Pier— Length — Comments

1. San Mateo Pier — 4,135 feet — Part of the old San Mateo Bridge — now closed
2. Berkeley Pier — 3,000 feet — An old pier originally used by cars to reach the Berkeley- San Francisco Ferry— now closed

3. Santa Cruz Wharf — 2,745 feet —Large old commercial wharf; shops, restaurants and fishing

4. Santa Monica Pier — 2,000 feet — Much of the shore end is over beach instead of water; used mainly for recreation

5. Ravenswood Pier — 2,000 feet — west end of old Dumbarton Bridge — now closed
6. Dumbarton Pier — 2,000 feet— east end of old Dumbarton Bridge

7. Ocean Beach Pier — 1,971 feet — Supposedly the longest concrete pier in the world

8. Ventura Pier — 1,958 feet — Supposedly the longest wooden pier in California

9. Stearns Wharf — 1,950 feet — Large commercial wharf; shops, restaurants and fishing

10. Oceanside Pier — 1,942 feet— Some sources say 1,950 feet
11. Seal Beach Pier — 1,865 feet — End section under reconstruction
12. San Francisco Muni — 1,850 feet — Could use some help (repair)

13. Huntington Beach Pier — 1,830 feet

14. Avila Pier — 1,685 feet — Closed for indefinite time, may need to be totally rebuilt

15. Monterey Wharf #2 — 1,636 feet — Large commercial wharf; used by commercial fishing boats at the end, recreational anglers inshore.

 Some unofficial records —gathered from published reports

62 ¼ lbs. — Los Angeles Long Wharf, August 17, 1917 — Source: Port of Los Angeles, A Phenomenon of the Railroad Era, Ernest Marquez, 1975

58 Lbs. 11 Oz — Santa Monica Pier, Darrell Barry, March 10, 2001 — Source: Several including Santa Monica Pier Bait Shop, PFIC and Western Outdoor News, March 23, 2001

57 Lbs. 3 Oz. — Port Hueneme Pier, Joseph C, Groth, Sr., February 28, 1965 — Source: Pasadena Independent, March 4, 1965

54 Lbs. — Huntington Beach Pier, W. S. Keith & H. C. Carmichael, May 4, 1939— Source: Santa Ana Register, May 5, 1939

≈ 50 Lbs. — Santa Cruz Wharf, Unknown angler, January 4, 1940 — Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, January 5, 1940

49 ½ Lbs. — Seacliff Pier, Unknown angler, July 2, 1948 — Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, July 4, 1949

45 ¾ lbs. — Balboa Pier, Harry Campbell, May 20, 1927 — Source: Santa Ana Register, May 21, 1927

45 ½ Lbs. — Redondo Beach Pier, Virginia Lively, June 24, 1975 — Source: Long Beach Independent, July 2, 1975

45 Lbs. — Seacliff Pier (Aptos), Jack Elliott, July 1, 1946 —Source: Santa Cruz sentinel, July 2, 1946

44 Lbs. — Newport Pier, R. O. Stull, July 29, 1931—Source: Santa Ana Register, July 29, 1931

44 Lbs. — Huntington Beach Pier, Seymore Wilson, June 1933—Source: Santa Ana Register, June 5, 1933

43 Lbs. — Capitola Wharf, Wilbur Boyea, May 14, 1934 — Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, May 16, 1934

41 lbs. — Santa Monica Pier, Hoyt Holdridge, March 1957 — Source: San Bernardino County Sun, March 5, 1957

40 Lbs. — Seacliff Pier (Aptos), August 1942 — Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, August 6, 1942

40 Lbs. — Redondo Sportfishing Pier, August 2010—Source: Redondo Sportfishing

40 Lbs. — Monstad Pier (Redondo Beach), Dick Weddington, May 2, 1930— Source: Los Angeles Times, May 2, 1930

40 Lbs. — Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, July 22, 1942 — Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, July 23, 1942

