anglers and surfers use the water on alternating days. Commission members seemed reluctant to make such drastic changes.

Many surfers say the city should restrict fishing to the outer half of the pier, which would ease tensions because the best waves are closer to shore. Perhaps not surprisingly, the anglers say that proposal is ridiculous. The best croaker fishing is close to shore, they say. They point out that the pier—which was built in 1925 and significantly expanded in the 1980s—was constructed specifically for anglers. Its official name is the “Oceanside Municipal Fishing Pier.”

It was the Memorial Day fracas involving Adam Beutz, his friends and some irate anglers that prompted city officials to take a fresh look at the problem. Even before the confrontation, the Vista High student said, his patience with the anglers had been wearing thin. The previous year, Adam had been hooked by three lines at once, with one barb digging so deep into his toe that he had to paddle back to shore to get it removed.

On Memorial Day, Adam was hooked again, leading to the argument with the fishermen. Before long, one of Adam’s buddies was standing on the beach, exchanging punches with one of the anglers. By all accounts, Adam’s friend got the worst of the fight. Police didn’t file any charges, partly because witnesses gave differing accounts of what happened.

“Half of them said it was the surfers’ fault, half of them said it was the fishermen’s fault,” Oceanside police Sgt. Sean Sullivan said.

Carolyn Krammer, a local real estate agent who runs the annual Surf for the Sea competition at the pier, said she doubts the problem will ever go away. The two groups have been at each other’s throats for years, Krammer said. In the old days, anglers would stand on the pier and toss bottles and cans at the surfers below. “I’ve seen guys up there just laughing away,” Krammer said. “They try to hook you, like you’re a fish.”

Oller, who has been fishing the pier for two decades, insists it is the surfers who instigate most arguments, yelling and cursing at the anglers above. Even though he has been screamed at more times than he can remember, Oller said he always resists the temptation to cast his line in a surfer’s direction. “I wouldn’t know how to fillet one of those,” Oller said.

—Charlie Neuman, San Diego Union-Tribune, October 8, 2006

Hope a big one doesn’t bite!

History Note. Oceanside was founded in 1883. Just five years later, in March of 1888, a wharf company was formed and on May 12, 1888, the first piling was driven for the new pier. That pier was located at the foot of Couts Street (today’s Wisconsin Street) and locals say that at low tide a person can still see some of the pilings from that original pier. The American Bridge Company from San Francisco handled construction, and the costs were largely paid for by subscription pledges from people hoping to make a buck. Promoters of the wharf felt Oceanside could rival San Francisco or Los Angeles—if the city had a wharf. Work started but slowed almost immediately. There were lawsuits, unpaid subscriptions, delays and damage from storms.

In December of 1888 a huge storm tore away several planks from the pier and washed lumber down the coast. Records seem a little hazy, but the all-wooden pier, the southernmost oceanfront wharf in the state, continued construction. By August of 1889 Oceanside asked citizens to raise a final $4,000 and promised completion of the wharf in 40 days. It’s unclear if the pier actually met its goal of extending out more than 1,200 feet into the blue Pacific. It is known that winter storms first reduced the wharf to a length of 940 feet before a storm in December of 1890 destroyed all but 300 feet of the pier.

 Oceanside’s Wharf Wrecked by Heavy Seas — A New Iron Pier Will Replace the Old Structure

 By Telegraph to the Times

Oceanside (Cal.,) Jan. 1—[By the Associated Press] The heavy west wind which prevailed on Tuesday night swept the wharf ashore, with the exception of about 300 feet. Work was commenced on it May 12, 1888, and suspended August 13, 1888. The wharf was out 940 feet. A new company is to be formed and an iron pier to be built.

—Los Angeles Times, January 1, 1891

Melchior Pieper, owner of the South Pacific Hotel, gathered and saved much of the loose lumber that was left from the storms. He had it piled up behind his hotel and soon began to campaign for a new pier, one be built near Third Street, the site of his hotel. In 1894 that pier, Oceanside’s second, was built. It was partly constructed from the lumber of the original pier but it was also given iron pilings and extended out only 400 feet. It soon acquired the affectionate name “Little Iron Wharf.” The pier was lengthened in 1896 and a proposal was made for lengthening it in 1900 but a new storm damaged much of the pier in 1902.

Pier number three emerged in 1903. This pier was nearly 1,300 feet long, 12 feet wide, and supported by steel railway rails purchased from the Southern California Railway Company. In 1908, lights came to the pier when the Oceanside Electric Company offered to light the pier free for one year. Eventually that pier would also succumb to winter storms.

Fishing from the pier — 1904

A $100,000 bond issue in 1926 paid for the fourth pier. It was made of wood and concrete and extended out 1,900 feet. It was dedicated on July 4, 1927, amid a three-day celebration that attracted over 20,000 people to Oceanside. The pier and its productive fishing waters quickly became a favorite haunt for anglers.

 Angler Fails To Land Fish — Oceanside Business Man Pulled from Pier — Large Catch Wins in Fight For Freedom — Rescuers Save Fisherman from Drowning

Oceanside, July 17—When a big fish, hooked off the end of the Oceanside pier about 6:30 o’clock last evening, decided he did not like fishermen and did not want to leave his happy home in the waters of the Pacific, he came very near making one less fisherman instead of one less fish.

C.A.Peddicord, Oceanside businessman, intent upon catching a large fish, bought brand-new fishing tackle, baited the hook with a pound and a half mackerel, and proceeded to wait. He caught it all right, but the fish objected to being taken from the water and proceeded to throw Peddicord over the railing of the pier, break his leg, land him in the deep water, and leave him to flounder desperately to keep afloat until he was saved by Cal Young coming to his rescue in a skiff and getting him aboard. Just before the skiff arrived to avert a drowning tragedy, Jim Donnell, popular high school graduate of this year, made a quick dash for a life preserver near by and threw it to the struggling man. He could not reach it, however, but the appearance of a man below the pier encouraged the drowning man just enough that he continued to fight to keep above water until he was rescued.

Peddicord had fished more or less for years, but had never caught a big fish. He got the heavy tackle with the intention of getting the thrill of the big-fish catch. As he waited for the fish to bite, he received instructions about how to set his drag, not too heavy, he was told, and learned how to hold the rod. He waited and waited but the fish seemed unconcerned so he tightened up his drag a few turns and thought it would be easier to slip the pole under his leg and be ready for business if any surprise came. The surprise arrived and he proceeded to reel in his fish and had it fairly up to the pier when it made a dart underneath. He leaned over to see what was happening down there when the fish gave a big lurch and Peddicord made a flip over the rail, the pole acting as a lever, the fish on the long end, he on the short. As he went over he grabbed for support, struck his leg on the cross beam of the pier, breaking his leg halfway between the ankle and the knee.

Just what kind of a fish it was that he caught is unknown. He had a regular jewfish outfit, but it is believed not to have been a jewfish that put on this surprise exhibition of fish ingenuity and activity.

—Los Angeles Times, July 18, 1930

By the ’30s, barge fishing was also available from the pier. Anglers who craved a little more action than that found on the pier could take the water taxi out to the Oceanside by 1934, and the Glenn Mayne by 1938.

A busy pier in 1935

In 1942 a terrible storm destroyed 385 feet of the pier and then an additional 150-foot portion of the pier was sheared off in January of 1943. Use of the pier was curtailed but World War II was now the main topic of concern and repairs to the pier would have to wait.

The war ended in 1945 and in 1946 voters once more went to the voting booth. They approved a bond issue for $175,000 and construction of Oceanside’s fifth pier began. The new pier was 1,943 feet long and at the time of construction it claimed to be the longest pier on the West Coast. City fathers also hoped it would last a little longer than most of the previous piers. Ceremonies included placement of a silver dollar on the last piling as symbol of a hoped-for 100-year life. It wouldn’t happen but the pier did last longer than any of its predecessors.

During the late ’40s and ’50s, before the harbor area was developed, saw the barge fishing that was headquartered on the pier resume in the forms of the Lazy Daze and the Morfun. The pier also served as home base for a number of Sportfishing boats including the Calypso.

California Fish and Game picture — 1950

“There are new faces back of the counter of the sporting goods store on the Oceanside pier. Art and Bill Kemper of Newport Beach fame have taken over, and moved the stock from the San Clemente store down there. Art says the pier fishing is really something, with perch and goggleye always on hand, and halibut, smelt, herring, etc. plentiful at times.”

—Andy Anderson, Fishin’ Along The Coast, Long Beach Independent, August 2, 1951

A 1953 report on Oceanside by the Fish and Game Department said that “No commercial fishing power boats operate here but 6 to 10 men fish from skiffs and deliver to a market at the Oceanside Pier… In 1952 three party boats and four charter boats operated here with two barges anchored off the town.”

As is usual with oceanfront piers, new storms would occasionally batter the pier and cause damage. However, as seen below the damage wasn’t always due to Mother Nature.

Oceanside pier closed by storm

Oceanside (UPI) — The popular Oceanside Pier was closed as a “safety precaution” at midday Saturday after a night of battering by strong wind and waves buckled several of its pilings. Guests of wind up to 35 mph and white-capped waves up to six feet pounded the moorings of the city landmark and snapped a quarter-mile steel water main extending from the shore to the end of the pier.

A police spokesman said Saturday that the half-century old pier was in no danger of collapsing but that “it was moving more than it should.” By the afternoon the wood pilings of the T-shaped fishing pier were noticeably loosened under the wave action but none of them had snapped.

—The Hayward Daily Review, January 3, 1971

Oceanside Pier ruined by storm

Oceanside (AP) — Heaving seas caused $100,000 damage to Municipal Pier, making it necessary to build another one, says the city projects engineer. The storm last Thursday destroyed 19 pilings at the end of the end of the 1,900-foot pier, breaking off one section 30 feet by 40 feet in size.

—Long Beach Press-Telegram, April 22, 1976

Fire Destroys Café On Oceanside Pier

Oceanside (AP) — Fire hit the Oceanside pier early today, destroying a landmark café which stood at the west end of the structure for more than 30 years. The flames and smoke were seen for a mile or more. The cause of the fire, confined to the Pier Café, was under investigation.

—Oxnard Press-Courier. December 21, 1976

A 600-foot section of the pier’s end was destroyed by large waves in 1978 followed by an additional loss of 90 feet in 1982. Finally, after a fire on the pier, the pier sat in sad-condition for several years. The end was missing, there were few facilities, and many people began to question if it would ever regain its former size or glory, to sound dramatic.

The shortened pier in 1987

A Pier with Few Peers Going Up in Oceanside

OCEANSIDE — Plank by plank, piling by piling, there’s a pier taking shape on the seashore here.

Work began in earnest last week on Oceanside’s pier, a 1,942-foot structure that will replace a wave-racked predecessor that had fallen victim to the ocean.

But this, mind you, won’t be just another set of pretty pilings. It’ll be a pier with few peers. City officials boast that the pier, expected to be completed by next summer, will be a state-of-the-art structure and the undisputed centerpiece of Oceanside’s blossoming oceanfront.

“We’ve taken the positive aspects from all the piers that have been built over the past few years and integrated them in this one,” said Dick Watenpaugh, city recreation director and one of the officials overseeing the project. “When it’s finished, we’ll have a very high-tech pier.”

To begin with, the pier will be higher off the surf, enabling it to escape some of the piling-crunching waves from fierce winter storms. In addition, workers will encase traditional wooden pilings with hard plastic coatings to more effectively ward off the day-to-day grind of sand moving with the swells.

Officials hope the $5-million waterfront edifice will help civic revitalization efforts, luring visitors who in recent decades have avoided the rundown area around the pier. “It’ll be one of the big draws,” Watenpaugh said.

But building a structure suspended above waves a quarter mile out at sea is no easy task, and the Oceanside project has a few added engineering oddities. Glenn Prentice, the city’s public works director, described the construction effort as being akin to erecting a building with the original structure still standing in place.

A 900-foot stretch of the old municipal fishing pier that was spared by the waves will be used by workmen as a perch for their heavy equipment as they drive wooden supports deep into the ocean floor, working their way outward from the shoreline.

Once the pier is built, scuba divers will use underwater buzz saws to cut down the old pilings. The hefty timbers will then be floated to shore.

The new pier will be the fifth one at that location in Oceanside. Historians do not know when the first pier was built but say it was replaced in 1894, when city officials spent $1,200 building the second one. That one eventually fell to the waves, and a wood and steel pier replaced it in 1927. Even steel proved vulnerable to the ocean, and a wooden pier was erected in 1947.

Winter waves lopped off about 600 feet of that pier in 1978, and a 110-foot section fell in 1983.

Eager to rebuild the structure, city officials placed a measure on the ballot in November, 1983, to fund much of the cost of rebuilding the pier, but voters rejected it.

—Eric Bailey, Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1986

However, in 1985 the Coastal Conservancy became involved, helped organize the plans to rebuild the pier, and gained a commitment for $1.0 million dollars from the Wildlife Conservation Board and the city. An additional $4.5 million in funding was obtained in 1987. Work commenced, and a new pier, 1942 feet in length, and the sixth to grace the city’s shoreline, was opened to the public on September 29, 1987.

Entrance Sign — 2008

In 1997, $200,000 was used for resurfacing and to repair loose bolts. This was followed by work in 2010 and 2013 to replace worn and uneven planks in order to make the surface smoother and better able to accommodate wheelchairs and strollers. At the same time, work was done to replace roughly 200 of the pier’s 1,089 metal braces and to refurbish the aging restrooms on the pier. Today the pier looks almost as good as new.

             Oceanside Pier Facts

Hours: Open 24 hours a day.

Facilities: A parking lot is available near the entrance to the pier and metered parking is available on Pacific Street. Restrooms and the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop are located mid-pier. Lights, benches, and fish cleaning stations are found throughout the pier. Snacks can be purchased at the bait and tackle shop while a Ruby’s Diner with its ‘50s themed food and servers covers much of the end of the pier.

Ed Gonsalves runs an excellent and always busy baitshop

Nearby Attractions: The Junior Seau Pier Amphitheatre and Junior Seau Beach Community Center (Beach Recreation Center) are located near the front of the pier. The amphitheater hosts a plethora of events while the recreation center includes a gymnasium, stage and kitchen. Not too far from the pier (312 Pier View Way) is the California Surf Museum, a neat place to visit if you’ve ever had a question about surfing. The cost is $3 adults, $1 students/seniors/military.

Handicapped Facilities: The pier has handicapped parking and restrooms. The pier surface is cement and planking and the rail height is 44 inches. Posted for handicapped.

Location: 33.19278 N. Latitude, 117.38583 W. Longitude

How To Get There: From I-5 take Mission Blvd. west to Pacific, turn right and follow it to the pier.

Management: City of Oceanside, Public Works Department.

Coronado Ferry Landing Pier

I spotted this pier one day from the downtown side of San Diego Bay. I drove across the Coronado Bridge, was unable to find the pier and left it out of the first edition of Pier Fishing in California. Later, I found directions to the pier and could have kicked myself because it is so easy to reach. It sits behind a shopping complex and although completely hidden by the shops, it’s a short, easy walk from the corner of the street.

The only problem is that it can get a little crowded due to its fairly small size

A good name for this pier would be “Stingray Central.” I have rarely had a trip to the pier when I haven’t caught at least one round stingray, and I average more than two of the fish per trip. It doesn’t seem to matter what bait I am using on the bottom—bloodworms, ghost shrimp, squid or pieces of fish like mackerel—the small rays will find the bait.

Round Stingray

Environment. The pier is small (377 feet long) and although part of it is a boarding area for the ferry, the part that is open for angling yields quite a few fish. The bottom here is primarily sand and mud with several eel grass areas around the pier, especially on the inshore side of the pier. The pilings themselves are somewhat encrusted with fish attracting mussels. Because of the piers size, the water depth is fairly shallow but due to the grassy, bass-attracting areas, a trilogy of bass—sand bass, spotted bay bass and kelp bass—are taken. In fact, the bass are among the most common fish at the pier. I initially thought that the pier would yield less mackerel and bonito than piers near deeper water. But I was wrong! The water is plenty deep on the bay side, is often good for mackerel, and is at least fair for bonito during the years when they make an appearance.

It’s a beautiful pier and a nice shopping center

It’s a beautiful skyline from the pier

The overall mix of fish mirrors, for the most part, that of most piers located in southern California bays: jacksmelt, topsmelt, mackerel, and (some years) bonito on the top; bass, perch, croakers, scorpionfish, halibut, turbot, rays and sharks on the bottom. However, the waters in South San Diego Bay are noted for quite a few warm-water, Panamic Province species, fish more common to Baja south. Many bonefish and shortfin corvina have been landed at the pier, a banded guitarfish (Zapteryx exasperata) was caught in August of 2002, a big California butterfly ray (Gymnura marmorata) was landed in September of ’02, and a speckled midshipman (Porichthys myriaster) was taken in May of ’06. Of course the midshipman was perhaps not that unexpected given the number of Navy personnel in the area. A fish becoming more and more common are giant (black) sea bass. A baby of around 30 pounds was landed (and released) from the pier in May of 2009. Since then a number have been landed including much larger fish.

Fishing Tips.

Several different approaches can be tried here. One approach is to buy an umbrella drop net. Attach a few pieces of bread to the net, drop it down into the water, and catch yourself some small smelt or anchovies. Then, using the live bait, fish directly under the pier (or off the far left corner) on the bottom for halibut using a fish finder (sliding sinker) rigging. You might get lucky and get a hallie and though most are small, some larger fish are always a possibility.

Pescador5312 (Arvin) and a nice California Halibut

Another approach is to try for bass. The (eel grass) grassy areas, to the inside of the pier, often hold bass, primarily barred sand bass and spotted bay bass that will fall both for bait and artificials. Try near the landing dock, on the bay side of the pier, for bass (primarily kelp bass aka calico bass). Unfortunately, you will have to fight through the hoards of small, illegal bass (under 14″) to get a legal-size calico but they are there.

Spotted Bay Bass

Sand Bass

Typical under-sized Kelp Bass/Calico Bass

During the spring, try fishing in the grassy areas with bloodworms, mussels or ghost shrimp for blackperch, white seaperch, rubberlip perch and sargo. Fishing on the bottom or mid-depth, while using small hooks, size 6 or 8, and pieces of anchovy or mackerel, will sometimes also yield herring (queenfish) or tom cod (white croaker). Salema are also a frequent visitor.

At night this can be a good pier for sharks and rays. Casting out away from the pier and using mackerel or squid as bait, will often result in gray smoothhound sharks, bat rays, and shovelnose sharks (guitarfish). As mentioned, this pier, both day and night, also yields a LOT of stingrays. Although I caught one of the larger and less common diamond stingrays (Dasyatis dipterura) in a visit in July of 2007, the vast majority of stingrays will be the smaller-sized round stingrays (called stingers and teacup saucers by some of the PFIC regulars). Handle them with care but return them to the water. Nighttime is also the best time for Californuia Scorpionfish aka sculpin although you can also pick them up (very carefully) during the day.

California Scorpionfish

Bat Ray

Shovelnose Guitarfish

Nocturnal hours will also yield spotfin croaker, yellowfin croaker, sargo and an occasional China (black) croaker. For these, use a high/low rigging on the bottom and use bloodworms, mussels or ghost shrimp as your bait. Similar riggings and baits will also yield diamond turbot much of the year but remember to keep the hooks fairly small if these are your target.

Yellowfin Croaker

Another croaker, the shortfin corvina (Cynoscion parvipinnis), is (as mentioned) occasionally taken at the pier. Although recorded north to Huntington Beach, corvina are fairly rare to California waters preferring the warmer waters to the south in Baja. Recent studies seem to show that a population exists in south San Diego Bay. Most shortfins are taken at night, especially during the warmer-water summer months, and both baits and lures (including top-water plugs, Fish Traps, Big Hammers, and Berkley Gulp Minnows in pink or green—among others) are used to capture the toothy croakers.

SDFisherman and Pescador5312 show a nice mix of Pacific Mackerel, Shortfin Corvina, and Spotted Bay Bass that were caught at night

The shortfin corvina should not be confused with white seabass or corbina, two other croaker species found in these waters. Nor should they be confused with the orangemouth corvina, the large corvina once so common in the Salton Sea. Just to add to the confusion, don’t mix ‘em up with their other giant brethrens—totuava, red drum (channel bass), or black drum, all fellow members of the distinguished croaker clan. And, thinking in ways most strange, I wonder what a tartan of the croaker clan would look like?

Back to fishing. For mackerel or jacksmelt try a multi-hook bait rig. Cast out, let the line sink part way to the bottom and then start a slow but steady retrieve. If the mackerel are wary, simply put a size 4 or 2 hook on the end of your line and add a split-shot sinker or twist-on sinker three foot above the hook. Keep your bait 6-8 feet under the surface of the water (and you may find that you also need a bobber or float to do it). The key is to get the bait down to the mackerel that like to hang under the schools of smelt. The smelt will attack the bait and nibble it with their small mouths but then the mackerel will rudely barge in and grab it. When the mackerel are around you should have no problem catching a stringer of fish.

If Pacific bonito make a showing, artificial lures seem to offer your best chance for success. A plastic Cast-a-Bubble with a trailing feather (yellow and green are primo) about 3-4 feet behind often yields the best results. Barracuda will also sometimes also show up, generally in the late afternoon or evening hours, and again an artificial lure, a chrome jig like a Kastmaster or Krocodile, often proves best. Rich Reano, the webmaster for the Pier Fishing in California web site, and once a reporter for the pier, says he has even seen barracuda taken here on Salas iron jigs.