40 Lbs. — Santa Cruz Pleasure Pier, E. J. Owens, August 5, 1932 — Source: Santa Cruz Evening News, August 5, 1932

≈ 40 Lbs. — Oceanside Pier, September 2004— Source: Oceanside Pier Bait Shop

39 Lbs. — Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, July 1949 —  Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, July 31, 1949

38 Lbs. — Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, May 1953 — Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, May 6, 1953

38 Lbs. — Ocean Beach Pier, August 1998— Source: Ocean Beach Pier Bait Shop

38 Lbs. — Newport Pier, May 2001—Source: PFIC

37 Lbs. — Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf — Clarence Hegewood, July 22, 1942 — Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, July 23, 1942

35 Lbs. — Ocean Park Pier, F. A. Buchanan, May 1908 — Source: Los Angeles Herald, May 31, 1908

35 Lbs. — Newport Pier, August 1940 — Source: Santa Ana Register, August 2, 1940

35 Lbs. — Paradise Cove Pier (Malibu), William Cambier, January 1967 — Source: Valley News, January 26, 1967

33 /12 Lbs. — Redondo Wharf No. 3, August 24, 1910—Source: Santa Ana Register, August 25, 1910

33 Lbs. — Point Mugu Fish Camp Pier, W. J. Stuart, August 1935 — Source: Oxnard Daily Courier, August 3, 1935

32 Lbs. — Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, June 23, 1948 — Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, June 24, 1948

30 Lbs. — Balboa Pier, Maybelle Davis, May 1934 — Source: Santa Ana Register, May 21, 1934

30 Lbs. — Huntington Beach Pier, Earl Nelson, October 2, 1908—Source: Santa Ana Register, October 3, 1908

30 Lbs. — Port Hueneme Pier, January 2000—Source: PFIC

30 Lbs. — Redondo Pier No. 3, J. K. Richardson, February 17, 1916—Source: Los Angeles Times, February 17, 1916

Buffalo Sculpin from the Santa Cruz Wharf

Species: Enophrys bison (Girard, 1854); from the Greek words en  (on), ephrys  (eyebrow), and bison (referring to the two bison-like horns or spines on the head).

Alternate Names: Often called bullhead and mistaken for cabezon. Called büffelgroppe in Germany, glowacz bizonik in Poland.

Identification: Their coloring is dark gray, green, or brown above with purplish bony plates on head and side. Anglers should be careful of the large sharp spines behind the head.

Buffalo Sculpin from the Point Arena Pier

Size: To 14.6 inches; most caught from piers are between 10 and 12 inches.

Range: From Monterey Bay, California to Uyak Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska.

Habitat: Found in shallow-water areas, both oceanfront and in bays.

Piers: I have seen these caught at the Fort Baker Pier, Point Arena Pier (fairly frequently), Eureka Municipal Wharf and Citizens Dock (Crescent City).

Two types of sculpin — Cabezon on top left; Buffalo Sculpin in other three pictures — All caught at the Point Arena Pier

Shoreline: An infrequent catch by shore anglers.

Boats: An inshore species, rarely taken from boats.

Bait and Tackle: These fish will hit almost any bait, but most commonly seem to be caught on pile worms or a chunk of shrimp or squid. Light to medium tackle is the rule and no one, to my knowledge, fishes specifically for these fish.

Buffalo Sculpin caught by Dwight at the Citizen’s Dock in Crescent City

Food Value: This fish is so ugly it deserves to go back. If you persist in eating them, remember that the soft flesh tastes bland so bring on your Creole seasoning. Of course you could surprise your friends with a hors d’oeuvre platter made from staghorn sculpin and buffalo sculpin. Perhaps some deep-fried sculpin-tots with a little sweet-and-sour dipping sauce? If you do make such a plate, be sure you leave a couple of buffalo sculpin heads in the middle of the plate to add a little authentic atmosphere to the party.

Comments: The unofficial winner of the Pier Fishing in California Message Board “ugly fish” contest. Usually when these fish are caught they evoke considerable comment from the onlookers. They are fairly uncommon (except at Point Arena), they are ugly, and most people have no idea what they are. They also will give off a low hum which you can feel as you hold the fish.