This is also a pier that seems to see a lot of California needlefish (Strongylura exilis), prey that are fun but difficult to catch. If you want to seek these, use live bait fished under a bobber or float, and cast just out from the pier. Use a size 6 hook and expect to lose at least a half-dozen baits for every needlefish that you hook. Some also suggest a strip of squid fished much like a lure; cast out and retrieve quickly.

Lures will, of course, also take several other species. Perch will sometimes hit a soft plastic grub, while spotted bay bass, barred sand bass and kelp bass will strike many different types of lures. Favorites include small 3-5 inch Scampis and Scroungers, Haddock Kreepy Krawlers and Berkley Power Sand Worms. Swim baits are also popular as well as more exotic combinations like swim baits with a rattle added, and Strike Lites—a lure designed to be used at night. One hint is to use freshwater jig heads that have smaller hook diameters since they are sharper. A good technique to try when using artificials around the pier is to drop the lure straight down alongside the pier. Let the current sweep it under the pier, wait a few seconds, and then begin your retrieve. Often the fish will hit it as the lure is descending to the bottom or when you begin the retrieve. Or, you can try a lift and fall technique since you are somewhat limited in the area you can fish. The key is to keep the lure around the structure of the pier, do not work the lure away from the pier.

A nice spotted bay bass

Both Fish Traps and Big Hammers have also proven effective on halibut with the waters inshore of the pier usually being more productive. Light tackle with fluorocarbon line (or leader) is, by the way, generally the preferred method at this pier. Water here is often crystal clear and the fish can be very wary of the heavier lines, especially during the middle of sunny days.

Spotted Bay Bass

E-Mail Messages — and a little history about Pier Fishing In California and pierfishing.com

Date: August 9, 1997, To: Ken Jones, From: Ritchie Reano, Subject: Reporter for Coronado Ferry Landing Pier

Howdy! Great site by the way and I do have your book. I fish the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier almost exclusively. Here’s my report.

All around great pier. Varied species. Small pier, no concession or bait stand, but the Ferry Landing has a number of nice places to eat. When the fish aren’t biting you can take a walk and shop along the shops in the Ferry Landing.

Halibut seems to be the prize catch at the pier and lately are being produced consistently, average of one keeper per day. Lively smelt is the bait of choice and among the piers in San Diego, Coronado seems to have the biggest smelt population. Smelts are being caught with dip nets or small baited hooks. I recently landed and kept a 23-inch halibut using a 6-inch smelt. Jigs are also catching the flatties. Natural color shad bodies or grubs seem to work the best. Halibut rigs consist of egg sinker and snap swivel, but lately the sliding leader technique described in your book is becoming popular.

Bonito have been seen splashing the waters around the pier. But it seems every time they run by, no one seems to have their Cast-a-Bubble rig ready. I’ve not seen one landed recently. Mackerel runs are fair to good. Squid strips and fresh mackerel cuts are the bait of choice, but when the macs are finicky, small smelt will entice them to hit.

Yellowfin croaker are scarce and fall mainly to ghost shrimp, with a few taken on small smelt. Sand bass are abundant using live smelt or mackerel cuts. Fishing on the shore side of the pier seems to be the best area to catch them.

Good-size guitarfish are also seen being caught on this pier with squid and mackerel slabs being the bait. Other notable catches… needlenose fish (which seem to be more of an annoyance) and flounder.

Thanks! And keep up the great work with the website.  Ritchie Reano

Date: August 31, 1997, To: Ken Jones, From: Ritchie Reano, Subject: Ferry Landing update

Hi Ken, Just got back from fishing today from the Ferry Landing Pier… Mackerel are visiting the pier in numbers. I’m seeing bucketful’s lately. Most anglers are using bait rigs sweetened with squid or mackerel. Best times seemed to be early morning or late afternoon. Smelt still cloud the waters with their abundance. Catching your own bait is a breeze.

Halibut are still hitting consistently. Most are caught on smelt. I landed a 23.5-inch halibut today using a 6-inch smelt on a sliding rig.  I was also talking to a father and son team and they caught a 30″ halibut about two weeks ago using smelt. In fact, the halibut was so strong that it yanked his pole into the water. Fortunately, the pole floated and a treble gaff was on hand…

Recently, a friend of mine hooked a 4-foot-wingspan ray but it came off while trying to net it. No sign of bonito. Thanks!  Ritchie Reano

Date: March 27, 1998, To: Ken Jones, From: Rich, Subject: Coronado Ferry Pier

 Hi Ken, I like the new website look. Have you ever considered getting a domain name? Like pierfishing.com?

Anyway, fishing is getting interesting at the Ferry Landing. During the recent grunion run, quite a few anglers were hooking up with some decent size rays. I only observed the catches during the day. The night fishing must have been even better. Another interesting catch was a nice sized barracuda, although a little short of legal. It was caught using a Salas iron jig fished on the surface. Live bait such as smelt are hard to come by at this time. Most of the smelt near the pier are much too big. Even if there’s not a lot of catching going on, it’s still a nice place to hang out on a weekend. There are shops and decent eateries only a short walk away. Take care!  Sincerely, Rich Reano

To: Rich, From: Ken Jones, Subject: Domain Name

Hi Rich, In answer to your question regarding a domain name, no I don’t know too much about it. What are the advantages?  Best, Ken

Ken, Your website name will be easier to remember. pierfishing.com (which by the way is available) is easier to remember than www.pacific.net/~kjcapfsh/ and looks more professional. Also, you would probably get more visits to your site. I am sure someone has tried typing in pierfishing.com to see if a website like that existed. I know I have. Sincerely, Rich

Date: December 28, 1999, To: PFIC Message Board, From: Rey, Subject: Re: Now you got my attention!

I have caught some big Needlefish at Coronado Ferry Landing. You can see them cruising near the surface from this pier. I usually don’t target them, but when I see them I use a cast and retrieve method using a long strip of squid on about 6-pound line. The faster I retrieve my bait, the better luck I get on strikes.

Date: April 15, 2000, To: PFIC Message Board, From: Mark Taylor, Subject: Coronado Ferry Landing report

Fished the landing this afternoon between about 4:30 – 8:00 pm, incoming tide. I’m kind of a beginner in these waters so I’m used to getting skunked, and today was no exception. Fished fresh sardines and frozen ‘chovies off the bottom. One good strike, but I didn’t set the hook in time. Tried some Fish Traps, plastic grubs and a Kroc for a while, but nothing.

There were about 10 of us on the pier and one guy fishing over near the floating ferry dock was pulling in bass after bass. Every time we looked over this dude was pulling another decent bass out of the water. I’m told he was using dines, live or dead I don’t know. He didn’t look real friendly so I didn’t ask. Two guys near me caught a too short butt, a nice keeper sand bass and what I think was a spotted bass. Same bait/rig as me.

One of these guys next to me must have caught a dozen small foot-long stingrays (or the same one 12 times; you have to wonder, they were identical in size) in an hour, until he decided to stop squandering his ghost shrimp and switch over to dines/chovies.

The rest of us did our best, but…that’s how it goes sometimes. I wonder if the place to fish on this particular pier is where that bass-o-matic guy was—over near the floating ferry dock, which forms a right angle with the fishing portion of the pier: Maybe the decent fish like to hang out in all that cover. Tight lines and good luck!

Date: June 30, 2002, To: PFIC Message Board, From: Rich Reano, Subject: Coronado Ferry Landing

Fished the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier for an hour from 2:30pm ~ 3:30pm hoping to catch a corvina. There were quite a bit of baitfish around but large ones were nowhere to be seen. No corvina but I did manage this spotted sand bass on a watermelon red/flake zipper worm.  Got him out of the water, snapped a picture and back into the water in less than 30 seconds.

Rich’s Spotted Bay Bass

 Date: August 13, 2002, To: PFIC Message Board, From: pEsCaDoR5312, Subject: In reply to strange people… raver fish…

I was at the pier with my brother one day (this is the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier which is probably visited by interested tourists and weirdos more often than other pier). Well, one night the last stop of the ferry hits and two girls got off of it. I noticed they were ravers by the way they were dressed. They noticed that we were using light sticks (mackerel) and one girl asks me what we used the light sticks for. I told her they’re for “raver fish, the light stick attracts them because they like to dance around it. That’s why they call it a raver fish. Then when they see the bait they hit it.” The girl looks at me in awe and says, “that’s F***ing amazing!” So I say “yup” and they leave. My brother and I laughed about it the whole night.

*note* — raving is a style of dancing. A raver is one who likes to go to raves and dance to quasi-techno-style music. Many like to use light sticks in their hands while they are dancing to give a cool effect to their actions. I posted this story in no intentional offense toward any ravers on this board.

Don’t bother me… I’m fishin. <*)))>=<|  pEsCaDoR5312

Date: May 25, 2006, To: PFIC Message Board, From: Raider, Subject: Speckled midshipman

I just saw on Channel 7 News that a speckled midshipman was caught at the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier. They said that they usually live in deep water between Baja and Catalina. The fish looked to be about 7 inches long with huge teeth. Finals are done tomorrow, Ill be fishing all next week!!!

Speckled Midshipman

Date: March 28, 2008, To: PFIC Message Board, From: woody, Subject: Ferry Landing Pier

I used to fish it back in the 90′s. Empty then. I caught the biggest bat ray in my life, (140-lbs+!!!!), and biggest shovelnose, (53-lbs!!!). I used to catch…loads of them. Bay bass, corvina, butt’s, calicos, croakers, macks, bonies, barries, needlefish, grunion, lobster, and even a few juvi white sea bass!!!!  Don’t know how it is now; live in the Bay Area.

Try for butt’s at night on an incoming tide, on west end, cast live bait on slider, parallel to shore. Used to be about 1 legal to about 5 short, and FAST action!!!!

For the bats chuck squid on slider and 8/0 live bait hook as far as you can into the middle of the bay, (seems to be an oyster bed starting about 150 ft out), on an in or out tide to about an hour before or after, set your clicker and get ready, won’t be long, and you’ll catch a bunch!!!

Cast grubs near the dock, (ferry loading platform), bounce ‘em and get ready for explosive calico and spotted or sand bass action, (1 out of 3 are 15 inches +!!!) Dive there during the lobster season and find HUGE bugs!! Late summer brings short barracuda with a few just at 28 inches; gotta cast far, off the northwest corner with Kocs or live smelt. Summer brings the bonies and macks, about half of them average, 1/4 of them tiny, the other 1/4 pretty damn big.

Fall full moons find the white seabass cruising by the pilings at high tide; drop a brown bait to them, and, WHAM!!!!! Measure closly, most of these are just short. When winter gets there, get some mussels, ghost shrimp, or sand crabs and fish corvina and croakers on light line, a slider, size 8 or 6 bait hook. Yellowfin, spots, and white croaker are all here. Be ready for perch to though. Used to love this place, a favorite for both fish and solitude.

Date: April 9, 2008, To: PFIC Message Board, From: Aaron, Subject: Bonito

I don’t know if the boneheads are still there, but the Coronado Ferry Landing in San Diego was kicking out good numbers of bonito (to at least 5-6 lbs) about a week and a half ago. All the ones I saw were caught on small green plastic grubs rigged behind a 1–ounce chrome torpedo sinker.

Date: May 19, 2008, To: PFIC Message Board, From: aaron, Subject: Re: Anyone fish the Ferry Landing Pier lately/shortfin corvina?

I was talking to a very successful (2 halibut and 1 WSB) man there who said that if you fished live bait or a drop shot Fluke bass bait during a grunion run, you were “guaranteed to get corvina.” I’m going to see when the next run is, and will try to fish the Coronado Pier this weekend.

Date: November 24, 2009, To: PFIC Message Board, From: tunafshr93, Subject: Ferry Landing Pier

Fished Ferry Landing today from 9:00 to 1:00. The macks were plentiful in the morning caught 5 in 30 minutes. One of the regulars caught 20 of them. Mackerel started being scarce after 10:00 and after that they came by about every hour. Ended up catching seven total. Water really clear could see mackerel hitting bait and swimming around. Baitfish showed up about noon. 3 stingrays caught. A Guy caught a 13” spotted bay bass and a 23” Halibut both on the live smelt which were around 4”.

Pier Fishing In California Fish Reports

September 1997 — Ritchie Reano reports a mixed bag of fish. Halibut are the “prime time” fish and quite a few are being landed every day. Ritchie has had good luck on the flatties using live smelt (which are abundant) for bait but unfortunately most of the halibut are not legal size. Lots of legal size sand bass are being caught and the mackerel counts have bounced back up after dropping during the first part of the month. Ritchie also reports that there are a lot of bat rays and needlefish around; in fact, they’re becoming a nuisance to some fishermen. A run of sargo also seemed to be starting but it has apparently tapered off. Finally, Ritchie caught his first white seabass this month, an 18-inch sub legal size fish. But next time…

A Rock Wrasse taken from the pier

October 1997 — Ritchie Reano reports “fishing at the pier has been up and down during the month. Some days were dismal with no fish caught. Mackerel still make some good runs by the pier. When they do come by, usually early morning or late afternoon, they come in large numbers. Fish them with the usual bait rigs. A technique that I use is smallish size live smelt fished about 2 feet under a small bobber. In addition to mackerel, you can catch needlefish that provide an exciting aerial display when hooked. The halibut seem to have left the pier. Bass fishing is decent with the best catches at night. In talking with the night fisherman, the shark fishing seems to be quite good.

Rich Reano and a Gray Smoothhound Shark

January 1998 — Rich Reano reports “cold and rainy weather has discouraged all but the most diehard pier fisherman this month. Those braving the inclement weather are rewarded with consistent sand bass fishing. The most productive bait seems to be live bait such as smelt. Strips of mackerel or frozen anchovies also seem to work well. Persistent fisherman using live smelt can catch halibut. The keeper-sized halibut, though rare, are still swimming about the pier. Mackerel fishing is hit and miss. Use the basic rigs and baits to catch them when they are around.”

April 1998 — Rich Reano reports that things are getting interesting at this small but popular pier. Recently, during grunion runs, the fishing for decent sized rays has been good. In addition, he saw a nice sized barracuda caught by an angler using a Salas iron jig on the surface. Unfortunately live bait is hard to get, some smelt are still around the pier but most are too big to use for bait. Although Rich says fishing is still somewhat slow it is improving and with all the nearby shops and eateries it’s always a great place to hang out.

June 1998—Rich Reano reports that the halibut finally have started to show up at the pier. He’s seen three fish over 22 inches, two on live smelt and one on a Fish Trap. Mackerel still are sparse, but he’s heard of some decent croaker fishing at night by those using ghost shrimp. He mentioned that there are pelagic crabs swimming around the waters of the pier but so far they haven’t impacted the fishing

July 2002—Anchovie reports “Coronado Ferry Landing has lots of corvina being caught during the grunion runs and some legal barred bay bass” (sand bass). He also reported quite a few good-sized bat rays and shovelnose guitarfish.

June 2006—Miguel, at the Shelter Island Pier Bait & Tackle Shop, reports good numbers of corvina being taken at night on the Ferry Landing Pier by people using live bait or on lures. Best success has been on Berkley Gulp Minnows in pink or green. He says Berkley Gulp clams are producing croakers and sargo but says to cut a strip from the clam, don’t use the whole clam. He says ghost shrimp has been the other good bait for both croakers and sargo.

You see some big ships from the pier

Author’s Note No. 1. A typical scene for many years was to see an energetic young lady sitting on the rail, helping the kids, providing bait or fish to those without, or rescuing pigeons that fell into the water. She was the person I dubbed the “mom” at the pier. Her name was Shari and most days she’s would be out at the pier fishing. I watched her perform a variety of tasks during visits in 1998 and finally had to introduce myself and thank her for the help she provided the other anglers. Fishing is only part of the pier experience, the interaction and good will between the pier rats gives value to the pier and creates a family. Every pier needs a “mom” and luckily many do indeed have people like Shari, although few are as quite as lively. She was a nice person whose behavior and actions at the pier should be emulated by others.

By the way, shortly after meeting Shari and dubbing her the “pier mom,” she gave my card to a local reporter who soon called and then did a story on the pier—and Shari. Unfortunately she’s now gone and I haven’t been able to find out what happened to her.

Fishing Season Brings Anglers Of All Ages To The Pier

Shari Rose calls out “any minute now!” when the mackerel swoop by the Coronado pier.

And sure enough, the poles start bending and the silver, big-eyed mackerel are hoisted one after another out of the water, delighting the 25 or so anglers every evening. The fishing flurry is soon over. But wait about an hour, and “any minute now,” they’ll hit once again.

It’s fishing season on Coronado and anyone with a fishing pole, some squid, and a little time can catch a few. While mackerel are caught all year, they run best in the summer and have been thrilling anglers with big catches for the last two weeks…

Rose has been fishing off the Coronado pier almost every afternoon for nearly three years. In five days, Rose figures she caught 56 fish and has seen hundreds more reeled in by thrilled children, tourists, and pier regulars.

Part coach, part cheerleader, part game warden, Rose helps and encourages anyone who wants to catch a fish. She offers tips, cuts bait, unhooks fish, and measures any bass or halibut caught to make sure they’re legal keepers (22 inches for halibut, 12 inches for bass).

“It’s wonderful to watch the kids. When they pull one in, it’s more fun for me than  anything else,” says Rose.

Fishing on roller blades, teenager Luis Cruz caught 10 mackerel in two hours the day before. He comes on the weekends with his family to picnic at Tidelands Park and roller blades to the pier…

Ken Jones, author of Pier Fishing in California, rates the San Diego Bay as one of the best fishing spots in Southern California. The bay generally yields larger mackerel than the ocean piers in Imperial Beach and Ocean Beach. “Though it’s not big, the pier at Coronado is an excellent fishing pier,” according to Jones…

To Eat or Not Eat?

While many of the fishermen on the pier say they don’t eat what they catch, most of the fish caught in the bay pose no serious health risks, according to the San Diego County Environmental Health department.

Only people who eat the fish daily over a long period of time could have problems with toxins. Pregnant women, breast feeding women, and small children especially should eat any fish in moderation. Jones offers some pointers:

• The bay is reasonably clean, although there are some polluted spots on the bottom. For this reason, don’t eat croaker and other bottom feeders since they may eat in contaminated areas.

• Mackerel, bass, and halibut are generally safe because they regularly swim in and out of the bay.

• Clean fish thoroughly, making sure to completely remove the gut and thoroughly wash the fish.

• Bake fish on a rack so that the fat breaks down and drips into the pan. Toxins are stored in the fat.

• Eat fish from any waters in moderation.

Jones adds that “its always best to catch and release fish, since fish populations are so low. Enjoy the fresh air, and get closer to nature. That’s how I like to fish,” says Jones.

—Sean Caey, Coronado Eagle, August 5, 1998

Author’s Note No. 2.  Oh my, how times have changed. The following discussion details how ghost shrimp (crawfish) were caught in this area back in the 1880s.

“Crawfish-tramping” these days is a lost art. Crawfish were easily obtained by removing your shoes and tramping the mud for a space three or four feet in diameter, bringing them to the surface of the mud and thereby easily providing bait for two or three to fish all day. There were no tin cans or glass in the mud in those days. You would select a place in the mud where the crawfish blowholes abounded; the finest place was on the Coronado of the Bay, from the Coronado Ferry down to Spanish Bight, a long mud-flat beach. We could go over on the ferry and back for a dime, and get more crawfish in half an hour than at the foot of Broadway in two hours. Crawfish-tramping was probably learned from the large fish—large skate, shovel-nose sharks, stingrays, halibut and other flat fish—they would select a spot where there were crawfish and they would flip up and down and bring the crawfish up. At the really low tide you could frequently see the marks where they flipped. Young boys tramped for crawfish, and carried them in little cans covered with wet seaweed, to sell as bait. Crawfish were the best bait for large-mouth, grab-at-whole-bait kind…

—Don M. Stewart, 1966, Frontier Port: A Chapter in San Diego’s History (Discussing the fishing in San Diego Bay in the late 1800s)

The early Coronado Ferry Landing

History Note. Beginning in 1886 Coronado was connected by ferry to San Diego, a short boat ride that eliminated the need for the long journey across the “Strand” to Imperial Beach and the drive back up to San Diego. It was a no-brainer but eventually someone had a “better” idea—a bridge from San Diego to Coronado. When that bridge was completed in 1969 it seemed to mark the end to ferry service in the bay. The old landings location at Orange Avenue (several blocks away from today’s ferry landing) became part of Centennial Park and though a ticket booth from the old ferry system was installed as a remembrance of the earlier times, the ferry service seemed to be just one more affectionate reminder of the area’s past.

You can catch a ferry to downtown San Diego

The ferry boat Cabrillo

However, less than 20 years later, in 1987, a new shopping complex opened and a new ferry service was inaugurated. Luckily for anglers, the complex included fishing access at this pier, a pier that has become increasingly popular over the years.

When the complex and pier first opened the center was called the Old Ferry Landing to give it historical appeal  (although it was not on the location of the old ferry). Then, when the shopping center began to host a Farmers Market, the name was changed to the Ferry Landing Marketplace. Eventually that name too was changed, to today’s Coronado Ferry Landing. As for the pier itself, it is the lone public “fishing pier” in Coronado and receives heavy use.