     Head of a Buffalo Sculpin caught by Fireridge in Mendocino Co.

A small lingcod I caught one day from Citizens Dock in Crescent City

Species: Ophidon elongatus (Girard, 1854); from the Greek words ophis (snake) and odons (tooth), and the Latin word elongatus  (elongate shaped).

Lingcod from the Monterey Coast Guard Pier in 2010 by MBay

Alternate Names:  Pacific cultus, cultus cod, leopard cod, blue cod, gator, ling, greenlinger, green cod and my favorites—slinky linky and lingasaur. Early-day names included buffalo cod, bocalao, card and testoni. Called molva in Mexico.

Identification: Elongate shaped with a long dorsal fin, large pectoral fins, and a large mouth full of canine-like teeth. Their coloring is gray to brown to blue, darker above (although some fish are a bright green and some older fish are a fairly bright yellow). The young are usually blotched.

Size: To 105 pounds in British Columbia. Most lingcod caught off piers are small, generally less than five pounds in weight. The California record fish weighed 56 lb 0 oz. It was caught at Crescent City in 1992.  

Lingcod taken from the Monterey Coast Guard Pier in 2009 by MBay

Range: From Point San Carlos, northern Baja California to the Shumagin Islands, southwestern Gulf of Alaska.

Lingcod taken from the Goleta Pier by Pierhead (Boyd Grant) in 2003

Habitat: South of Point Conception lingcod are typically a deep-water fish; north of Point Conception lingcod will be found from inter-tidal areas out to deep water. The bigger the ling the deeper they tend to live and they’ve been found all the way down to 1,400 feet. Small juvenile lingcod settle into sandy areas at about three inches in length and stay there until they are about 14-inches long. The fish then move out into rocky areas, progressively moving into deeper areas as they age. Many, but not all, migrate into shallower water to spawn during the late fall and winter months. Lings are bottom-dwellers classified as ambush predators whose cryptic (i.e. camouflage) coloration allows them to blend into the background. When prey comes close, they will dart out using the power of their pectoral fins and grab the unsuspecting victim with their large mouth and long, pointed teeth.  They are able to surprise and capture fairly mobile prey.

Lingcod taken by Rock Hopper at the Doran Jetty 

Piers: Most lingcod taken from piers are of one of two types: small juvenile fish just a few inches long or larger adults around keeper-size. In central and northern California, primarily from Avila to Morro Bay, Humboldt Bay and Crescent City Harbor, small juvenile lingcod will often move in around the piers (and sandy areas) during the summer and fall. In Central California, their appearance often will coincide with the arrival of schools of juvenile bocaccio. In Eureka and Crescent City, the young lingcod are often present the same time that juvenile rockfish, mainly small black rockfish, are using the piers as a nursery area. Sometimes the schools are mixed; at other times, it seems the lingcod swim just under the schools of rockfish. Most of these lingcod are small—under a foot—and they are illegal. At piers north of San Francisco, especially those located near rocks or reefs, anglers will see larger lingcod as one of the normal pier species. Most of these lingcod will be around two feet in length but larger fish are caught every year, especially in the fall and early winter. The best pier to catch lingcod is SoCal is probably the Goleta Pier. The best CenCal piers would include the Monterey Coast Guard Pier and the Santa Cruz Wharf. The top piers in NorCal are the Point Arena Pier, Trinidad Pier, and Citizens Dock in Crescent City.

A lingcod from the rocks

Shoreline: One of the main prizes for rocky shore anglers in central and northern California.

Lingcod caught from CenCal rocks by frozendog in 2014

Boats:  A prize for boaters from central California north; a few are taken in deeper waters in southern California. Traditionally, the greatest catch was made out of Monterey and Santa Cruz although substantial numbers were landed on boats from every port north of Morro Bay. In southern California some are taken from deeper waters of the Channel Islands and the Los Coronados Islands. All areas saw a decrease in the ‘90s but the species has been making a tremendous comeback in numbers during the past decade.

Lings caught from boats are generally larger than shore caught lings. This ling was caught by bigunindaboat in 2014.