Coronado Ferry Landing Pier Facts

Hours: Open 24 hours a day.

Facilities: Facilities are somewhat limited on the pier itself: a few benches, lights and bait-cutting platforms. Restrooms are located a short walk from the front of the pier in the shopping center (and are only open during the hours the shopping complex is open). Both free and metered parking is available on First Street and B Avenue (25 cents an hour with a two hour maximum, 8 A.M. to 6 P.M.). Free parking is available at the shopping complex but only for those patronizing the businesses. Bait and tackle is not available but food can be found in many of the shopping establishments.

Handicapped Facilities: Handicapped parking spaces and restrooms are located in the shopping complex.  The pier surface is wood and the railing is about 40 inches high.

Location: 33.654959222951774 N. Latitude, 118.004150390625 W. Longitude

How To Get There: From San Diego, take the Coronado Bay Bridge (Highway 75) to Coronado. Once over the bridge you are on Third Street. Simply follow it to B Avenue, turn right, and follow it to the front of The Old Ferry Landing — the intersection of First Street and B Avenue. The pier sits behind the shops in the complex.

Management: San Diego Unified Port District.

“While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.” Oops, whoa Nellie, stop, stop, stop the press, that’s the wrong vision! This vision was more pescatorial, one of big game fish being caught at the SoCal piers, fish such as yellowtail, shortfin corvina, bonefish and more exotic species rarely seen at the piers. The reports of great fishing and unusual species that began to show up in boat reports in the spring and summer of 2015 were amazing. Bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, dorado, wahoo, unbelievable numbers of yellowtail, marlin, spearfish and others were seemingly being caught throughout southern California’s offshore waters. Even half day boats and kayaks fishing fairly close to land were catching the big game species.

For the piers the main difference, at least into July and August, was the arrival of bonito, one of the hardest fighting fish in the sea, and the boneheads were being reported from San Diego up to Goleta. Every warm-water year sees some bonito but by the end of August yellowtail were also being reported at many piers. Then came reports of the aforementioned corvina and bonefish. September seemed like it might be an epic month, perhaps even rivaling the 1957 season when so many big game fish were caught from piers.

The result was an almost mandatory trip to southern California; a five-day trip to eight southland piers. But, it was a trip that would earn the nickname “Sauna Tour.”

Why that title? One initial hope for the trip was to escape the 100-104 degree weather that was taking place in Fresno. There’s nothing like a cool 75-degree day at the beach to alleviate the scorching valley heat. Hurricane Linda, sitting off of Baja, and the effects from that storm, would change the entire picture, both the weather and the fishing.

The temperature at the beach cities for the five-day trip was basically the same—92 to 98 degree heat along with very high humidity. It felt more like Mississippi or Louisiana than SoCal.  It was scorching in the sun and shirts were sweat soaked after a short time.

The hurricane also affected the fishing. A few days before the trip, powerful waves began to slam the SoCal beaches. In response, the huge numbers of baitfish that had been reported in inshore waters disappeared. Apparently they moved offshore and that meant the number of larger fish that fed on the baitfish also largely disappeared. The story was the same at every pier. “You should have been here last week. The bonito bite was fantastic but they all disappeared.” One bait shop reported they had been selling over 50 pounds of anchovies a day before the fish left, now they were selling about four pounds a day.

It is what it is, you have to take the bad with the good and there are rarely guarantees when it comes to fishing. The trip would yield some fish but nothing like anticipated. One bonito would be caught, but no more, and none of the more exotic species.

Day one, Wednesday, September 9, would see me pick up my fishing buddy, Mike Granat, in Clovis before starting the four hour drive from Fresno to Los Angeles. We would make a stop to pick up some “Goody Bags” for our next Kid’s Fishing Derby, and then make another short stop at Best Fishing Tackle on Rosecrans in Hawthorne to pick up some lug worms. From there it was a short trip down to Costa Mesa and our motel for the night. Upon arrival in Costa Mesa it was quickly evident how hot and sticky the weather would be.

But, since there was time for a few hours fishing before dinner, we headed out to the Newport Pier. I always tell Mike that if a pier is crowded the fish are in, if the pier is deserted, fishing is slow. Given the sparse number of anglers on the pier, it was obvious that the fishing might not be as hot as the weather—and that indeed was the case.

The dozen or so anglers at the end were fishing Sabiki bait rigs and catching a few fish, a few small fish. Their main catch was little 6-inch Pacific mackerel which make great bait for halibut (or yellowtail). However, our visit would be short and it was getting a little too late in the day to be catching live bait.

Nevertheless, high-low rigs were sent out baited with lug worms and cut mackerel. Soon after, a kelp bass (aka calico bass) in love with the lug worm decided to make a trip up to the top of the pier. But, instead of 14 inches, the legal length, it was only 11 inches long. It was returned to the briny and told to grow a few more inches. Not much was biting other than a few mackerel.

Kelp Bass aka Calico Bass, Checkerboard Bass and Police Cars

Eventually the 4:15-6 PM fishing yielded three mackerel and the one bass, all fairly small. The one good bite, two large mackerel grabbing the high/low hooks at the same time, were lost when one of the three sea lions patrolling the pier waters decided the mackerel were easy pickings. The bewhiskered beast grabbed the mackerel, broke the line, and showed who was boss.

Pacific Mackerel aka Chub Mackerel, Blue Mackerel and Greenbacks

At six we packed up and headed over to one of my favorite restaurants along the California coast. The Crab Cooker sits across the street from the pier and I’ve been going to the restaurant for over 40 years. I always make sure to get some chowder, eat too many of the hard bread sticks, and I usually get some shrimp and scallops. For once I was able to park right outside the front door (parking can be a problem) and we headed in. Soon after we were stuffed and heading back to the motel.

The Crab Cooker

Day 2, Thursday, September 10, was a planned reunion with Snookie and her gang at the Balboa Pier. Expectations were high. She had reported  catching bonito, yellowtail, barracuda, numerous halibut, and a variety of other fish the prior week (including seeing an angler land a bonefish).  It did seem a little improbable based upon what we had seen at Newport the prior night but you never know.

We arrived at 8 AM and decided to fish the end area until Snookie arrived. I asked a couple of anglers who were leaving the pier how the action was and they both replied the same thing, good mackerel action from 6 until about 7 and then the bite had shut down (the typical early morning mackerel bite). We were late and by the time we got to the end there weren’t too many anglers. That’s always a bad sign and sure enough those still fishing were lamenting the slow action. They were using Sabiki rigs but not getting many fish.

The end of the Balboa Pier was relatively devoid of anglers

Mike had never caught a bonito and that was his main goal for the trip so he rigged up one of his red colored bonito balls (that he makes), attached one of his bright green feathers (that he gets from Africa), and started casting out. Lo and behold in about fifteen minutes he had a nice-sized bonito. The rest of the anglers casting for bonito, including yours truly, went fishless for bonito in Newport. What was interesting was the number of anglers who came over to check out his bonito gear, both the feather and the ball, and all seemed to think his was the best they had seen.

Mike Granat, his first bonito, and his “Granat Ball and Feather”

Pacific Bonito aka Boneheads, Flashers, Striped Tuna and (my favorite) Mr. Bojangles

I did catch a couple of nice little bass, one a kelp bass and the other a sand bass, but none of the bonehead bonito.

At about 9:30 I spotted Snookie and we headed inshore to fish with her. Unfortunately the weather had tuned hot, real hot. It would reach 98 degrees at the pier that day and we were sweating more than I thought possible.

Snookie

She said she had been at the pier Tuesday and sure enough the action had slowed. The waves had stirred up the water and the baitfish so prevalent the prior week were now largely missing. But, she went on a quest for some live bait. She had been using a variety of baitfish including small Pacific mackerel and Spanish mackerel but they just weren’t biting. She worked hard to fill the bait bucket and did manage some smelt but even the smelt weren’t cooperating (and I only got one).

Fishing was slow, in fact very slow. However, Snookie did manage to land one bonito. I on the other hand could not buy a bonito. I did though rig up a live bait rig and dropped a smelt into a depression between the pilings under the pier. The result was a flattie, a halibut that must have liked dining on smelt. As usual, it looked bigger in the water but upon bringing it to the pier it was obviously a sub-legal fish only about a guesstimated 17 inches long.

KJ and a sub-legal sized California Halibut

I also managed a smallish-sized shovelnose guitarfish while Mike caught a small yellowfin croaker but that was it. The fishing was as cold as the weather was hot. Snookie and her sister were using some kind of “cool” scarves but I think we were all red faced, sweating, uncomfortable, and getting dehydrated.

The Newport Pier sits just a short distance up the Newport Peninsula from Balboa

We fished until 12:15 and that was enough. We wanted to beat the traffic out of Orange County, Snookie needed to go to her choir practice, and everyone was beat. We had enjoyed the company but were obviously disappointed with the fishing.

We then headed south toward Oceanside but did make a short detour to Hogan’s Bait and Tackle in Dana Point. I wanted to pick up some bloodworms and managed to spend a few more bucks after seeing some things that I just couldn’t live without. It’s always good to visit that store and see its knowledgeable staff.

Back on the road, we were soon in Oceanside and checked into the motel. Mike was a little tired out from the heat and wanted to take a nap while I wanted to go fishing.  I decided to head down to the small pier in Oceanside Harbor. I usually manage to catch a few fish at the pier and this day would be much the same (although most were fairly small). I fished from 3:30 until 4:45 and managed 14 fish, 8 kelp bass (on bloodworms), 1 decent-sized spotfin croaker (on bloodworm), 1 salema, 3 smelt and a shinerperch. It wasn’t much to crow about but at least there was some action and I enjoyed the beautiful clouds while suffering through the heat.

The Oceanside Harbor Pier

Spotfin Croaker aka Golden Croaker and Roncador (the snorer)

The most interesting fish I saw was a garibaldi caught by an angler who was using bread to catch some smelt for bait. I didn’t know they liked bread.

There are almost always some birds at the pier

Dumbest move was by a girl in a kayak who decided to paddle over to a float full of sea lions. She actually paddled right up to the float and tried to pet a couple of the beasts. They bellowed at her and she seemed surprised that they might not enjoy her visit.

El Dumbo!

It was a beautiful sky that day

Next up was dinner and we headed over to the Joe’s Crab Shack that sits in the harbor. Burnt food, desultory service, and an unhappy Mr. Jones by the end of the meal.  

After dinner I walked down to Helgren’s Sportfishing to talk to some fishermen who had arrived on the Oceanside 95 Sportfisher while we were eating.  Boats had been pulling in yellowtail, bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna during an almost unheard of season of success. But the hurricane had affected their action too. The boat full of anglers had returned from the 1½ day trip with 4 fish, not exactly a crowd pleasing number. They were hoping the next day would be better.

After dinner Mike was ready for bed. I said we needed some fresh bait so headed down to the Oceanside Pier to catch some mackerel.  Anglers were catching mackerel using glow sticks and hi/lows baited with pieces of mackerel and I copied their rigs and bait. I fished from 8:30 to 10 PM and landed 15 Pacific mackerel and 1 sargo. We now had some fresh bait for the next day.

Day 3, Friday, September 11. Friday morning we planned to meet up with Ed Gonsalves who runs the Oceanside Pier Bait Shop and then do a little fishing. Ed suggested a spot midway out on the pier and his advice was good. Three hours of fishing yielded 13 Pacific Mackerel, (on cut mackerel) 10 Kelp Bass (on bloodworms), 1 Sand Bass (on a bloodworm) and 1 Topsmelt.

Mike at the “spot”

Ruby’s Restaurant sits at the end of the pier

Good sentiment!

The Oceanside Pier is one of my favorite piers

The Oceanside Pier Bait ShopA nice Shovelnose Guitarfish caught by “Bernie”

We had lunch with Ed ad his wife Pam and were soon headed to San Diego. The first stop in San Diego was at Squidco where I bought one more bag of bloodworms and would have gotten some ghost shrimp but they were out. We then checked into our motel. Mike was a little tired so decided on a nap before dinner. I, on the other hand, wanted to go fishing so headed over to the Ocean Beach Pier where action HAD been great. It was now slow. Nevertheless, fishing from 3-4:45 PM produced a plethora of fish: 7 Kelp Bass (most on blood worms), 4 Topsmelt, 2 Salema and 1 Rock Wrasse, the first I have caught at the pier.

You could see the Coronado Islands (Islas Coronados) off in the distance

The left corner of the pier

Out at the end

Salema aka Big Eye Bass and Lima Perch

Rock Wrasse aka Parrot Fish

Dinner was at the Kaiserhof Restaurant in Ocean Beach where we met up with my son Mike. It may be the best German restaurant in California and I’ve been going there for years. Once again they produced an excellent dinner.

I got a chance to visit with my son Mike for a few hours

Day 4, Saturday, September 12. Crystal Pier would be the destination Saturday morning. It had just yielded up a 40+ pound yellowtail a couple of weeks before our trip, had been producing some shortfin corvina, and might be our best chance for some good fish.

We arrived fairly early because we knew parking would be a problem (it always is) but we still had to park two blocks away from the pier. Upon arrival we only found one other angler (and he was a good one). We headed out to the end and settled in for some fishing (which was slow).

Although already hot and sticky, it was a beautiful morning

Mike getting ready

Looking shoreward

I decided to set up a heavy rig on the bottom baited with mackerel and shortly thereafter hooked something strong that headed out like a bat ray. I finally got it stopped and heading into the pier (where I worried about the pilings). Sure enough it was a bat ray that took more work than it should have to get it up onto the pier. The problem was the current moving inshore and pushing the net under the pier as soon as it got into the water. It took a while but finally the fish was netted and pulled up. Then we had a new problem getting it over the boards that stick out a couple of feet.  If I was a little younger I might have hopped over the railing and simply grabbed the net but those days are over. I finally swung the net over the railing and we were able to grab it and bring it in. It wasn’t a huge bat ray but it still was fun.

KJ and a Bat Ray (aka Stingray, Mud Marlin, Flapper, NASCAR and Sea Bird)

The only two other fish I caught was a round stingray and a small mackerel, which I baited up while trying for a shortfin corvina (with no success). Mike caught a Round Stingray.

Mike and his Round Stingray (aka Stinger and Stingaree)

Live bait was needed but I couldn’t even seem to get that. And, it meant I didn’t have the right bait when a school of firecracker-sized yellowtail showed up next to the pier. Five yellowtail were caught, all small ones, but still yellowtail.

One of the local experts, Angel Hernandez, did have the right bait and he caught two yellowtail. We had a long and interesting talk and I am waiting on some pictures he has taken of recent catches of shortfin corvina. He has also hooked several Giant Sea Bass including one that he said might go two hundred pounds.

A small yellowtail caught by Angel Hernandez at Crystal Pier

Of course I also wasn’t in the right spot. I had started out at the end when yellowtail were not being caught. I then moved into the shallows fishing for corvina but none would be caught that day. While I was at the front of the pier the yellowtail were visiting the back of the pier. So it goes.

The pier became a popular spot with people as the day continued 

We had to leave at 11:00 AM to attend my granddaughter’s soccer match but I think Crystal would have been the place to be for both yellowtail and corvina (if I just had a little more time). Unfortunately, I didn’t have the additional time.

Following the soccer match we had to head north, the destination being San Clemente. This time we checked into our motel, had an early dinner, and then headed down to Dana Harbor to fish from the small pier.

It turned out the harbor area by the pier was having a festival— the “Toshiba Tall Ships Festival,” and the shoreline and pier was filled with people. Thankfully most of the activities were finished by 5 PM and we were able to find a parking spot and some room to fish.

The Pilgrim

We fished from 6:40-9:10 PM and the visit yielded the usual bay species: 6 kelp bass, 2 sand Bass, 1 sculpin (California scorpionfish), 1 sargo and 1 good-sized spotfin croaker.

Spotfin Croaker

Day 5, Sunday, September 13. The last morning I would be fishing alone since Mike was visiting his daughter. I was at the pier at 7 AM and joined several other anglers out at the end of the pier who were pulling in some fish.

The early morning at the pier

Once again I tried for bonito and once again I had no success. However, smaller species were abundant. Three and a quarter hours of fishing produced 40 fish: 18 Pacific mackerel, 6 jacksmelt, 5 salema, 5 topsmelt, 3 kelp bass, 2 grunion and 1 sand bass.

Sand Bass aka Barred Sand Bass, Sugar Bass, Johnny Verde Bass and Grumpies (large fish)

Surfers and the train

The pier, the train, and no surfers

Looking shoreward

The San Clemente Pier and one of the prettiest settings for a pier

Unfortunately the sun and heat were once again brutal and I was covered with sweat when I left the pier. Once I picked up Mike the next stop would be back home in Fresno. Surprisingly when Mike and I arrived in Fresno/Clovis the weather had cooled slightly. In fact, it was actually cooler than it had been at the beach.

In summary, the trip was somewhat disappointing, both as to the heat and humidity and the lack of large, exotic species, i.e., yellowtail, shortfin corvina and bonefish. Realistically though, you still have to have some luck to catch those species. You have to be there at the right time with the right techniques. I think we had the techniques and bait covered but the timing was off. Everyone said you should have been here last week. Big tides had moved in and rattled the inshore waters, the baitfish seemed to mostly move offshore, and many of the larger species followed them. I think things were calming by Saturday/Sunday, and fishing would start to improve, but I had to return to Fresno (darn it). You only have so much time and money.

Nevertheless, the 23.75 hours spent fishing did yield a variety of fish: 50 Pacific Mackerel, 36 Kelp Bass, 14 Topsmelt, 8 Salema, 6 Jacksmelt, 5 Sand Bass., 2 Spotfin Croaker, 2 Sargo, 2 Grunion, 1 California Halibut, 1 Shovelnose Guitarfish, 1 Bat Ray, 1 Round Stingray, 1 Sculpin (California Scorpionfish), 1 Rock Wrasse, and 1 Shinerperch

Garibaldi in the island waters; the colors present an almost surreal scene

Derby Day — Saturday, July 18, 2015

“Well, first time that’s happened.” Only once in 14 years had the PFIC/UPSAC Catalina Get Together experienced rain and never during the day of the derby. That would change. What started as a beautiful day saw clouds emerge followed by thunder, lightening and a steady rain from tropical hurricane Dolores. The combination resulted in an abbreviated James Liu Memorial Derby at the 2015 Catalina Get Together.

Hashem Nahid and a little rain (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

Although the derby was shortened by about an hour no one seemed to mind. It was just too wet to keep fishing and no one knew when the rain would stop. A couple of times the rain seemed to slack and then here it came again*. Finally things calmed enough for a quick awards ceremony and it was over — although when the rain did eventually stop everyone went back to fishing.

The Derby results: 1st Place — Hashem Nahid; 2nd Place — Rita M;

1st Place — Hashem Nahid (Second photo, showing the perpetual trophy, courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

2nd Place — Rita Magdamo (Second photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

3rd Place — Christina Ballard (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

Honorable Mention — Arcadian (Second photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

Jr. Division Winner — Kyle Pease  (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

KJ, Kyle, Rita, Arcadian, Christina, and Hashem

Unfortunately it was a very small crowd this year and one of the main questions was if this would be the “last” Get Together? The sentiment was no! Given the fun and good companionship exhibited during the weekend all agreed that they at least would be ready for an event in 2016. Luckily the fishing had been good with the variety including bonito, kelp bass, sheephead, opaleye, garibaldi, halfmoon, sculpin (scorpionfish), grass rockfish, blackperch, blacksmith, rock wrasse, senorita, giant kelpfish, moray eel, ocean whitefish, sand bass, kelp perch and even one horn shark. Some big fish and some small fish, and just enough fish to keep things interesting.

Nevertheless, of note was the absence or near absence of several species that are commonly encountered at the Mole and GPP. We saw only one senorita and one blacksmith and did not see a single Pacific mackerel, jack mackerel or jacksmelt. The water was warmer than usual and the kelp canopy normally found at the Mole was almost missing. Both conditions affect the type of fish found in local waters.

• The average rainfall at Avalon for the month of July is .01 inches. Derby Day saw .33 inches of rain at Avalon including .23 of an inch between 12:40 and 2 PM, the scheduled end of the James Liu Memorial Derby.

The rest of the story:  Thursday — July 16, 2015

Hashem and myself took the first ferry over from Long Beach at 6:15 AM. We wanted a full day of fishing at the Green Pleasure Pier (GPP) and we got it. It was the usual mix of fish including an amazing number of small kelp bass.

The Green Pleasure Pier sits in the middle of the harbor surrounded by boats

The Casino

Amazing too was the number of medium to large-size opaleye, amazing both in their number and their unwillingness to take a bait. It wasn’t unexpected since the opaleye at the GPP always seem more wary than those at the Cabrillo Mole aka the Mole. It’s one reason that James Liu finally started fishing a 2-pound fluorocarbon line when fishing at the GPP. We did not have 2-pound fluorocarbon nor did we have any ghost shrimp, my preferred opaleye bait, but we did have frozen peas.

A medium-size opaleye (Picture courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

The opaleye would swim over, take a perfunctory look at the peas, and them swim off. The water was crystal clear and their behavior was easily observed. Nevertheless we did manage a few opaleye as well as the other usual species. Somewhat unexpected was a sand bass, the first I have taken at the GPP.

The Green Pleasure Pier as seen from the beach. (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

Green Pleasure Pier — 7/16/2015 — 8:45 AM-3:30 PM

Species—Kelp Bass, Rock Wrasse, Sheephead, Opaleye, Ocean Whitefish, Sand Bass.

During the summer this dock is situated out at the end of the Green Pleasure Pier which reduces, somewhat, the amount of water open to fishing.

Looking toward shore

Boats clogged the harbor

Looking toward the Cabrillo Mole where we would do most of our fishing

The beach as seen from the Green Pleasure Pier (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

A male rock wrasse

Female rock wrasse

Small ocean whitefish

Sand Bass

We knew Rita and Kyle were coming over on the 3:00 PM ferry so we decided to check into the motel and then head out to the Cabrillo Mole. The Mole would be a little different, minus the usual thick canopy of kelp due to the warm water that kills giant kelp. It made fishing a little easier (especially when bringing in bonito) but also meant less of the kelp-loving species such as kelpfish. In years past we have seen giant kelpfish, spotted kelpfish, striped kelpfish, and crevice kelpfish; this year saw one lone giant kelpfish. However, there were still plenty of fish.

A female sheephead beginning the transition into being a male (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

Sure enough Rita and Kyle were on the afternoon ferry and we talked to them and agreed to meet up for dinner at Antonio’s. We got in a few hours of fishing before dinner and once again saw a nice variety of fish.

July is a busy time of the year and the harbor sees boats coming and going at all hours

Cabrillo Mole — 7/16/2015 — 4:30-7:30 PM
Species—Kelp Bass, Garibaldi, Halfmoon, Sheephead, Sculpin (Scorpionfish)

California scorpionfish aka sculpin

A beautiful juvenile Garibaldi; the blue spots disappear as it reaches maturity

This young lady was on a fishing trip with her dad and she caught several nice fish including this Kelp (Calico) Bass

Friday — July 17, 2015

Friday and Saturday would be dedicated to fishing the Mole and we were at the Mole early in the morning Friday hoping to see some boiling water and schools of bonito. Greeted by a beautiful sunrise, we would not be disappointed. Fishing in many ways mimicked the 2006-2010 Get Togethers, all of which had seen a plethora of bonito along with numerous other species.

Boats and the Avalon Casino as seen from the Mole

Sunrise at the Mole

Sunrise at the Mole (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

Sunrise at the Mole (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

Sunrise at the Mole (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

Lovers Cove sits to the right of the Mole

The goal getting up early was to catch some bonito. Mission accomplished! (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

Good morning Kyle (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

Rita and a little bonito aka bonehead (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

Kyle and a second bonito

Hashem and a bonehead

Rita and a nice Kelp (Calico) Bass

Kyle and a Horn Shark

She’s not too sure she wants to touch the bass

Time for a little watermelon break! And, after affixing a piece of watermelon to a hook, it was proven to be a poor bait. (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

Bonito aka bonehead aka flasher aka bongo and aka Mr. Bojangles to some PFIC’ers

Action was steady throughout the day with bonito, some large and some small, moving in and out. Most of the fish were the usual species although the total included a grass rockfish, a species fairly uncommon at the Mole.

Grass Rockfish

We stopped at 5:15 PM to get dinner with Rita, Kyle, Arcadian, and Christina (who had arrived on the afternoon ferry).

Cabrillo Mole — 7/17/2015 — 6:30 AM-5:15 PM
Species—Kelp Bass, Garibaldi, Sculpin (Scorpionfish), Rock Wrasse, Halfmoon, Bonito, Sheephead, Opaleye, Senorita, Kelp Perch, Grass Rockfish, Blacksmith

After dinner Hashem and I headed back out to the Mole. For me it was a search for a moral eel. I had caught one once from a partyboat but never from a pier and what better place than Catalina? It would be an unusual night. I was using two rigs, one a rod equipped with a Sabiki and a float, which was floated out to sea in hopes of attracting a flying fish. The other was a medium-heavy combo loaded with 50-pound line and squid for a moral eel.

The Sabiki would yield no fish. The heavier rig saw pretty steady action. Fishing inshore, near the rocks, I dropped down the squid and had an immediate hit from something big, something that immediately went under the Mole and quickly was hooked onto seaweed or possibly a piling. It was big, it was strong, and I couldn’t even turn it. The heavy line was tangled up with something and I could feel the large fish but the rock/piling/seaweed eventually won the battle and I wasn’t too happy.

However, the next drop produced a moral eel, the elusive species I have been seeking for the past five years or so. So that quest was over — finally. Not 20 minutes later Arcadian who was fishing a short distance away would pull up another moral eel and some kids down the Mole would do the same.

I finally got my moray eel — although a small one! (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

Arcadian’s moray eel  (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

Nighttime was “bass time” (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

Next up was a legal 15-inch kelp bass followed by another legal kelp bass and then a chunk of squid yielded a large blackperch. Blackperch on a big chunk of squid on a 3/0 hook? It never happens but it did. Soon after I pulled in a large opaleye on the same squid. Opaleye at night on squid? Just a little strange. Several additional legal-size bass showed up, as well as a small spiny lobster, before we headed back to the hotel hoping to be fresh for Saturday and the derby.

A small lobster, out of season, too small, and caught on a hook and line; it was returned safely to the water

An early morning view of the harbor and the Green Pleasure Pier (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

Cabrillo Mole — 7/17/2015 — 9:00-11:45 PM
Species—Kelp Bass, Moray Eel, Blackperch, Opaleye, Halfmoon

Derby Day — “Rainy Saturday”

Saturday was finally Derby Day and hopes, as always, were high. Would we see a yellowtail or a triggerfish like last year? Would we see continued excitement from the bonito? What strange fish might bring something new and interesting to the Derby? And, would the rain, predicted at 20% hold off until another day? As it turned out, the last question would be the most relevant. It did rain but after the rain the fishing would begin anew.

Here comes the rain! (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

People TRIED to stay out of the rain. (Photo courtesy of Hashem Nahid)

Rita and a bonito

KJ and a bonito

A Giant Kelpfish, a fish that comes in several colors depending upon its habitat

Rita and a good-sized bonito (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

What’s a little rain? (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

Hashem and Kyle share some hot chocolate after the rain (Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo)

A golden Garibaldi, California’s state marine (saltwater) fish

Fish were plentiful

Yep, surreal-like

For myself, Saturday yielded the following fish:

Cabrillo Mole — 7/18/2015 — 8 :00 AM-9:00 PM (off and on)
Species—Kelp Bass, Garibaldi, Halfmoon, Sheephead, Sculpin (Scorpionfish), Rock Wrasse, Opaleye, Giant Kelpfish

Between the strange weather, the successful search for an eel, the bonito bite, and the fair number of usual species, it was one more delightful visit to Catalina, one I hope to repeat next year.

The Catalina Ferry getting ready to head back to the mainland

Something for the “Stats Geeks” out there — some statistics regarding the Green Pleasure Pier and the Cabrillo Mole:

I keep records of all my fishing trips and record the fish and approximate size. That’s then broken down into fish per hour and points per hour figures.

Based upon the 2002-2015 Catalina Get Togethers, this year saw the second highest points per hour figure from the Green Pleasure Pier at 44.4. The highest was in 2014 with a 45.9 figure and the third highest was 2003 with a 40.3 figure. The lowest years were 2012 with a 14.4 figure and 2010 with a 14.8 figure.

These figures are comparable to a trip I made in 1977 when I fished the pier three times and averaged 34.2 points per hour. [And there was no Mole in 1977.]

The Cabrillo Mole though was a different story even though bonito were present this year. The points per hour figure for the Mole was only 9.87, the second lowest for 2002-2015. The lowest year was 2006 which saw a 9.00 figure. The highest years were 2011 with a 25.4 figure and 2014 with a 21.7 figure.

However, the Mole is the place to go for variety (I now have 32 different species from the pier) and it has a better chance than the Green Pleasure Pier for pelagic species such as bonito. Almost all of my single day, single pier records for species have been at the Mole.

Sixteen species trip:

Cabrillo Mole, April 26, 2013—Jack Mackerel, Kelp Bass, Blacksmith, Senorita, Kelp Rockfish, Garibaldi, Halfmoon, Opaleye, Grass Rockfish, Pacific Mackerel, Treefish, California Scorpionfish, Sheephead, Pacific Sardine, Black Seaperch, Spotted Kelpfish

Fifteen species trip:

Cabrillo Mole, April 27, 2013—Kelp Bass, Pacific Mackerel, Jack Mackerel, Kelp Rockfish, Blacksmith, Treefish, Black Seaperch, Sheephead, Garibaldi, Senorita, Halfmoon, Opaleye, Pacific Sardine, Grass Rockfish, Spotted Kelpfish

Cabrillo Mole, September 19, 2010—Kelp Bass, Garibaldi, Senorita, Jack Mackerel, Jacksmelt, Opaleye, Halfmoon, Sheephead, Giant Kelpfish, Treefish, Blacksmith, Striped Kelpfish, Rock Wrasse, Black Seaperch, Finescale Triggerfish

Fourteen Species trip:

Cabrillo Mole, July 17, 2015—Kelp Bass, Garibaldi, California Scorpionfish, Rock Wrasse, Halfmoon, Pacific Bonito, Sheephead, Opaleye, Senorita, Kelp Perch, Grass Rockfish, Moray Eel, Black Seaperch, Blacksmith + 1 Spiny Lobster

Thirteen species trip:

Avila Pier, August 3, 2013—California Lizardfish, White Croaker, Speckled Sanddab, Brown Rockfish, Vermilion Rockfish, Yellowtail Rockfish, Bocaccio, Cabezon, Kelp Greenling, Blue Rockfish, Onespot Fringehead, Barred Surfperch, Jacksmelt

Cabrillo Mole, April 27, 2012—Kelp Bass, Pacific Mackerel, Jack Mackerel, Pacific Sardine, Senorita, Blacksmith, Opaleye, Treefish, Sheephead, Cabezon, California Scorpionfish, Kelp Rockfish, Halfmoon

Cabrillo Mole, April 16, 2011—Blacksmith, Jack Mackerel, Kelp Bass, Halfmoon, Pacific Mackerel, Ocean Whitefish, Senorita, California Scorpionfish, Salema, Treefish, Kelp Rockfish, Brown Rockfish, Pacific Sardine + 2 Spiny Lobster

Cabrillo Mole, April 23. 2010—Kelp Bass, Opaleye, Senorita, California Scorpionfish, Garibaldi, Rock Wrasse, Sheephead, Jacksmelt, Halfmoon, Kelp Rockfish, Treefish, Giant Kelpfish, Spotted Kelpfish

Twelve species trips:

Cabrillo Mole, April 25, 2010—Sheephead, Garibaldi, Kelp Bass, Opaleye, Halfmoon, California Scorpionfish, Kelp Perch, Rock Wrasse, Kelp Rockfish, Senorita, Jacksmelt, Black Seaperch

Cabrillo Mole, April 24, 2009—Kelp Bass, Garibaldi, Giant Kelpfish, Opaleye, Halfmoon, Spotted Kelpfish, California Scorpionfish, Sheephead, Treefish, Senorita, Jacksmelt, Kelp Perch

Garibaldi

Garibaldi — Species: Hypsypops rubicundus (Girard, 1854); from the Greek word hypsypops  (high area below the eye) and the Latin word rubicunda (red). Alternate Names: Golden perch, ocean sunfish and ocean goldfish. In Mexico called jaqueta garibaldi. As for the name garibaldi, it apparently was a name bestowed upon the fish by California’s Italian commercial fishermen in the 1800s. Giuseppe Garibaldi was one of the main leaders in the unification movement to create an Italian nation and his followers were known as the “Redshirts” for the bright red shirts they wore. He was considered a hero to Italians throughout the world and apparently the fish, at least to some, were reminiscent of those red shirts. Identification: Garibaldi are easily distinguished by the brilliant golden-orange coloring on the whole body and are considered by many the prettiest fish in our coastal waters. They are perch-shaped but very deep-bodied with large fins. The young (up to about 6 inches in length) are reddish orange with bright blue spots.

Garibaldi — a young fish with blue spots

Size: To 14 inches (some books say 15 inches) but most pier-caught fish are under a foot in length. Range: Bahia Magdalena, southern Baja California to Monterey Bay. Uncommon north of Santa Barbara and rare north of Point Conception. Habitat: Generally found in shallow-water, rocky-shore areas although they have been encountered down to a depth of almost 100 feet. Fitch and Lavenberg, Tidepool and Nearshore Fishes of California, report that “A wide variety of food items has been found in garibaldi stomachs, including sponges, sea anemones, bryozoans, algae, worms, crustaceans, clams and mussels, snail eggs, and their own eggs.”  No wonder it is sometimes hard to keep them off a hook even though they’re illegal to keep.

Garibaldi — Kim and a small garibaldi from the Cabrillo Mole in 2003

Piers: Often hooked at southern California piers located near kelp beds or rocky reefs. Best bets: Oceanside Harbor Pier, Dana Harbor Pier, Redondo Harbor Sportfishing Pier, and the three main piers on Catalina island—the Green Pleasure Pier and Cabrillo Mole at Avalon (where it’s hard not to hook them), and the Isthmus Pier at Two Harbors. Bait and Tackle: None—illegal to take. Food Value: None since you can’t keep them. Comments: Although pretty to look at, they are pugnacious, strong, and not the friendliest fish. They are extremely territorial and will defend fairly large areas. This is especially true during the spring-summer spawning season when males will build a nest and defend it against intruders, both fellow male garibaldi and other species (including humans). Apparently the cute little missy garibaldi are an exception and allowed to invade those spaces and deposit their eggs. It is illegal to keep these fish, but why? As related to me by a Fish and Game official, the campaign to make them illegal originated in Avalon. It seems that the glass bottom boats, a popular attraction at Avalon on Catalina Island, were worried that anglers (actually divers) were taking far too many of the beautifully colored fish and that it was bad for their business (since garibaldi are one of the most viewable fish from the boats). They got a law passed making it illegal to keep them in Avalon waters and soon after the question came up as to why not make it illegal throughout the state. Eventually the statewide law making them illegal was indeed passed by the legislature. Today, most anglers return the fish to the water if they’re mistakenly hooked. However, a number are also speared illegally. It seems colorful fish are required at the wedding dinner tables of some Pacific Islanders and garibaldi are a favorite. Once again long-time cultural tradition clashes with today’s rules. Garibaldi are one of California’s two official “state fish.” Garibaldi are the “saltwater” or marine fish while golden trout are the “freshwater” fish. Garibaldi are illegal to keep in California.

Kelp Bass  — Small, average size kelp bass from Cabrillo Mole

Kelp Bass — 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. 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.

Kelp Bass — DompfaPops and a kelp bass from the Cabrillo Mole in 2008

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. 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.”

A bass from the Mole in 2015. She’s not going to kiss it, that’s for sure!

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. 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.

KJ and a kelp (calico) bass from the Cabrillo Mole in 2010

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. 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.

Blacksmith

Blacksmith — Species: Chromis punctipinnis (Cooper, 1863); from the Greek word chromis (a croaker) and the Latin words punctipinnis  (spot fin). Alternate Names: Blue perch, kelp perch, rock bass and black perch. In Mexico called castañeta herrera. Identification: Perch-shaped but not so deep—compressed and somewhat elongate. Their dorsal fin is long and undivided. Their coloring is dark blue or black on the back, grayish blue on sides, yellow tones in fins; they have black spots on the posterior half of the body. Size: Length to 12 inches; most caught off piers are 6-10 inches. Range: Punta San Pablo, central Baja California, to Monterey Bay. Common in southern California. Habitat: Shallow-water, rocky-shore areas and in kelp beds; young and adults aggregate according to size. Surface to 150 feet deep although may travel down to 300 feet. Piers: Generally found only at southern California piers, and then only those located close to extensive kelp or reefs (although I have seen a few blacksmith landed at Monterey Wharf #2). Best bets: Oceanside Harbor Pier, Green Pleasure Pier and Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Redondo Harbor Sportfishing Pier, Paradise Cove Pier, and sometimes in late summer, Gaviota Pier. Bait and Tackle: Size 6 to 8 hooks fished on the bottom to mid-depth. Best bait are live bloodworms, lug worms, live crabs, fresh mussels or small pieces of shrimp. Food Value:  Too small to have much meat. Comments: Really only common at a few piers although I have seen them caught at many piers. It is reported that young blacksmith seek out cleaning fish, usually juvenile pileperch or senorita, and place themselves in positions where the cleaning fish are almost forced to remove external parasites from them. During these actions, the blacksmith may be head up, head down, on their side or even upside down. If the cleaner tries to leave, blacksmiths follow and prevent escape. Talk about bad manners.

California Sheephead

Sheephead — Species: Pimelometopon pulchrum (Ayres, 1854); from the Latin pulcher (for beautiful) and pimelometopon (meaning fat forehead). And, this may have been changed to Semicossphus pulcher. Alternate Names: Sheepie, goat, billygoats (large fish), red fish, snaggle tooth, humpy, and fathead. Early day names included California redfish. In Mexico called vieja californiana.

A female sheephead beginning to transform into a male

Identification: Easily identified by color. Adult females uniform brownish-red to rose; male with black head, red band in middle, and black in posterior portion of body; chin white on both sexes. Males have a large, fleshy lump on their forehead, which increases in size with age. Stout, protruding canine-like teeth in front of mouth; somewhat bucktoothed. Size: Length to 3 feet, and weight to 36.25 pounds although the majority of fish taken from piers are 9-14 inches in length. The California record fish weighed 30 lb 8 oz, and was taken at Newport Beach, Orange Co. in 2009. (A 29-pound sheepie was 32-inches long and 53 years old.) The largest sheephead I’ve seen reported from a pier was a 29.7-pound sheephead taken from the Redondo Sportfishing Pier in February 2008.

A young female sheephead from the Cabrillo Mole

Range: Cabo San Lucas, southern Baja California, and the Gulf of California to Monterey Bay. Common in southern California but considered uncommon north of Point Conception. An isolated population is found near the warm water discharge at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant near Avila Beach and Port San Luis. Habitat: Surface to 180 feet deep, along rocky bottoms and in kelp beds.

Rita and a sheephead from the Cabrillo Mole in 2012

Piers: By far the two best piers are those located at Avalon—the Green Pleasure Pier and the Cabrillo Mole. Sheephead are an expected catch at those piers.  Coastal piers that are located near rocks or kelp beds will see a few sheephead most years but they are always an unexpected treat. Best bets: Shelter Island Pier, Ocean Beach Pier, Oceanside Pier, San Clemente Pier, Redondo Sportfishing Pier, Santa Monica Pier and Paradise Cove Pier. 

KJ and a sheephead from the Cabrillo Mole in 2012

Bait and Tackle: Medium sized tackle, hooks size 4-2/0, and a variety of baits—shrimp, ghost shrimp, bloodworms, fresh mussels, cut squid—will attract sheephead if they’re around the pier.

Corki and a small, itsy bitsy, baby sheephead from the Cabrillo Mole

Food Value: Good. Sometimes used as a lobster substitute in salads and other recipes.

KJ and a sheephead taken from the Isthmus Pier in 2012

Comments: Feeds on such delicacies as sea urchins, sand dollars, sea cucumbers, snails, squid, lobsters, shrimp and crabs. It uses its canine-like teeth to pry food from rocks, which it then crushes with tooth-plates in the rear of the mouth. Can live to over 50 years and is a protogynous hermaphrodite starting life as a female and then turning into a male when about one foot in length and 4 to 5 years in age (although some appear to stay females up to fifteen years of age and some even refuse to change). Why, dear reader, do most of these fish start life as females and then turn into males? The process, by the way, seems to take less than a year. Apparently it is much more effective than that practiced by the medical establishment in California and is, I am sure, much less expensive.

Rock Wrasse (male, note bar following pectoral fin)

Rock Wrasse — Species: Halichoeres semicinctus (Ayres, 1859); from the Greek words hal (belonging to the sea) and choer (like a pig); and the Latin words semi  (half) and cinct  (banded, in reference to the color). Alternate Names: Wrasse, iodine fish and Parrot Fish. Called señorita piedrera in Mexico. Identification: Similar in shape and sometimes confused with senorita; rock wrasse have a long and slender body (but considerably deeper than a senorita) and a small mouth with protruding teeth. Their coloring is generally greenish brown with dusky vertical bars; males have a dark blue bar behind the pectoral fin. Lacks the large black spot at the base of the tail fin found in senorita. Size: Up to 15 inches although most caught from piers are less than 12 inches long. A 12-inch male weighed 1 pound and was 7 years old.

Rock Wrasse (female, no bar following pectoral fin)

Range: Isla Guadalupe, central Baja California and the Gulf of California to Diablo Cove, San Luis Obispo County. Habitat: Shallow-water, rocky-shore areas, preferring areas with small patches of coarse sand. Main foods are amphipods, small crabs, dove shells, and slipper shells. Piers:  Common at only a few piers due to their rock-loving affinity. Best bets: Green Pleasure Pier at Avalon (where they are common), Redondo Harbor Sportfishing Pier, Paradise Cove Pier, and occasionally at inner bay piers such as the Shelter Island Pier and the Oceanside Harbor Pier. Bait and Tackle: By far, the best bait is fresh mussels or sea worms, although they will bite on shrimp or small crabs. Tackle should be a size 6 or 4 hook and a light leader. Rock wrasse like to grab bait and immediately head back to their hole under a rock so be ready with a quick response. Food Value: The verdict isn’t in. Some say they’re good, some say not so good.

Rock Wrasse (unusual color phase)

Comments: This little fish invokes an interesting vocabulary and a somewhat epicene and unconventional sex life. These wrasses are protogynous hermaphrodites, which means in simple terms that they start their lives as females and become males when they reach a length of about one foot. Some sources say all rock wrasses go through this BIG, BIG change, some sources say as little as 5%. Whatever the percent, it must be a traumatic experience. They are also diurnal (another interesting word) meaning they sleep at night. Most seem to bury themselves in sand with only their head sticking out. Reports say they go to bed at twenty minutes before sunset and reappear twenty minutes before sunrise. Since I’ve never witnessed any of these critters wearing a watch, or even a tiny clock, I’m not too sure how they manage this twenty-minute routine? Perhaps the moon acts as the zeitgeber, the environmental cue triggering their strange nap-time behavior? By the way, they are not the only local fish that are hermaphrodites, California sheephead undergo a similar feat at about the same size.

Señorita

Señorita — Species: Oxyjulis californica (Gunther, 1861); from the Greek words oxy  (sharp, for sharp nosed fish) and julis (an old world genus of wrasses), and californica (from California, the location of the first fish studied). Alternate Names: Kelp fish, kelp wrasse, butterfish and iodine fish. Called pescery by 19th century fishermen. Also called Señorita in Mexico. Identification: Señorita have a very long and slender body (one guide book says they’re cigar-shaped), a small mouth and protruding buckteeth. Their coloring is reddish orange above and yellow below with brown and bluish streaks on the side of the head; they have a large black or dark brown crescent-shaped spot at the base of the caudal fin (tail). Size: To 10 inches although most caught from piers are 6-8 inches. Range: Bahia Magdalena, southern Baja California, to Salt Point, Sonoma County. Considered uncommon north of Santa Cruz. Habitat: Shallow-water, rocky-shore areas, and near kelp beds; usually found in small to dense schools. Senorita are carnivores that feed on small animals and the animals can be located on plants, other animals, in the water or on the bottom. They will pick parasites from other fish and are apparently sought out by a diverse group that includes bat rays, giant (black) sea bass, kelp bass garibaldi, halfmoon, opaleye and mola. It’s reported many fish will maintain awkward positions while being “cleaned” and that garibaldi actually hold their gill slits open for removal of parasites in the gill chamber. Considering that the “ectoparasites” removed includes bacteria, copepods, and isopods, it’s easy to see why the larger fish would be willing to maintain a weird position or two. Piers: I have only seen these caught on a few piers but where present they are the proverbial “bait stealers” for the most part. However, they can be caught at almost any southern California pier located near rocks, reefs or kelp beds. Best bets: Oceanside Harbor Pier, Green Pleasure Pier at Avalon (where they are far too common), Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Redondo Harbor Sportfishing Pier, Paradise Cove Pier, Gaviota Pier in the fall, and Monterey Wharf No. 2 (where they also are sometimes far too common). Bait and Tackle: Winner of the MNBS (Most Notorious Bait Stealer) Award. Señorita will try to grab (steal) almost any bait that is in their immediate vicinity. If you want to catch them use a small hook, size 6 or 8, and a small piece of mussel, shrimp or worm. Drop your bait to the bottom and then move it up in short increments until you find the school, or perhaps more accurately, until they find your bait—and they will. Food Value: Really too small to eat since a 9-inch señorita only weighs about three ounces. Nevertheless, some people claim to find their “different” flavor delicious and they eat them, others say they have a slight iodine taste. One angler who likes to catch and eat señorita reported that the meat was soft and flakey and tasted a lot like sheephead. Comments: As discussed in Fishes, An Introduction to Ichthyology, by Peter Moyle and Joseph Cech, señorita apparently are sometimes involved, in a complex manner, in helping to restore kelp beds: “Occasionally a severe storm will destroy a kelp forest, and regeneration may be prevented by the grazing of fishes or sea urchins on new kelp plants. Regeneration can occur, however, if rapidly growing green algae colonize the area first, providing the new kelp plants with shelter from grazing fishes (Harris et al. 1984). One of these grazers is the señorita, which is actually after a small bryozoan that encrusts the blades of plants. In order to eat the bryozoans, the señorita has to take bites from the blades; this can seriously weaken the plant if it is small, but has little effect when the plant is large. There is, however, another invertebrate, a herbivorous isopod, than can become so abundant it can destroy mature kelp plants. The señorita is the main predator on this isopod and keeps its populations small, maintaining the kelp beds in the process (Bernstein and Jung 1979).“ Señorita are attractive little fish that seem best suited for saltwater aquariums, or simply to be left alone since they seem to do quite a bit of good. Problem is they won’t leave bait alone. It is reported that they bury themselves at night in the sand with just their heads sticking out. Since they’re typically found in fairly large congregations, their nesting area must look a little strange. Perhaps like some sort of a weird colored, underwater asparagus patch. 

Ocean Whitefish — Caught by Adam (Baitfish) at the Catalina Get Together in 2011

Ocean Whitefish — Species: Caulolatilus princeps (Jenyns, 1840); from the Greek words caulo (stem) and latilus (probably a similar fish) and the Latin word princeps (leader).  Alternate Names: Blanquillo, blanka. In Mexico called pez blanco, blanquillo fino or pierna. Identification:  Elongate with a small mouth; distinguished by the very long single dorsal fin; long base of anal fin originates about middle of body; caudal peduncle rounded and slender. Brown to yellowish back, paler below; yellow or yellowish green edging on fins; blue stripe near edge of dorsal and anal fins. Size: To 40-inches, although most caught by anglers are less than 8 pounds in weight and most caught from piers are only 12-15 inches long. The California record fish weighed 13 lb 12 oz and was taken at Cortes Bank in 1988. Range: Reported from Peru, including Galapagos Islands and Gulf of California, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia; rare north of Monterey.

Hashem Nahid proved in 2006 that a kissing an ocean whitefish was a BAD idea!

Habitat: Mostly offshore rocky reefs and banks. Also found around kelp beds; shallow water in summer, deeper in winter. Typically feeds on crabs, shrimp, octopuses, squid and small fish. Piers: Although occasionally seen at southern California piers near deep water or kelp, they are only common at two piers, the Cabrillo Mole and Green Pleasure Pier, both in Avalon. Bait and Tackle: Usually caught on the bottom though reported to typically feed four to six feet off the bottom. Top bait seems to be fresh squid cut into strips about 4 inches long and half an inch wide. It’s reported that a reverse dropper loop—with the hook on the bottom and the sinker hanging from a dropper loop a couple of feet up the line—can be deadly. Other good baits include ghost shrimp, market shrimp, mussels, worms and small live bait. Light to medium tackle and a size 4 or 2 hook is all that is needed for most of the pier-caught fish. Deeper water fish require stronger tackle. Food Value: A very good, mild flavored flesh that can be prepared many ways Comments: Care should be taken when handling these fish because they have very sharp serrated edges on their gill plate covers. Their small mouths make them hard to lip latch so use a wet towel to grab and cradle their body. Due to the excellent fighting nature of these fish they are sometimes called the “poor man’s yellowtail.”

Giant Kelpfish (brown coloring)

Giant Kelpfish — Species: Heterostichus rostratus (Girard, 1854); from the Greek words heter  (different) and ost (extra bone), and the Latin word rostratus  (beaked or hooked). Alternate Names: Kelpfish, eel, iodine fish, butterfish, and kelp blenny. Called sargacero gigante in Mexico. Identification: The body is long and compressed. The dorsal fin is very long and continuous with many more spines than soft rays. The caudal fin is deeply forked (rounded in spotted kelpfish and striped kelpfish). Their coloring varies from light brown to green to purple depending on the habitat; typically those in kelp are usually kelp-colored, those in eelgrass bright green with brilliant silvery stripes.  Apparently these fish can change colors rapidly, at least juvenile fish, with browns and greens seeming to be the preferred colors. Adult females also have the ability to change from red to brown to green, however, it takes them a little longer than the kids. Alas, the adult males seem to have forgotten how to perform this party-pleasing trick. Size: To 24 inches long; most caught off piers are 10 to 14 inches. Range: Cabo San Lucas, southern Baja California to British Columbia.

Giant Kelpfish (yellow coloring)

Habitat: Shallow-water areas near rocks or kelp. Piers: Found at piers that have a heavy growth of kelp or seaweed. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, Cabrillo Pier, Green Pleasure Pier and Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Redondo Sportfishing Pier, Paradise Cove Pier, and Gaviota Pier. Bait and Tackle: Light to medium tackle and small, size 8 to 6 hooks. The best bet is to tie the hooks directly onto the line. Preferred baits appear to be small crabs, pieces of shrimp, live bloodworms or pile worms, and fresh mussels (although I have caught some on small pieces of abalone). Food Value:  Reported to be fair eating although with an unusual flavor. I’ve never tried them myself but would expect them to be good fried. The flesh assumes the external color of the fish. 

Giant Kelpfish (red coloring)

Comments: Although generally considered uncommon north of Point Conception, I have caught a number of these pretty fish while fishing inshore at the Berkeley Pier. The fish were caught right in among the shoreline rocks and the usual bait was small pieces of pile worm. Two related species, striped kelpfish and crevice kelpfish are also common at Bay Area piers; both though have rounded tails and their coloring is different from giant kelpfish.

 Striped Kelpfish

Striped Kelpfish —  Species: Gibbonsai metzi (Hubbs, 1927); from Gibbonsai (William P. Gibbons, an early naturalist from Alameda), and metzi (Charles W. Metz, a student of ichthyology once interested in kelpfish). Alternate Names: Striped kelp-fish, seaweed kelpfish, weed klipfish. Called sargacero or sargacero rayado in Mexico. Identification: Reddish to light brown, usually with darker stripes or darker mottling on sides (color often matches nearby seaweed). Tail rounded (distinguishes them from a giant kelpfish); pectoral fin is short, not reaching the front of the anal fin.Size: To 9 1/2 inches long; most caught off piers are 5-8 inches. Range: Punta Rompiente, central Baja California to Maquinna Point, Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Habitat: Shallow-water areas near rocks or kelp. Piers: Found at piers that have a heavy growth of kelp or seaweed. Best bets: I’ve taken them at the Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), the Paradise Cove Pier (Malibu), Coast Guard Pier (Monterey) and the Princeton Harbor Pier. I’ve also taken them at several Bay Area piers including Agua Vista (in San Francisco), Berkeley Pier (East Bay), and Elephant Rock (North Bay). At the first two they were inshore by the rocks, at the latter the pier sits on a rock. Bait and Tackle: Light to medium tackle and small, size 8 to 6 hooks. Preferred baits appear to be pieces of worm, blood or pile, while small pieces of shrimp and mussels will also entice them. Food Value: Too small, let ‘em go.  Comments: A pretty little fish that likes to hang by the rocks, dart out to grab the bait, and then head back to the rocks.

Spotted Kelpfish

Spotted Kelpfish — Species:Gibbonsia elegans (Cooper, 1864);from Gibbonsai (William P. Gibbons, an early naturalist from Alameda), and the Latin word elegans (elegant or handsome).  Alternate Names: Called Sargacero or Sargacero manchado in Mexico. Identification:Typical kelpfish shape—pointed snout, tiny mouth, rounded caudal fin, and long dorsal fin. Color varies widely; green to brown or tan or reddish—often blotched or streaked. 1-3 (often 2) ocelli on back. Soft rays more widely spaced toward rear of dorsal fin. Scales that extend well onto the caudal fin distinguish it from other kelpfish. Size: To 6.2-inches long; most caught from piers are around 4-5 inches. Range: Bahia Magdalena, southern Baja California, including Isla Guadalupe, to Piedras Blancas Point, central California. Habitat: Shallow-water areas near rocks or kelp. Typically feeds on benthic crustaceans, small mollusks and worms, but also eats fair quantities of algae. Found from subtidal rocky areas to 56 m depth, usually in seaweed. Female lays white eggs in seaweed; male guards egg mass. Piers: Embarcadero Marina Pier, Oceanside Harbor Pier, Cabrillo Mole in Catalina, Redondo Spotfishing Pier, Malibu Pier, and Monterey Coast Guard Pier. Bait and Tackle: Light tackle and small hooks. Preferred baits appear to be sea worms—pile worms and bloodworms, pieces of shrimp, and fresh mussels. Food Value: Too small to be used for food. Comments: A small fish that is rarely caught due to their small mouth. However, they are sometimes an incidental catch by perch anglers using small hooks.

Opaleye

Opaleye — Species:  Girella nigricans (Ayres, 1860); from the French word girelle (a derivative of julis, an old word used to denote a number of small wrasse in Europe), the Latin word nigr  (dark) and the Greek word ikanos  (becoming, in reference to its pleasing appearance). Alternate Names: Blue-eye perch, green perch, opaleye perch, bluefish, blue bass, greenfish, Jack Benny, Catalina perch, button-back, button-eye, and button bass. Called chopa verde in Mexico. Identification: Opaleye are perch-shaped but heavier bodied. Their coloring is usually dark olive green, usually with two light spots at the base of the dorsal fin; occasionally pale green while some almost all white fish have been observed. Eyes are distinctive: large and an opalescent, blue-green color.

Amanda Liu and an opaleye from the Cabrillo Mole in 2013

Size: To 25.4 inches and 13 1/2 pounds (a 10-11 year old fish speared off south Laguna); most caught from piers are less than 14 inches. The California record fish weighed 6 lb 4 oz and was taken near Los Flores Creek in 1956.  Range: Cabo San Lucas, southern Baja California and the Gulf of California to Otter Rock, Oregon. Uncommon north of Point Conception. Habitat: Shallow-water, rocky areas and kelp beds. Piers: Can be caught from almost any pier in southern or central California located near rocks, reefs, or kelp, but they’re uncommon north of Cayucos and rare north of Monterey. Best bets: Shelter Island Pier, Ocean Beach Pier (inshore), Oceanside Harbor Pier, Dana Harbor Pier, Cabrillo Pier (jetty side), the Green Pleasure Pier and Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Redondo Sportfishing Pier, and the Paradise Cove Pier. Most of the fish caught at most of these piers are fairly small opaleye. The exceptions are the two piers in Avalon that almost always have good-sized fish available for opaleye-seekers.

KJ and an opaleye from the Cabrillo Mole in 2007

Bait and Tackle: Some anglers specialize in opaleye, and many of them swear that moss or frozen peas are the best bait. I’ve caught them on both, but I’ve actually caught more on ghost shrimp, fresh mussels, pile worms, bloodworm, and small rock crabs. I also managed to hook a few opaleye using garden snails during an experiment testing different baits at Catalina in 2005. Food Value:  A good eating fish that is generally fried. Comments: Primarily herbivores (vegetarians), opaleye eat a variety of plants including feather boa kelp, giant kelp, sea lettuce and coralline algae. Evidently they also grab organisms attached to seaweed as they’re making their rounds, tasty little items like tube worms and red crabs. Opaleye are a favorite of many anglers; they’re hard to hook but once hooked put up a very good fight for their size. The crystal-clear waters at Avalon present quite a challenge for the sagacious, line-shy opaleye. Big schools of 2-4 pound fish hang around the Green Pleasure Pier and the Cabrillo Mole but can be very hard to catch. Use 2-4 pound fluorocarbon line and you might get them! Of course the 1,794 ropes, tangled lines, pilings and yellow submarines that surround and hang under the GPP might also get your line. At the Mole it’s the long fronds and blades of the giant kelp that sway (tidally) in or out near the railing. If the opaleye are allowed to encircle the kelp it’s pretty much over. As soon as they are hooked apply pressure and try to keep them coming toward you while having a person ready with a net. You need to use light line but can also pay the consequences if you’re unwilling to apply enough pressure.

Halfmoon 

Halfmoon —  Species: Medialuna californiensis (Steindachner, 1876); from the Spanish word medialuna (halfmoon, referring to the shape of the tail) and californiensis  (California, where first found). Alternate Names: Catalina blue perch, island mackerel, blooper, blue wizard, blue perch or blue bass. In early days sometimes called medialuna. In Mexico called chopa medialuna. Identification: Halfmoon are perch-shaped but heavier bodied; they’re similar in many ways to opaleye. Their coloring is normally bluish-black above, bluish-gray on sides, and light blue below. Their tail is shaped like a half-moon. Size: A 19-inch fish weighed 4 pounds 12.5 ounces. Range: Gulf of California to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Habitat: Halfmoon are found in shallow-water, rocky areas and kelp beds. They’re often in small loose schools in the mid-water area and, at times, mixed in with schools with pileperch.

Halfmoon taken at the Mole by Jimbojack in 2007

Piers: Common at southern and central California piers that are located near rocks, reefs or kelp. They’re common as far north as Cayucos but occasionally taken as far north as Santa Cruz. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, the Green Pleasure Pier (Avalon), Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Hermosa Beach Pier, Redondo Harbor Sportfishing Pier, Santa Monica Pier, Gaviota Pier, and the Paradise Cove Pier. Bait and Tackle: Halfmoon will take almost any bait but they prefer fresh mussels, shrimp, or small crabs. When schools are present, a small strip of squid will often work, and you will lose far less bait. Halfmoon caught from boats seem to be less picky and will often hit pieces of anchovy, sardine, or sqiuid.  Food Value:  A good eating, mild-flavored fish. Comments:  Halfmoons are good fighters, very similar to opaleye and the larger perch. They will eat almost anything in their environment including red, green, and brown algae, sponges, bits of seaweed, green moss, shrimp, mussels, squid, and fish. Apparently they have a hard time deciding whether to be vegans or meat-eaters and that may explain their scrappy and perhaps irritable nature.

Black Seaperch or Blackperch

Black Seaperch — Species: Embiotoca jacksoni (Agassiz, 1853); from the Greek word embiotoca (bringing forth living young), and jacksoni  (in honor of A. C. Jackson of San Francisco, who first noted that these perch give birth to living young and brought it to the attention of Alexander Agassiz who described the species). Family Embiotocidae, subfamily Embiotocinae. Alternate Names: Buttermouth perch, black surfperch, black seaperch or bay perch. Often called pogie by anglers in the Bay Area. In Mexico called mojarra negra or perca negra. Identification: Typical perch shape. Although variable, their coloring is usually black or brown to reddish, and yellowish on the belly; scales often have blue flecking. Lips are orange or yellow and they have a “mustache” on the upper lip. Typically they have dark vertical bars on the side; a bluish-white line is often seen at the base of the anal fin. Easily identified by a large patch of enlarged scales between the pectoral and pelvic fins. Size: To 15.4 inches; most caught off piers are under a foot.The California record fish weighed 1 lb 11 oz and was taken from San Carlos Beach in 2006. Range: Punta Abreojos, central Baja California, and offshore Isla Gudalupe to Fort Bragg, Mendocino County. Habitat: Most common in eelgrass beds of bays and rocky-shore areas; both in bays and along the coast. Piers: Common at most piers north to Bodega Bay. Generally caught at bay piers or inshore piling areas of oceanfront piers. Best bets: Imperial Beach Pier, Shelter Island Pier, Oceanside Harbor Pier, Dana Harbor Pier, Long Beach Finger Piers, Redondo Harbor Sportfishing Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Venice Pier, Santa Monica Pier, Cabrillo Pier (jetty side), Malibu Pier, Paradise Cove Pier, Goleta Pier, Gaviota Pier, Morro Bay T-Pier, Monterey Coast Guard Pier, Capitola Wharf, Fort Point Pier, San Francisco Municipal Pier, Candlestick Pier, Berkeley Pier, Ferry Point Pier, Paradise Beach Pier, Elephant Rock Pier, Angel Island Pier, and Fort Baker Pier.Bait and Tackle: Prefers fresh mussels, bloodworms, pile worms, small pieces of shrimp or small rock crabs. Size 8 or 6 hooks fished on the bottom with a high/low leader seem to work best. Food Value: In the past this was considered a fairly good, mild-flavored fish. Today, because of our polluted waters, they are considered unfit to eat in some locales. Comments: Once a favorite spring fish for Bay Area pier fishermen; today there’s a perch closure during the spawning months.

Pile Perch — Robert Gardner and a Pile Perch from the Cabrillo Mole in 2013

Pile Perch — Species: Damalichthys vacca (Girard, 1855); from the Greek root words racos (ragged) and cheilos (lips) and the Latin word vacca  (like a cow). Family Embiotocidae, subfamily Embiotocinae. Alternate Names: Splittail perch, forktail perch, dusky perch, white perch, silver perch, piler perch, and porgy. In Mexico called mojarra muellera or perca. Identification: Pile perch are distinguished by the black spot on the cheek, the very deeply forked tail, and the very tall, first soft rays on the dorsal fin that are about twice the height of the last spines. Color is dark brassy-brown, fading to silver on sides and belly; often has yellow pelvic fins. Pile perch have one dusky, vertical bar across the side at about the high point of the soft dorsal. The posterior position of the bar and the deeply forked caudal fin (tail) distinguish it from sargo. Size: To 17 1/4 inches; most caught from piers are 10-14 inches. The California record fish weighed 1 lb 15 oz and was taken at Long Beach in 2007. Range: Isla Guadalupe (and possibly Bahia Playa Maria), central Baja California to southern British Columbia. Unverified report to Port Wrangell, Alaska. Habitat: Shallow-water, rocky-areas, and around piers and docks, both oceanfront and in bays. Typically they are a bottom dwelling species, called “benthic grazing carnivores” by some. Others classify them as “commuter” fish that move between different habitats in search of prey. All agree they are primarily day feeders seeking out large, hard-shelled invertebrates that they are able to crush with their well developed, fused pharyngeal tooth plates. Since other perch do not share this ability, some scientists feel pile perch should be placed in a separate genus—Danalichthys. Foods include crabs, brittle stars, sand dollars, barnacles, bean clams, (whole) mussels, limpets, dove shells, California cones, Norris top shells, and chitons. Piers: Pile perch are taken at virtually every pier in California but the largest numbers are taken at Bay Area piers. Best bets: Santa Monica Pier, Stearns Wharf, Goleta Pier, San Francisco Municipal Pier, Berkeley Pier, Point Pinole Pier and McNear Beach Pier. Bait and Tackle: Pile perch can be exasperatingly difficult to catch. The large perch will often be seen placidly swimming in clear view around the mussel-covered pilings while refusing to partake of the offerings of the gods up above—anglers whose mojo is evidently on empty. Damalichthys vacca do seem a little easier to catch when in their dense schools are a’spawning. Perhaps their pea-sized brains are distracted and normal caution takes a back seat to other thoughts? The most common setup is to use a high/low leader with number 6 or 4 hooks, light line, and a light sinker. Best bait in southern California seems to be fresh mussels, rock crabs or bloodworms. In the Bay Area, grass shrimp, rock crabs, pile worms or fresh mussels are best. In Humboldt Bay, frozen tube worms or crab backs are most commonly used. Usually pile perch are nestled up next to the pilings; fish accordingly. Check out the shoreline by the pier at low tide and grab some local live bait—small crabs, mussels, worms, snails or clams; these will usually make the best bait. Food Value: Although large sized and yielding some usable meat, the flesh is only fair in taste. Comments: Many years ago, at Newport Pier, I watched an old-timer show one way to catch the perch. Pile perch were doing their typical trick d’tease: big fish showing a leg but refusing to bite. The old-timer tried out a trick of his own. He took out a mass of recently pried loose mussels, at least a dozen in the clump, and in and around this mussel-mass he wound a leader that had several number 8 hooks attached. Then he attached the leader to a handline and carefully dropped it down next to the pilings. This new mini-piling soon attracted the fish and he was able to catch several of the large pile perch. Sporting? I’m not sure, but it sure was effective. Since then, I’ve seen variations of this technique at both the Santa Monica Pier and at Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara and heard stories of its use at the Goleta Pier.  

Kelp Perch

 Kelp Perch — Species: Brachyistius frenatus (Gill, 1862); from the Greek words brachys (short) and istion (sail), and the Latin word frenatus  (bridled). Family Embiotocidae, subfamily Embiotocinae. Alternate Names: Brown seaperch, brown perch and kelp seaperch. In Mexico called mojarra sargacera or perca. Identification: Typical perch shape. Kelp perch have a compressed body, long pointed snout, long dorsal fin spines and coloring that is generally golden-brown to reddish above and tan below. There is usually a pale stripe on the upper side and sometimes blue spotting. Size: To 8 1/2 inches (.3 pounds) but most caught from piers are around 6 inches in length. Range:  Bahia Tortugas, central Baja California to near Sitka, southeastern Alaska. Habitat: Typically seen around offshore kelp beds but will move in around piers which have a heavy growth of kelp. Usually a kelp-canopy, dwelling species that likes to pick small invertebrates off of plants. Piers: Seen in late summer at piers with heavy kelp. Best bets: Cabrillo Mole in Avalon, Paradise Cove Pier, Goleta Pier, Gaviota Pier and the Spud Point Marina Pier (Bodega Bay). Bait and Tackle: Use light tackle with small number 8 or 6 hooks and a small piece of bloodworm, shrimp or mussel. Food Value:  Too small so throw ‘em back. Comments: A “cleaner fish” that often picks ectoparasites off the bodies of larger fish.

California Barracuda — SteveO and a barracuda from the Cabrillo Mole in 2009

California Barracuda — Species: Sphyraena argentea (Girard, 1854); from the Greek word sphyraena (an ancient name meaning hammer fish) and the Latin word argenteum  (silvery). Alternate Names: Pacific barracuda, barry, gar, fire hose, stove pipe, skinny, scooter, scoot, snake, slime, slimestick, pencil (small fish), barelycuda (small or short fish), or log (big fish). In Mexico called barracuda plateada. Identification: Barracudas are long and slender with a sharp-pointed head and a mouth full of very sharp fang-like teeth. They have two widely separated dorsal fins. They have a distinct look from most other fish, although the young look a little like lizardfish. Size: Reported to 5 feet but recorded to 4 feet and 18 pounds; most caught from piers are under 30 inches.  Almost all large barracuda are females. The California record fish weighed 15 lb 15 oz and was caught near San Onofre in 1957. Range: Cabo San Lucas, southern Baja California, and the Gulf of California to Kodiak Island, Gulf of Alaska. Uncommon north of Morro Bay. Habitat: Pelagic, but young are often found inshore and in bays. Piers: Only common at piers north to Point Conception although fish will sometimes be caught as far north as Pismo Beach and Avila in the late summer and fall months. Best Bets: Shelter Island Pier, Ocean Beach Pier, Oceanside Pier, San Clemente Pier, Seal Beach Pier, Cabrillo Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Manhattan Beach Pier, Venice Pier and Burton Chace Park Dock.

Adam (Baitfish) and a barracuda from the Mole in 2003

Bait and Tackle: Live anchovies, when available, are by far the best bait. If using live anchovies, try a size 4 hook and a sliding leader or use a float/bobber to keep the leader at mid-depth. Small smelt can also be used for live bait although they are not as good as anchovies. Gold spoons—Krocodiles and Kastmasters—as well as Rebel Fast Tracks, have proven to be reliable artificial lures for the scooters. Food Value: Keeper size fish are good to excellent eating. Barracuda will tend to soften quickly if left in the hot sun so clean soon after capture and then keep the fillets in a cooler.

Robert Gardner (Redfish) and a barracuda from the Cabrillo Mole in 2009 

Comments: Although barracuda today are considered somewhat of a bonus fish by most pier fisherman, there was a time, in the not too distant past, when they were common to piers; however, the numbers that frequent piers seem to decrease each year. When I first moved from Newport Beach to San Diego, I was surprised at the number of barracuda caught from piers inside San Diego Bay and Mission Bay. Since then I have come to learn that bays are often the best areas for the young barracuda—small fish up to around two feet in length. In those days it was sometimes common to catch a fish on nearly every cast using a live anchovy or a small lure, especially gold or silver spoons. Today these small fish are illegal and it is best to simply not fish for them; hooks, in particular the treble hooks common to spoons, will tear up the mouths of the under-sized fish. Strange but true, the only time I ever caught a fish with my line OUT of the water was when I was fishing for barracuda one day near the Dana Marina in Mission Bay. A friend and I had rented a rowboat early one morning, and then proceeded to tie gold spoons onto our lines before heading out to the small bait barge in the cove. I left my pole at the back of the boat with the spoon dangling at least 8-10 inches away from the water. Imagine my surprise when a small barracuda jumped out of the water and grabbed the lure as we were rowing out to our spot. And yes, I did land the fish. It happened in August of 1964 on a trip where I caught 21 barracuda among others. The “out of water” fish was the highlight.

Pacific (Chub) Mackerel 

Pacific Mackerel — Species: Scomber japonicus (Houttuyn, 1782); from the Greek word scombros (an ancient name for the common mackerel of Europe) and japoniocus (of Japan). Given the name Pneumatophorus japonicus diego in the early Fish Bulletin #28. Alternate Names: Greenback, green mackerel, green racer, greenies (or candy bar greenies—small mackerel), blue mackerel, striped mackerel, zebra mackerel, right mackerel, chub mackerel, cornfed, frog, tiny tuna, mac, big mac, or mac trash. 19th century fishermen called these tinker mackerel, little mackerel or Easter mackerel. My goodness, what a plethora of diverse names. Called macarela del Pacífico in Mexico. Identification: Typical mackerel shape with am elongated body tapering at both ends; identified by the long space between the dorsal fins, 25 to 30 black to dark green bars and spots across the back, and irregular spots on the sides. Size: To 25 inches and 6 pounds. Most caught off piers are less than 18 inches. The California record fish weighed 2 lb 8 oz and was taken at Los Angeles in 1995. Range: Gulf of California (some sources say Bahia Banderas) to southeastern Kamchatka, western Gulf of Alaska. Also Panama to Chile and Islas Galápagos. Habitat: Pelagic, feeding mainly on euphausids (small, shrimp-like crustaceans, i.e., krill, usually 1/8 onch to less than an inch), squid, and young fish. Found from the surface down to about 100 feet.

Robert Gardner and a Pacific mackerel from the Cabrillo Mole in 2010

Piers: Common at most piers in California north to and including those in Monterey Bay (at more northern piers in late summer or fall). Best bets: Imperial Beach Pier, Oceanside Pier, San Clemente Pier, Balboa Pier, Newport Pier, Redondo Beach Pier, Redondo Sportfishing Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Manhattan Beach Pier, Malibu Pier, Stearns Wharf, Goleta Pier, Gaviota Pier and Monterey Wharf #2. Generally uncommon at piers north of Monterey Bay although recent years have seen them enter San Francisco Bay. In 2009 they were taken at many Bay Area piers including most along the San Francisco waterfront and several in the East Bay. Bait and Tackle: Caught on a wide range of baits and artificial lures. A very simple method is also the most common; it is especially useful when fishing from a pier that sits down near the water. Simply attach a size 4-2 hook to the end of the line, put a small split-shot sinker a couple of feet above the hook, and use a small strip of squid, 2-3 inches long, or a bloody strip of mackerel, as the bait. The rigging can be used as is, or used in conjunction with a small float so that the bait stays a few feet under the surface of the water. If available, live anchovies are also excellent bait. When a school of mackerel is in one of their ravenous moods, a Sabiki/Lucky Lura-type bait rig can be deadly and will often produce a fish on every hook (which can lead to tangles and loss of the rig). The most fun can be had with a light outfit and a small artificial lure—a light bonito-type jig or even a cast-a-bubble with a bucktail fly. Generally the bait, whether live bait or cut bait, should be kept moving. A technique that often works is to cast out a high/low leader baited with cut anchovy or piece of mackerel, let it sink toward the bottom, then immediately begin a medium speed retrieve; mackerel will often hit it on the way up, usually just before it gets to the surface. At times, when a school is really hungry, the mackerel will hit on anything and everything (although I think pieces of mackerel are the best bait) and this leads to the common term: “mac attack.” It’s an appropriate title. Food Value: Mackerel are a fairly strong flavored fish, a fact that stops some people from eating them. Too often they wind up being used as bait, as fertilizer, or being thrown away. At the same time many people find them delicious. Typically the difference is due to the way they are handled and cooked. Being a fairly oily fish, the flesh can quickly deteroriate and soften. Put them on ice after capture, keep them cold, and use within a couple of days, and you will be starting with a much more palatable type of flesh. In addition, you can remove the darker (muscle) flesh from the side of the fish (the lighter the flesh the more mild). Lastly, if you want to reduce the strong flavor, cook utilizing methods that remove oil from the flesh—broiling and bar-b-que being best.  If you have a smoker they can also be made into tasty jerky. It’s recorded that in England there has been a special dispensation in existence since the seventeenth century that allows mackerel to be sold on Sunday. Thus the quickly spoiling fish are not wasted. It simply affirms the necessity of keeping them cold and eating them while fresh. The flip side is that some groups prefer the strong flavors. They know that using spices that complement the flesh produces a tasty and favorable piece of fish. Still, mackerel may not be the fish for those raised on the mild tasting, white-fleshed fish used for fish and chips (cod, halibut, rock cod, etc.). Comments: Mackerel numbers seem to go in cycles; for years they will be fairly uncommon and then there will be years when they will be at nearly every southern California pier. Recent years have seen huge catches. Unfortunately many of these mackerel go to waste. I have seen people who loaded buckets (or gunnysacks) with mackerel day after day at their favorite piers. I sincerely hope they used them. Pacific mackerel are pretty little fish and terrific fighters for their size. Seafood, A Connoiseur’s Guide and Cookbook by Alan Davidson, comments on the “attractive and flashy appearance of mackerel,” noting that the “French name maquereau also means ‘pimp’” and that “in the past mackerel was a term for dandy in England.”

Pacific Bonito

Pacific Bonito — Species: Sarda chiliensis (Cuvier, 1832); from the Greek word sarda  (an ancient name for a European species of bonito) and chiliensis (in reference to Chile, South America, where the species was first recognized). Alternate Names: Most commonly called bonehead but also given the names bone, boner, bonefish, flasher, Laguna tuna, magneto, bongo, striped tuna and little tuna. One of my favorites —from the PFIC Message Board—Mr. Bojangles. Called bonito del Pacífico oriental in Mexico. Identification: Tuna-shaped, elongated and pointed at both ends; a series of 6 to 8 finlets that follow the second dorsal fin and anal fin. Coloring dark blue above with greenish reflections and a metallic luster shading into silver below; several dark oblique lines on the back. Size: To 40 inches; most caught from piers are less than 24 inches. The California record fish weighed 22 lb 3 oz and was caught in Malibu Cove in 1978. 

James Liu and a bonito from the Cabrillo Mole in 2009

Range: Southern Baja Californa and Gulf of California to Copper River in Alaska. Also found in subtropical eastern Pacific, Peru to Chile, and off Japan. Primarily feeds on fish, occasionally on squid. As a general rule they’re only found north during El Nino, warm water conditions (and I witnessed several large bonito, all over ten pounds, being caught off of Elk in Mendocino County during the El Nino year of 1983). Habitat: Pelagic, although enters bays, especially those with warm water outlets. Piers: Common at most southland piers, both those in bays and those at oceanfront spots. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, Oceanside Pier, Balboa Pier, Newport Pier, Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Redondo Beach Pier, Redondo Harbor Sportfishing Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Stearns Wharf and Goleta Pier. Rarely seen at piers north of Point Conception excepting during warm-water years.

SteveO and a bonito from the Mole in 2014

Bait and Tackle: Taken on a variety of baits and lures. The best bait is live anchovies fished on a sliding leader or with a cast-a-bubble. The best lure is a bonito feather affixed to either a cast-a-bubble, a Styrofoam float or a golf ball—the bubble/float/golf ball causes commotion on the surface which attracts the bonito and keeps the lure near the top. Food Value:  Bonito are good flavored but require cleaning soon after capture. If bleed quickly, or even better if filleted and then put on ice, the flesh can be quite tasty. If allowed to warm up in a gunnysack on the nice hot surface of a pier the flesh can be almost inedible (which is true with many fish). However, parts of the flesh are dark colored—bloody—and strong flavored. Cut out those parts of the flesh unless you desire them for smoking. Typically the best cooking methods are broiling or bar-b-cuing the meat, although smoked bonito and pickled bonito are also good. When I was young and lived in San Diego, I would often go out on the half-day boats to catch some bonito. A couple of the cooks on the boats would cook up some of the fresh-caught fish. A favorite method was to cut thin slices of meat from the head of the bonito (up behind the eyes) and then lightly cook the slices on a grill using just a little butter. Flavored with soy sauce, it was delicious.

Rita and a bonito from the Cabrillo Mole in 2009

Comments: Many people feel that bonito are among the strongest fighting fish, pound for pound, in the sea. Sometimes during the cold-water, winter months the Redondo Sportfishing Pier in King Harbor is the best place in the state to catch bonito. Sometimes? The nearby power plant used to allow its hot water to flow into the harbor every winter, an event that usually would attract bonito and anglers. Today it’s a sometimes thing. When on, the warm water is discharged via the famous “bubble” that sits a short distance out from the pier.

California Yellowtail — Yellowtail reach a good sioze, this 48.5-pound beauty was caught by Tony Troncale at the Crystal Pier in San Diego

California Yellowtail — Species: Seriola dorsalis (Valenciennes, 1833); from the Italian word seriola (for amberjack) and dorsalis (the long dorsal fin). Some sources now use Seriola lalandi. Alternate Names: Yellowtail, amberjack, white salmon, amber fish, forktail, tails, rats (little fish), firecracker  (small fish), mossback (large fish) and cavasina. In Mexico typically called esmedregal or medregal de rabo amarillo. Identification: Typical jack shape with metallic blue to green above, a brassy horizontal band along the sides from eye to tail; silvery below; some fish are olive-brown to brown. Fins and tail are yellowish Size: To 80 pounds and over 5 feet long. Most caught off piers are less than 10 pounds. The California record fish weighed 63 lb 1 oz and was caught at Santa Barbara Island in 2000. Range: Circumglobal in warmer waters and some temperate waters. In the eastern Pacific from Chile to northern British Columbia. Unverified reports from Gulf of Alaska off Kodiak Island and Cordova. Uncommon north of Point Conceptin. Habitat: Usually found around offshore islands, rocky reefs, or kelp beds. Primarily feeds on squid and fish.

Rita Magdamo caught this firecracker-size yellowtail at the 2014 James Liu Derby

Piers: Most southern California piers located near reefs or kelp will see a few yellowtail caught during the year.  However, they are always a bonus fish and rarely caught in large numbers off of piers. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, Crystal Pier, Oceanside Pier, San Clemente Pier, Redondo Beach Pier, and the Cabrillo Mole at Avalon.

A yellowtail taken from the Green Pleasure Pier in 2014

Bait and Tackle: If an angler wants to try for yellowtail he should have heavy enough tackle to insure a fair chance of landing the fish. Yellowtail like to head for rocks or kelp as soon as they’re hooked so line should test 20-30 pounds, hooks should be small (size 6 or 4) but strong, and the angler must make sure the fish is played out before it nears the pier and the pilings. Although lures work well on boats, almost all of the pier-caught yellowtail are taken on live bait—especially on small jack mackerel, Pacific mackerel or Pacific sardines. Food Value: A fairly good tasting fish that is usually broiled or bar-b-cued. Comments: One of the favorite southern California sport fish but much more common out in deeper water.

Jack Mackerel

Jack Mackerel — Species: Trachurus symmetricus (Ayres, 1855); from the Greek words trachus (rough) and oura (tail), and the Latin word symmetria (symmetrical or regularly shaped). A member of the jack family Carangidae. Alternate Names: Spanish mackerel, Spaniard, horse mackerel, mackerel jack, saurel, agii and jackfish. Called horse mackerel and scad by 19th century fishermen. In Mexico called charrito or charitto chicharo. Identification: Typical jack shape although slim. The second dorsal fin and the anal fin extend almost to the caudal fin. On the side, along the lateral line, there is a ridge extending almost the entire length of the fish. Their coloring is iridescent green above, sometimes with a bluish luster, often mottled with lighter and darker shades; silvery on the belly. Size: To 32 inches; most caught off piers are less than 14 inches. The California record fish weighed 5 lb 8 oz and was taken at Huntington Beach in 1988. Range: Gulf of California to the Pacific Ocean south of the Aleutian Islands and in the Gulf of Alaska. Habitat: Pelagic in nature, preferring moderately deep water although ranges from the surface down to 150 feet. Often found in schools with Pacific mackerel and sardines. Primarily feeds on large copepods, euphausids, pteropods, squid and small fish. Piers: Most common to southern California and the central coast. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, Oceanside Pier, San Clemente Pier, Balboa Pier, Newport Pier, Redondo Beach Pier and Hermosa Beach Pier. Some years will see large schools of these fish at the Central Coast piers—Avila, Port San Luis, Monterey Wharf #2, Seacliff State Beach Pier and the Santa Cruz Wharf. I have also had reports of good catches of jack mackerel at the “B” Street Pier in Crescent City, which is just a short distance south of the Oregon border. The fish in Crescent City seem to show up from late August to September and typically are good-sized fish, 22-28 inches long, the kind that are more commonly taken out in deep water by anglers trolling for salmon. Bait and Tackle: Usually caught near the top of the water; often found in mixed schools with Pacific mackerel (and sometimes Pacific sardines). When present, jack mackerel can be caught on a variety of tackle and baits. Light to medium tackle, a size 6 or 4 hook, and a live anchovy (especially small pinhead anchovies), can be deadly. Many are also caught on small lures, every thing from small bonito jigs, to Scampis, to small feathers. Often times bait rigs can also produce a lot of fish: simply tie several shiny size 8 hooks to your line. In central California, Sabiki/Lucky Lura-type bait leaders are the most common rigging. Many times a cast, followed by a slow retrieve, will see the jack mackerel follow the bait nearly to the surface and then strike just before the line leaves the water. Best months are usually July through September. Food Value:Fair food value but somewhat oily. The common name was changed from horse mackerel to jack mackerel by the DF&G in 1947 in order to increase the consumer appeal of the fish. In other words, it was done to (hopefully) help the fish canning companies make a little more money. Companies that had seen the sardines disappear along with cans of sardines and profits! Comments: Small jack mackerel are favorite baits for white seabass and yellowtail. A close relative and very similar looking fish, the Mexican scad, is occasionally seen in California; the scad have an orange or reddish stripe on the side. The one and only one I have caught was at the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon.

Salema

 Salema — Species: Xenistius californiensis (Steindachner, 1876); from xenitius (strange sail, in allusion to the dorsal fin) and californiensis (in reference to California as a geographic area). Alternate Names: Bass, big eye, big eye bass, striped bass and lima perch. In Mexico called salema, pajarillo or ojotón. Identification: This pretty little fish resembles a striped bass in shape and is even striped, but both color and range is different. Salema have a bass-like body, very large eyes, and 6-8 orange-brown horizontal stripes on the side. Their coloring is iridescent blue-green above, and silvery below; tail fins orange-brown. They will often also make a grunting noise when removed from the water. They are sometimes mistaken for small striped bass. Size:Up to 12 inches but most caught off piers are only 6-8 inches long. Range: Found from Peru to Monterey Bay but reportedly most common south of Dana Point. My records however show they are most commonly caught from piers between Oceanside and Santa Monica. They are uncommon north of Point Dume and rare north of Santa Barbara. Habitat: Shallow-water rocky areas and in kelp beds. Salema are usually found in schools and though primarily nocturnal feeders they also forage (and bite) during the day. The young often school with juvenile sargo and black croaker. Piers: Best bets: Oceanside Pier, San Clemente Pier, Seal Beach Pier, Redondo Beach Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Manhattan Beach Pier, and the Henry Chace Park Pier. I have also taken quite a few from the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon but only during nighttime hours. In addition, I have seen a number taken from the Port Hueneme Pier and Ventura Pier—both supposedly in areas where salema are considered uncommon. Bait and Tackle: These fish will take most small baits on a size 6 or 8 hook, including small pinhead anchovies. Most, however, are caught on mussels, bloodworms, or a small strip of anchovy or mackerel. Fish around the pilings and fish from just off the bottom to mid-depth. Food Value: Salema are a mild-flavored fish, best suited for pan-frying. Comments: Although this is a small fish, its relative scarcity and attractive appearance make it a worthwhile catch (and they give a good, rugged little battle when caught on ultra-light tackle). I’ve always thought they would make a beautiful saltwater aquarium fish.I’m not sure where the name derives but there is a small fishing village on the coast of Portugal named Salema. Although once considered part of the “last undiscovered tourist frontier,” those days apparently are over (at least according to the esteemed travel expert Rick Steves). It’s been discovered. In 2006 Practical Fishkeeping Magazine reported: “Men hallucinate after eating fish. Two men have suffered terrifying visual and auditory hallucinations after eating a popular local seafish in Mediterranean restaurants… the men started seeing and hearing things after contracting a rare form of hallucinogenic poisoning from the Salema fish they were dining on… The effects of eating ichthyoallyeinotoxic fishes, such as certain mullet, goatfish, tangs, damsels and rabbitfish, are believed to be similar to LSD, and may include vivid and terrifying auditory and visual hallucinations. This has given rise to the collective common name for ichthyoallyeinotoxic fishes of ‘dream fish’. The poisoning can start to cause vivid hallucinations within minutes of eating a poisonous fish and may last for days, often with no other effects. There is no antidote… Indoles, with similar chemical effects to LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) are believed to be responsible and may be consumed when the fish eat algae or phytoplankton containing the chemicals. All of the species effected by ichthyoallyeinotoxism are algal grazers. Others have claimed that different species of ichthyoallyeinotoxic fishes, such as Kyphosus fuseus, contain much more potent hallucinogens, such as dimethyltryptamine or DMT, which is considered to be one of the world’s most mind-bending hallucinogenic chemicals… Sarpa salpa, the fish consumed by the men was a member of the Sparidae family and is commonly known as the Salema porgy… According to the paper, Sarpa salpa was consumed as a recreational drug in the Med during the Roman Empire.” So there you have it, the salema in California were not the culprit in this strange episode of hallucinogenic poisoning even though California, especially the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco would seem a natural place for such an occurrence.

Kelp Rockfish

Kelp Rockfish — Species: Sebastes atrovirens (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880); from the Greek word sebastes (magnificent), and the Latin word atrovirens  (black and green). Alternate Names: Confused with gopher rockfish, grass rockfish, and brown rockfish. Commonly called sugar bass, sometimes called dumb bass or grass bass. Called garupa or green rockfish in the Monterey Bay fishery of the 1880s. A favorite but still slightly weird name, one probably invented by some Internet addicted angler, is oogly googly. Called rocote de sargaso or rocote sargacero in Mexico. Identification: Typical bass-like shape. Their coloring is olive-brown to gray-brown with brown mottling; whitish or pinkish white below. Just to confuse anglers, a few kelpies also show up with reddish coloring (don’t know why). Although often mistaken for grass rockfish, they are easily differentiated during cleaning—the kelp rockfish has long and slender gill rakers on its first gill arch while the grass rockfish has very short and blunt gill rakers. Although not really a stuck up fish, they do have a definitive up-turned profile. Size: To 16 3/4 inches; most caught from piers are less than 12 inches long. Range: From Bahia San Carlos and San Benito Island, central Baja Californa (some sources say Punta San Pablo), to Albion, Mendocino County. Most commonly found from central California south. Habitat: Commonly found in kelp forests, ranging from the canopy down to the bottom where they feed on a variety of prey including small fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. During the day they will often rest in the kelp, drifting motionless within the blades of kelp (including hanging upside down). At night they come to life seeking out whatever food is near their home. Younger fish are often in intertidal areas although adults can range down to a 190-foot depth (but most common from 20-80). Kelpies are one of the most common rockfish in shallow-water rocky areas. They are also one more resident species that rarely moves more than ten feet away fom its home in an entire year. Although sharing territory with other shallow-water rockfish sich as blue, gopher, black-and-yellow, and olive rockfishes, they are apparently kept out of the bottom areas by the more aggressive (and territorial) gopher and black-and-yellow rockfishes. Piers: Kelp rockfish are primarily found at piers that have a good summertime growth of kelp around the pier. Best bets: Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Paradise Cove Pier, Stearns Wharf, Goleta Pier (along the pipe-reef), Gaviota Pier, Port San Luis Pier, Cayucos Pier, San Simeon Pier, Monterey Coast Guard Pier, Monterey Wharf No. 2, and Santa Cruz Wharf. Juvenile fish are common at the Morro Bay T-Piers, Pillar Point Harbor Pier and the San Francisco Muni Pier. Bait and Tackle: Use a high/low leader, number 6 or 4 hooks, and pile worms, small pieces of shrimp, or small strips of squid. Food Value: An excellent eating, mild-flavored fish that is best fried. Italian fishermen of the 19th century considered this to be one of the best tasting of all the rockfish. Comments: Kelp rockfish are reported to live 25 years of age although few are older than 20. Most females are first mature (and reproductive) at about 6 inches and 3 years of age, most are mature by 7 inches and 3.5 years, all are mature by 9 inches and 6 years of age (although one study found initial maturity and reproduction not starting until 8.7 inches and 5 years of age).

Brown Rockfish

Brown Rockfish — Species: Sebastes auriculatus (Girard, 1854); from the Greek word sebastes (magnificent) and the Latin word auriculatus  (eared, referring to the large spot on the gill cover). Alternate Names:  Chocolate bass is a common name as is bolina (from Bolinas Bay where they were first caught in large numbers). Sand bass, sugar bass, brown bass, cinnamon bass, brown bomber, brown rock cod, ground owl, and garrupa (grouper) are other colloquial names. Called cha menuke and chairo menuke by the Japanese; rocote moreno in Mexico. On PFIC these fish are simply designated SBRF or sbrf in deference to the appellation first applied by “pierhead” (actual name Boyd Grant, the Yoda-like Pier Master and patient teacher of youthful, local padawans on the path to “Pier Rat” enlightenment).  He recorded the daily catch at Goleta Pier from 2002-2003 and found that nearly 30% of the fish caught from the pier’s pipe-reef were small brown rockfish. If it was a “larger” small brown rockfish it became SBRF, if it was a “smaller” small brown rockfish it became sbrf. To this day most regulars on the site know what the acronyms mean and use them in their reports. Identification: Typical rockfish shape. Their coloring is light brown with darker brown mottling. A very prominent dark brown spot on the opercle (gill cover) most easily identifies brown rockfish. Sometimes confused with copper rockfish but the coppers do not have the dark spot on the opercle and are lighter colored. Up in the northern waters of Puget Sound hybridization between brownies, quillbacks and coppers can really confuse identification.Size: To 22.4 inches; most caught from piers are less than 12 inches long. The California record fish weighed 6 lb 15 oz and was caught at the Colorado Reef, north of Princeton Harbor, San Mateo Co. in 2008. Range: Bahia San Hipolito, central Baja California, to Prince William Sound, northern Gulf of Alaska. A wide-ranging rockfish that I have caught as far south as the Cabrillo Mole at Avalon and as far north as Pier 57 on the Seattle waterfront. Habitat:  Shallow subtidal areas and in bays. In shallow waters they prefer rocky areas and kelp beds; in bays they are often found around structure (especially the younger fish) although some are also found in beds of eelgrass. Adults in deeper waters tend to hang down near the rocky bottoms. San Francisco Bay is considered an important habitat for juvenile brown rockfish. Apparently all of the brownies in S.F. Bay are five years of age or younger, after that age they move offshore into deeper waters. Adults can range down to 444 feet but are only common to about 400 feet. Most are caught in waters shallower than 175 feet. Apparently they are residential, rarely moving more than a couple of miles from home (although sometimes into deeper water during the winter). Their diet includes a variety of invertebrates, especially crabs and shrimp, and they will rarely pass up the opportunity to gulp down an available, smaller fish. Piers: Most commonly caught from piers north of Monterey Bay although the pipe-reef at the Goleta Pier yields a steady number of fish throughout the year. Small brown rockfish are one of the most common fish caught at Bay Area piers. Best bets: Cabrillo Mole (Avalon) Goleta Pier, Port San Luis Pier, Morro Bay T-Piers, Piller Point Harbor Pier, San Francisco Municipal Pier, Port View Park Pier, Berkeley Pier, Paradise Beach Pier, Angel Island Pier, Elephant Rock Pier and the Fort Baker Pier. Many brownies are also caught from the piers and docks that line the Eureka waterfront, especially the Commercial Street Dock. Bait and Tackle: Small brown rockfish are commonly caught under and around the pilings of Bay Area Piers. Small hooks, size 6 or 8, baited with a small piece of pile worm is by far the best bait although strips of squid and even cut bait will take some fish. Food Value: An excellent eating, mild-flavored fish that is best fried. Comments: Brownies can live to 34 years in age although few reach 25 years, a relatively short life for members of the rockfish family. A few fish mature and reproduce at 7.4 inches and 3 years of age, most mature between 9.4-12.1 inches and 4-5 years, all are mature by 14.8 inches and 10 years of age. These fish can be a lot of fun for youngsters to catch but most caught from piers are really too small to keep. According to the California Fish and Game “the brown rockfish has been identified as a species vulnerable to severe localized depletions in other areas; in Washington state, the Puget Sound stock of brown rockfish was recommended for listing as a threatened species in 1999.”

Grass Rockfish 

Grass Rockfish — Species:  Sebastes rastrelliger (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880); from the Greek words sebastes (magnificent) and rastrelliger  (a rake, in reference to the stubby gill rakers). Alternate Names: Often called a variation of bass—grass bass, rock bass, pepper bass, sugar bass, and in the north, kelp bass. Also called rock cod, green garrupa, green rockfish, kelp rockfish, schmo, and green bomber. Called garrupa (grouper) by early day Portugese fishermen; scomoda (Italian for inconvenient or hard to catch) and gopher by Monterey fishermen; grass rockfish by San Francisco fishermen. Called rocote de olivo in Mexico. Identification: Typical bass-like shape although they have the chunkiest body shape of the shallow-water rockfish. They are a dark colored fish—dark green or olive above; mottled green, black or gray on side; whitish below; fins dark. There is also a rare light-colored variation in pigmentation that is yellowish-orange. Although often mistaken for kelp rockfish, these “husky boys” are easily differentiated during cleaning—the grass rockfish has very short and blunt gill rakers on its first gill arch. The gill rakers are nearly as wide as they are long. Size: Length to 22 inches; generally between 8 and 16 inches for those caught from piers. The California record fish weighed 5 lb 6 oz; it was caught at Trinidad in 2006.

A Grass Rockfish caught by Ken Jones at the Cabrillo Mole in 2015

Range: Bahia Playa Maria, central Baja California, to Westport, Washington. Habitat: A shallow water rockfish, found from intertidal depths to about 150 feet. Most are found in shallow-water rocky areas, especially where there is vegetation. Grassies are common to kelp beds and reefs where they often hide in the crevices. In comparison to other rockfish, their shallow water habitat most closely mimics that of the black-and-yellow rockfish. While juvenile grassies are diurnal (daytime) feeders, adult fish are nocturnal (nighttime) feeders that primarily feed near the bottom. Key prey includes crabs, shrimp, snails, isopods and small fish including perch.Piers: Although one of the most common shallow-water rockfish in California, relatively few are taken from piers south of Point Conception (although I have taken several from the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon). Needed ingredients are a rocky bottom or substantial kelp near the pier. However, juveniles are often taken from piers located in bays during the summer months. Best bets for juvenile fish include the Morro Bay T-Piers, Pillar Point Harbor Pier, San Francisco Municipal Pier, Berkeley Pier and Citizen’s Dock (Crescent City). Most years see a few adult fish taken from the Goleta Pier (near the the pipe-reef) and Gaviota Pier. Higher numbers of adults are taken from the Port San Luis Pier, Morro Bay South T-Pier, Monterey Coast Guard Pier, Capitola Wharf, Santa Cruz Wharf (in the wells at the end), Point Arena Pier (perhaps the best), Trinidad Pier and Citizen’s Dock (Crescent City). Grass rockfish are fairly common around the Point Arena Pier from June until October; fish inshore or cast straight out on the left side of the pier to the nearby reefs. Generally considered the most important rockfish for rock and jetty fishermen. Bait and Tackle: Medium to light gear is sufficient for these fish. A high/low leader equipped with size 4 or 2 hooks is common tackle. Fish on or near the bottom and be prepared for a strike at any time. Best baits appear to be shrimp, mussel, pile worms or tube worms. Food Value: An excellent eating, mild-flavored fish that is best fried. Italian fishermen of the 19th century considered this to be the best tasting of all the rockfish and apparently that opinion is still held by many. At $4.85 per pound, grass rockfish received the highest prices paid to California commercial fishermen for rockfish in 1998. There was a distinct difference in price between the shallow water rockfish kept and sold as live fish versus the deepwater species but that doesn’t detract from the grass rockfish ranking of #1. Treefish were #2 at $4.66 per pound, olive rockfish and bronzebacked rockfish tied for #3 at $3.74, gopher rockfish were #5 at $2.78, China rockfish #6 at $2.72, black-and-yellow #7 at $2.41, quillback rockfish #8 at $1.79, brown rockfish #9 at $1.61, and kelp rockfish #10 at 1.57.  Rosethorn rockfish were down at the bottom of the 31 species listed at only $.38. Comments:Grass rockfish are relatively short-lived rockfish only reaching an age of about 23 years. In southern California, some females are reproductive by 8.6 inches and 2 years of age, the majority are reproductive by 9.4 inches and 4 years, all are reproductive by 11 inches and five years. Those in central California north take longer to mature. 

Treefish

Treefish — Species: Sebastes serriceps (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880); from the Greek words sebastes (magnificent), and serriceps (formed from two Latin words meaning saw head) in reference to the large head spines. Alternate Names: Convict fish, lipstick bass, lipstick fish, barber pole and garrupa.  Called rocote presidiario in Mexico. Identification: Body short and compressed with thick spines on the head. Easily identified by the yellowish to olive (sometimes dark olive) coloring with five to six vertical black bars on the side, pink lips and two blackish bands radiate from the eye. The young have white-edged fins. Size: To 16 inches. Most caught from piers are under a foot in length. The California record fish weighed 4 lb 3 oz and was caught at Malibu in 2003. Range: From Isla Cedros, central Baja California, to San Francisco; common in southern California but rare north of Santa Barbara. Habitat: Although seen down to 100 feet in depth, they are primarily a shallow-water rockfish that likes to spend its time in caves and crevices, rocky areas, and kelp. Treefish are primarily night and twilight predators that seek out bethnic invertebrates such as shrimp, spider crabsand cancer crabs. However they will also grab small fish when they have the chance. A residential, homebody species that rarely strays far from home. Trees are also highly territorial, competing with fellow treefish and nearshore rockfish (black-and-yellows, grass, and gophers) for food and shelter habitat. Piers: Due to habitat only found at a few piers. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, Cabrillo Mole (Avalon)—the best, Hermosa Beach Pier and Goleta Pier. Bait and Tackle: Will take a variety of baits including worms, fresh mussels, ghost shrimp, squid and anchovies. They will hit most bait fished on most riggings. However, a high/low leader utilizing number 4 hooks appears to work best. Food Value: An excellent eating, mild-flavored fish that is best fried. Treefish received the second highest price paid to California commercial fishermen for rockfish in 1998 at $4.66 per pound. Comments: Treefish live to 23 years of age but what’s with the Helena Rubinstein lips? Milton Love says these fish are territorial and the pink/red lips may warn off other fish. Sounds reasonable to me.

California Scorpionfish

California Scorpionfish — Species: Scorpaena guttata (Girard, 1854); from the Greek word scorpaena (scorpion, referring to the poison spines), and the Latin word guttata  (a form of small drops or spotting). Alternate Names: Commonly called sculpin although also called scorpionfish, scorpion, little poker, rattlesnake and scorpene. Early records show stingfish and spinefish as favorite appellations. In Mexico they’re called escorpión Californiano. Identification: Typical rockfish shape, heavy-bodied and with strong head and fin spines. Their coloring is red (deeper water) to brown (more shallow water) with dark spotting over the body and fins. Fin spines are venomous and can cause a very painful, although not fatal, wound. Size: To 17 inches, although most caught from piers are less than 12 inches long. The California record was for a fish weighing 3 lb 0 oz. It was caught at the Silver Strand Beach in 1997. Range: Uncle Sam Bank, central Baja California, and the Gulf of California, to Santa Cruz. They are uncommon north of Point Conception.

KJ and a scorpionfish from the Cabrillo Mole in 2010

Habitat: Most abundant in shallow rocky environments such as rocky reefs, sewer pipes and wrecks; frequently found in caves and crevices. Some are also found on sand. Found from fairly shallow water down to 620 feet. May travel over 200 miles in annual spawning migrations (spring and early summer) that see them form large spawning aggregations on or near the bottom (at a variety of depths). Piers: Although scorpionfish are most common around rocky areas and reef areas, I have seen them caught at almost every oceanfront pier in southern California. Best bets: Balboa Pier, Newport Pier, Redondo Beach Pier, Redondo Sportfishing Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Santa Monica Pier, Green Pleasure Pier (Avalon) and the Cabrillo Mole (Avalon). Bait and Tackle: Scorpions are carnivorous, ambush predators that are primarily nocturnal, feeding at night. Their main diet consists of small crabs, octopus, shrimp, and small fish. A high/low leader with size 4 hooks baited with squid or shrimp seems to work best although they also really like ghost shrimp. Still, I’ve caught them on cut anchovies, strips of mackerel, pile worms, and one on a live queenfish that seemed almost as large as the scorpionfish; they’re not too discriminating as far as food.  Food Value:An excellent eating, mild-flavored fish that is best fried (although they are a favorite fish for sushi and command top prices when fresh fish are available). Comments: Handle with extreme care. California scorpionfish are the most venomous member of the family found in California. If handled in a careless manner and a puncture wound does occur there will usually be pain (sometimes intense) and perhaps swelling that should subside after a few hours. If possible, soak the affected area in hot water as soon as practical (since the hot water alters the toxin and makes it less harmful). Multiple punctures may require doctor’s attention or even hospitalization. The worst story I ever heard of such multiple punctures concerned a middle-aged angler fishing from a boat near Catalina. This lady had caught upwards of a dozen scorpionfish that were dutifully deposited into her gunnysack. Unfortunately, many of the long spines were protruding from her bag when a heavy wave caused her to lose her footing and to fall, bottom-first, onto the bag. The result was butt-porcupine and a helicopter trip back to a hospital. Although studies showed a decline in population before 1980, they seem to have increased and today have a healthy population.   

Cabezon — KJ and a cabezon caught from the Cabrillo Mole in 2012

Cabezon — Species: Scorpaenichthys marmoratus (Ayres, 1854); from the Greek words scorpaena (a related species) and ichthys  (fish), and the Latin word marmoratus  (marbled). Alternate Names: Commonly called bullhead; also marbled sculpin, cab, cabby, bull cod, blue cod, giant sculpin, giant marbled sculpin, scorpion, marble sculpin, salpa and scaleless sculpin. Called scorpion or biggy-head by 19th century Italian fishermen. Identification:  Cabezon have a very large head with a broad bony support from the eye across the cheek, no scales, a cirrus (fleshy flap) on the midline of the snout, and a pair of longer cirrus just behind the eyes. The coloring is brown, bronze, reddish, or greenish above, whitish or turquoise green below, with dark and light mottling on the side. The lining of the mouth is a translucent turquoise green. The color may correlate to their sex with 90% or greater red-colored cabezon being males, 90% or greater green-colored cabezon being females. The mouth is broad with many small teeth. Size: To 39 inches and 25 pounds; most caught from piers are less than two feet. The California record cabezon was a fish weighing 23 lb 4 oz; it was taken near Los Angeles in 1958. The cabezon is the largest member of the cottid (sculpin) family. Range: Punta Abreojos, central Baja California, to Samsing Cove, near Sitka in southeastern Alaska. Habitat: Typically found in shallow-water rocky areas, from intertidal pools to jetties, kelp beds and rocky reefs, any area with dense algal growth. Older fish tend to move to deeper water, as deep as 250 feet. Typically inhabits the tops of rocky ledges as contrasted with rockfish and lingcod that prefer the sheer faces of ledges. Cabezon like to sit and it doesn’t seem to matter if it’s in a hole, on the reef, or on vegetation, they sit versus actively swimming—until they see food. Piers:Cabezon are one of the premier fish for northern California pier anglers with lesser numbers taken from southern and central California piers. Best bets: Cabrillo Pier, Goleta Pier, Monterey Coast Guard Pier, Santa Cruz Pier, San Francisco Municipal Pier, Point Arena Pier, Trinidad Pier and Citizens Dock (Crescent City). Bait and Tackle: Although most of the cabezon caught from piers will be fairly small fish less than two feet in length, most years also see some larger fish in the 8-12 pound category. Because of this, you should use at least medium sized tackle; line testing at least 15 pound breaking strength and hooks around 2/0 in size. The best baits are small crabs and fresh mussels but cabezon will bite almost anything that looks like food. Their normal diet includes crabs, small lobsters, abalone, squid, octopus, small fish and fish eggs. Although they often reach good size, they can be frustrating to catch. Cabezon will often tap or mouth bait and spit it out; patience and a feel for when to set the hook is required. Also remember that cabezon like to congregate around “cabezon” holes; if you catch one, there will often be more around. Food Value: Excellent mild-flavored meat that can be prepared in almost any manner; many feel it is best fried. Although few fish are better eating, anglers should not eat the roe (eggs) of cabezon—the eggs are poisonous and can make a person violently ill. Don’t worry if the flesh is blue colored, this is a common occurrence and the flesh will turn white when cooked. Comments: A “lie-in-wait” predator. Their coloring lets them blend in with the surroundings where they lie motionless. When food passes by they use their large, powerful pectoral fins and tails to lunge after the prey engulfing it in their large mouths. In Spanish cabezon means big headed or stubborn and it well describes both their looks and temperment. Cabezon can live to about 20 years of age and I imagine an old cabezon would be a real grouch.

Finescale Triggerfish — KJ and a triggerfish caught from the Cabrillo Mole in 2010

Finescale Triggerfish — Species: Balistes polylepis (Steindachner, 1876); Balistes comes from the Latin word ballista (a device that shoots arrows—referring to the trigger-like spine) and the Greek word polylepis (many scales). Alternate Name: Triggerfish. In Mexico called cochi, puerco coche, cochito or pez puerco. Identification: The body is very compressed; they have a small mouth containing strong, protruding teeth (8 in each jaw); 3 strong, sharp spines are located in the first dorsal fin with 26-28 rays in the second dorsal; small gill slits are located in front of the pectoral fin. The skin is thick with large, rectilinear, plate-like scales. The coloring is brownish with blue speckles on head. Size: To 32 inches and perhaps as much as 16 pounds. Range: San Antonio, Chile, to Metlakatla, (southeastern) Alaska) but considered rare north of Baja California. Habitat: Generally found on the bottom, nearshore near rocky reefs, but they can range down to 1,680 feet deep. Some have arrived north during the El Niño years and it’s speculated that there are at least three established groups near Redondo Beach, Santa Monica and Catalina. They feed on a variety of bethnic-invertebrates such as snails, sponges, sea urchins, shrimp, and crabs as well as the occasional or fish and are most active during the day. Piers: Reported from the Redondo Beach Pier, Santa Monica Pier, and Cabrillo Mole in Avalon. Bait and Tackle: Will take most bait including squid, market shrimp, and ghost shrimp. Food Value: Excellent, all-white fillets that can be cooked many ways. The only problem is that the skin is like leather so you need a good, sharp fillet knife.

Rita Magdamo and son Kyle with a triggerfish she caught during the 2014 James Liu Derby

Comments: Considered a fairly rare species in California although just enough fish are caught to keep it interesting. I’ve caught three triggerfish —one in Maui, one while fishing out of Rancho Buena Vista in Baja California, and one from the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon.

Swell Shark caught by Thomas during the 2012 Catalina Get Together

Swell Shark — Species: Cephaloscyllium ventriosum (Garman, 1880); from the Greek words cephalo  (with a head) and scyllium  (like a dog or monster) and the Latin ventr  (referring to the belly).  Alternate Names: Catshark, puffer shark and balloon shark. Called tiburón inflado, pejegato globo or gato hinchado in Mexico. Identification: Swell sharks have a broad flat head with a rounded snout, and sharp, pointed little teeth. Their first dorsal is back of the middle of body and directly above pelvic fins; second dorsal above anal fin. Their skin is rough and appears flabby while coloring is yellowish-brown to creamy, with black or brownish spots and saddles; sometimes with white spots. When caught, the swell shark may inflate its belly with air or water until its circumference nearly triples in size. However, young swell sharks are not able to duplicate this neat little trick. So see, sometimes it pays to be an adult. Size: To a little over three feet in length. Range:  Acapulco, Mexico and the Gulf of California to Monterey Bay; most common in southern California.

Habitat:  Usually found near kelp beds or rocky areas that contain some kelp; likes to spend the daytime hours holed up in crevices or caves. A nocturnal feeder, they emerge at night to search for food—mainly small fish. But they seem a little lazy. Although sometimes they suck other fish into their mouth (as would a normal feeding fish), some reportedly simply open their mouths and wait for the smaller fish to swim in. It’s called yawning and perhaps explains why swell sharks have less than an athletic looking body (afterall, how much energy can be expanded in yawning for your food?). The next question becomes how often do you think bait is going to swim into their mouths, especially dead bait? Perhaps this is one reason that they are not more commonly caught. Piers: Rarely a common species although good numbers are reported from the Avila Pier, Port San Luis Pier, and the Cayucos Pier. Best Bets: Ocean Beach Pier, Green Pleasure Pier (Avalon), Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Hermosa Beach Pier, Santa Monica Pier, Goleta Pier, Gaviota Pier, Avila Pier, Port San Luis Pier and Cayucos Pier. Bait and Tackle: Most swell sharks that are caught from piers are around two feet in length, so medium tackle with a size 2 to 2/0 hook should work fine. Small fish, crabs, and shrimp, seem to be the best bait. Food Value: It is reported that eating a swell shark is not so swell! The flesh is slightly toxic and causes stomach cramps and nausea as well as acting as a cheap aperient (result: diarrhea) and emetic (result: vomiting). Unless you’re really into the masochistic routine I would avoid puffer stew. Nevertheless, I can see all those sadistic little eyes lighting up. Wouldn’t it be cute to give Henry some puffer steaks for his dinner? Let’s see how long it is before he heads to the head. Of course there’s always the story that’s told in the fascinating book Cod, by Mark Kurlansky. He mentions the unusual methods used by a people (Icelanders) seemingly on the verge of starvation: “They ate what the island produced, which was mainly every conceivable part of a cod-fish and a lamb. They roasted cod skin and kept cod bones until they had decomposed enough to be soft and edible. They also ate roasted sheeps’ heads, particularly praising the eyeballs. Another specialty was hákarl, the flesh of a huge Greenland shark, hunted for the commercial value of its liver oil. The flesh, which contains cyanic acid, a lethal poison, was rendered edible by leaving it buried in the groud until it rotted.” Apparently æstur hákarl (Icelandic for fermented shark) with its ammonia-rich smell and taste is still enjoyed by some of the locals. Leaving aside this strange diet, and the question of how they discovered these enriching techniques, it makes you kind of wonder if a swell shark could be made edible by burying it in the ground for a few weeks. Anyone want to give rotted swell shark a try? Perhaps the “Iron Chefs” could do a show using æstur hákarl as the featured ingredient? Comments: An unpleasant and mistaken belief in some areas, especially the central coast, is that returning a swell shark to the ocean after capture ruins the fishing. It’s a rather stupid idea, and wrong, yet you’ll often find misshapen dying or dead swell sharks littering the piers. Since you don’t want to eat swellies (see above), and since they DO NOT hurt the fishing, please return them to the water.  Of course that may not be as easy as it sounds! A puffed up shark returned to the water may simply float away to be attacked by… whatever. Best is to net them and bring them to the top of the pier as quickly as possible. Then, as carefully as possible (since they do have sharp teeth), remove the hook. Try to then keep their mouth shut while returning them to the net and lowering them back down to the water. If successful, they will have gulped as little air as possible and still be able to swim away.   

Horn Shark

 Horn Shark — Species: Heterodontus francisci (Girard, 1855); from the Greek hetero (different) and odont (tooth) and the Latin francisci (referring to San Francisco). (They have a small pointed tooth at the front of their jaw and a blunt tooth at the rear.)  Alternate Names: Bullhead Shark, Port Jackson shark, horned shark, hornback shark. Called tiburón cabeza de toro, tiburón cornudo or tiburón puerco in Mexico. Identification: Horn sharks are spotted sharks with a somewhat pig-like snout. They have a strong spine at the front of each dorsal fin (which accounts for their name) and an anal fin. Their coloring is tan to dark brown or grayish with black spots above, pale yellowish below. Size: Reported to 48 inches, but the largest verified was just over 38 inches long and 22 pounds. Most hornies caught from piers are under 30 inches in length. Range: Found from the Gulf of California to San Francisco. Habitat: Prefers rocky areas although also found near sandy areas that contain kelp. They are nocturnal, bottom-feeding foragers who prefer to spend their daylight hours resting on the bottom or in caves and crevices. At night they head out in their search for food—primarily squids, urchins, crustaceans, anemones and mollusks—but rarely are they found more than six feet from the bottom.

 Kyle Pease and a horn shark caught during the 2015 James Liu Derby

Piers: Most are caught at southern California piers but a few are caught as far north as the pier at Cayucos. Generally found near piers that are close to reefs or kelp. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, San Clemente Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Green Pleasure Pier (Avalon), Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Santa Monica Pier, Paradise Cove Pier, Gaviota Pier and Goleta Pier.  Bait and Tackle: Crabs, shrimp, squid and small fish are prime baits but hornies appear to take almost any natural bait. Most horn sharks taken by pier anglers are fairly small fish so light-to-medium tackle equipped with size 2 to 2/0 hooks will suffice.

Food Value:  Reported to be quite tasty, similar to most other sharks. Comments: An interesting little shark. Small horn sharks are frequently sold in aquarium shops where they command top prices. They are generally harmless but anglers should be careful of the dorsal spines and be aware that agitated fish may try to bite careless handlers. Horn sharks are in the Class Chondrichthyes and Subclass Elasmobranchii (as are all sharks and rays) but in the Superorder Galea, which only includes some of the sharks found at California piers. Many of the sharks found at piers are in the Superorder Squalea, which includes sharks as well as guitarfish and rays. Thus some of the sharks are more closely related to rays than to other sharks.

Bat Ray — Rita and a bat ray from the Green Pleasure Pier in Avalon Harbor in 2011

Bat Ray — Species: Myliobatis californica (Gill, 1865); from the Greek words myl (a tooth or molar), io (an arrow or poison), batis (a skate or ray) and the Latin word Californica  (referring to location). Apparently called aetobatus californica at one time in California: CA Fish Bulletin #28.  Alternate Names: Stingray, stingaree, bat sting ray, sea ray, eagle ray, batfish, big black, sea bird, flapper, rat tailed stingray, NASCAR, mud marlin (my favorite), and monkey face ray. Called raya murciélago or tecolote in Mexico. Identification:  Bat rays have a very heavy raised head and a dorsal fin at the base of a long whiplike tail with a stinger just behind it. Their coloring is blackish or blackish brown above and white below. Beware of the stinger. Size: Reported to reach nearly six feet across and over 200 pounds. Most bat rays caught from piers are less than fifty pounds but many in excess of a hundred pounds are caught every year. A 240-pound bat ray was reported from Newport Bay in 1957. I received a note on the Pier Fishing in California Message Board of a 246-pound fish with an 8.5-foot-wing span that was reputedly taken from the Newport Pier in the ’80s. However, the width sounds too wide leaving the weight also in doubt. I’ve seen pictures of a 176-pound bat ray taken from the Newport Pier and a 175-pound bat ray that was caught at the Aliso Beach Pier in (I believe) 1990. Another fish, this one weighing 203 pounds and measuring 54 ½ inches wide was measured and weighed on a certified scale. It was caught at the Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara on April 24, 2004. The fish struck a live smelt bait and was landed after a fight lasting one hour and twenty minutes. The fish was hooked and fought by James Elledge, and gaffed by Ron Maxell. With the help of bait shop owner Ray Angel (how appropriate) the fish was carried over to the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company to their certified scales. PFIC representative Boyd Grant was soon on the scene to witness and photograph the huge fish…one of the largest bat rays ever caught on a California pier (and possibly the largest to be weighed on a certified scale).The official California record fish was 4 feet, 9 inches wide and weighed 181 lb 0 oz; it was taken at Huntington Beach in 1978. According to the California DF&G “female bat rays reach a greater size than males, attaining a maximum disc width of 70.9 inches and weight of 210 pounds. The largest reported male is 40 inches wide and a weight of 37 pounds. Bat rays grow slowly, reach sexual maturity relatively late, have few young, and seem to be fairly long-lived. A 60-inch disc width female was estimated to be 24 years old.” So, all of the big bat rays are moms, grandmas or maybe even great grandmothers. Range: Gulf of California to Yaquina Bay, Oregon. Habitat: Prefers a flat, rocky bottom or sand among rocks although also seems to enjoy hanging around kelp beds. Most commonly caught in sandy or muddy bottom bays and the deeper water areas around piers. Bat rays basically “fly” through the water using their powerful pectoral fins and occasionally they will leap out of the water when hooked. Piers: Bat rays are caught at almost all piers in California, both oceanfront and those in bays. Best bets: Shelter Island Pier, San Clemente Pier, Balboa Pier, Newport Pier, Huntington Beach Pier, Redondo Beach Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Stearns Wharf, Cayucos Pier, Berkeley Pier, San Mateo Pier, Elephant Rock Pier, Angel Island Pier, Eureka Municipal Wharf and Del Norte Street Pier (Eureka). Bait and Tackle:  Bat rays eat a wide variety of foods with oysters, clams, crabs, shrimp, abalone, snails and worms being scarffed down on a regular basis. To be expected, they’ll also take almost any bait. However, frozen or live squid, and live bait such as anchovies, ghost shrimp, mud shrimp and grass shrimp, produce most of the fish. Frozen squid is the least expensive and easiest bait to use and is undoubtedly the number one bait for bat rays. It’s reported by the way that these strong rays use their pectoral fins to lift their body rapidly up and down to create a suction that sweeps away the sand and gives easy access to their food on the bottom. Because of the potential large size, anglers wishing to fish specifically for bat rays should use heavy tackle and have a gaff or net available to bring the fish up onto the pier. Never use a pier gaff to lift  them up to a pier unless you’re intending to keep them for food. Food Value: Very good.

Bat ray at the Cabrillo Mole

Comments: Although Ray Cannon’s book How To Fish the Pacific Coast holds a cherished spot on my library shelf, and in many ways was a model for Pier Fishing In California, I believe he was wrong in his comments on bat rays. His most egregious was that “These giant Bat Rays should be exterminated whenever possible because of their menace to crabs, lobsters, and all kinds of edible shellfish.” Although it’s true that those species may be included in a bat ray’s diet, I’m not sure why they were singled out over predators. I think it reflects the thinking of the day, in particular the opinion that bat rays were a danger to commercial oyster operations, i.e., those in Tomales Bay. We know today that they are not a danger to those operations; in fact, they may help by keeping crabs under control. I’m not sure why he made a second statement, an assertion that bat rays are “Seldom taken by anglers.” Even back in those days bat rays (usually called sting rays) were a common catch, and several shark and ray derbies were conducted along the coast, the most famous probably being that at Moss Landing. Today, many anglers concentrate on bat rays. The rays reach a very large size, they put up a strong fight, and are delicious to eat once the fight is over (although more and more people practice catch-and-release with them). Of interest are the bat ray pools found at several aquariums (including the Monterey Aquarium, The Aquarium Of the Pacific, and the Chula Vista Nature Center). The bat rays can be petted and in fact are rather pet-like; some even seem to like to have their backs stroked. Yes, their stingers have been removed! The venomous spines are cut off about once a month (before they reach a length long enough to hurt anyone). Apparently the bat rays receive no harm from these “manicures,” in fact the spines are made of keratin, the same substance found in human fingernails, and the spines grow back. However, bat rays in the wild still have their spines and can inflict a painful wound, so be very careful if you catch one (and some bat rays have two or even three stingers). For some reason Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara sees a lot of small, immature bat rays and they’re usually called monkey face rays. Scientists report that bat rays move into inshore waters to breed during the summer then tend to move offshore in the winter (so guess when they are more likely to be caught from a pier). While inshore, they are sometimes found in large concentrations. At times these bat ray gatherings contain several thousand individuals. The sea bottom holding these creatures must look a little weird and would certainly have a somewhat alien feeling; not sure if it would be more like a black-cloaked Darth Vader convention, a Raider Nation convention, or something even more outlandish (and scary), a political convention.

California Moray (Eel) caught by Martin at the 2003 Pier Fishing In California Get Together in Catalina

California Moray — Species: Gymnothorax mordax (Ayres, 1859); from the Greek words gymno and thorax (naked breast or lack of scales) and the Latin word mordax  (prone to bite).  Alternate Names: Moray or conger eel. Early-day names included marina and muraena. Called morena de California or anguila in Mexico. Identification: Typical eel-like shape with a large head tapering to a pointed tail; the only shallow-water eel lacking pectoral fins. They have very well developed teeth (to grab their prey) and the coloring is greenish-brown, greenish-yellow, or red-brown. Size: Up to five feet long and around 15 pounds. Most caught from piers are less than three feet. A 49-inch moray with an empty stomach weighed 11.2 pounds while a 47-inch fish, whose stomach contained two flying fish, weighed 14.58 pounds. Conclusions: (1) Don’t eat flying fish if you’re on a diet and (2) flying fish should stay at the top of the water and not head down to the realm of the morays. Range:  From Bahia Magdalena, southern Baja California, to Point Conception. Habitat: Considered a true bottom fish that lives in continuous contact with the substrate; morays occupy crevices in shallow reef or rocky areas, especially around the offshore islands. Primary foods are crustaceans and small fishes with small spiny lobsters, red rock shrimp, kelp bass and blacksmith considered favorites.

California Moray caught by KJ at the Catalina Get Together in 2015

Piers: Every year will see a few California moray caught by southern California pier fisherman; an event that attracts the attention of most nearby anglers. Morays are both uncommon and ferocious in nature—it is one fish that should be handled very carefully. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, Dana Point Harbor Pier, San Clemente Pier, Redondo Sportfishing Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Gaviota Pier, and, by far the best, the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon. Bait and Tackle: Morays are seldom the intentional catch of anglers; instead they are caught incidentally when fishing for other rocky-shore fish. They will grab almost any bait. However, best bait would appear to be shrimp, crabs, or small live fish. The best time to fish is at night and the angler should keep the bait in motion since moray will hide in crevices waiting for prey to swim by. Tackle should be kept simple; a medium-sized outfit with at least 15-pound test line and a size 4 to 2 hook. Be prepared to strike and start reeling quickly before the moray can retreat to the rocks. Food Value:  I’ve never eaten a moray but I have been told that they are quite tasty. Comments: Moray are a favorite of skindivers and often are quite tame. However, those I have seen caught on the end of a fishing line (I’ve only caught two myself), are usually ready to do battle. Because of their mouth full of sharp teeth, be careful if you happen to inherit the unenviable job of removing a hook from a still-thrashing, nasty-tempered moray. By the way, although moray are common at Catalina it doesn’t mean you are always going to catch one. I have caught over a hundred different species of fish from California piers and though I had once caught a moray while fishing from a boat at the Coronado Islands, I had never caught one from a pier. Thus I decided around 2010 that I needed to catch a moray from a pier and I felt the Cabrillo Mole would be the place to catch it. Years went by and even though there was an annual visit to Catalina, and several friends caught moray, I never caught one until 2015. Soon after I caught my moray a friend caught one fifty feet away on the Mole and then as we were leaving the Mole we discovered a group of kids had just caught another moray. Whatever the reason for their abundance that night it will long be remembered as the “Night of the Moray.”

Just sit back and dream like you’re listening to Dean Martin. (With apologies to Jack Brooks, and Harry Warren, the writers of “That’s Amore.”)

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie

That’s a time for a moray

When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine

That’s a time for a moray

Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you’ll sing “Is it time for my moray?”

Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
And you’ll sigh in relief with your moray