Lingcod taken on a boat out of Monterey by Jackjack in 2014

Bait and Tackle: Anglers specifically fishing for lingcod need to remember to bring tackle heavy enough for the fish since lings over ten pounds in size are always a possibility. Almost any bait will work although a lively small fish makes the best bait. If live bait is unavailable, try a whole anchovy or a cut sardine or herring. Lings can also be taken on squid, octopus, shrimp, and even fresh mussels but moving bait is almost always better. Lingcod will also hit artificials, especially in the fall and winter months. Lures such as swimbaits and spoons seem to work best.

Lingcod taken from the Pacifica Pier in 1997

Food Value: Excellent, mild-flavored, flaky, and low-fat content meat. Lingcod meat can be prepared in almost any manner but I prefer to fillet it and fry it. Many people like to steak it and broil it, or cook it on a bar-b-cue, but the low fat content means it can dry out somewhat. Remember, low fat content means to add oil as in frying. High fat content means to remove the oil by methods such as broiling.  Sometimes the flesh will be green-blue after filleting; don’t worry, it will turn white after cooking.

Lingcod taken from the rocks by Salty Nick in 2014

Comments: Lingcod are truculent, pugnacious fighters, one of the meanest fish a pier angler will encounter. Remember to watch out for those large, large teeth.  Lings live to at least 20 years of age.

Lingcod taken from the Point Arena Pier by Dan and Renee in 2006

Lingcod taken by MBay from the Monterey Coast Guard Pier in 2010

Lingcod taken from the Cayucos Pier in 2003

Lingcod taken from the Trinidad Pier in 2003

Lingcod taken by frozendog from CenCal rocks in 2014

A lingcod that I netted for a guy in Santa Cruz back in the ’70s. He had been seasick all day, got up to fish for ten minutes, hooked this lingcod, brought it up, and I netted it (since the deckhand was busy with another fish). He then proceeded to throw up and quit fishing once again.

A lingcod and a kelp greenling that I caught one day fishing off of Fort Bragg

Another lingcod I caught off Fort Bragg

A tasty double — a lingcod and a sole caught by csmeril at the Cayucos Pier in 2013.

Small, immature “baby” lingcod taken from the Santa Cruz Wharf in 2007

Photo ID courtesy of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Species: Platichthys stellatus (Pallas, 1787); from the Greek words platy  (flat) and ichthys (fish) and the Latin word stellatus (starry).

Alternate Names: Rough-jacket, great flounder, grindstone, emery flounder, emerywheel, leatherjacket, English sole, sand paper flounder, diamondback, long-jaw flounder, California flounder, swamp flounder and (too simple) flounder.

Identification: Most easily distinguished by the alternating orange and black stripes on the fins. In addition, there are patches of very rough scales throughout the pigmented side of the body. Considered a member of the right-eye flounder family but sixty percent have eyes on the left side.

The question of left side right side raises a question. Off Japan nearly 100% of the starries are left eyed (sinistral); off Alaska the number drops to 67%; off the West Coast of the U.S. the number drops to 5-60%. Is it environmental or genetic? Scientists don’t know the answer.

Size: To 37 inches and over 20 pounds but most caught from piers are under 18 inches. The California record fish weighed 11 lb 4 oz and was caught at San Simeon in 1993.

A Starry Flounder caught at the Cayucos Pier

Range: Los Angeles Harbor to the Bering Sea and Commander-Aleutian chain, and along the Arctic coast to Bathurst Inlet or the Coronation Gulf, Northwest Territories. The species continues across the Bering Strait to the Arctic Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Sea of Japan off the Korean Peninsula and Japan. They are uncommon south of Point Conception. Starries can also travel quite a way up streams. Some were observed in the San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay apparently having been transported there via the California Aqueduct after traversing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Habitat: Although found to a depth of 900 feet, they are most common in shallow-water areas, primarily those with sand, mud and eelgrass. They are a euryhaline species capable of tolerating a wide range of salinities and are frequently found in bays and estuaries and are especially prevalent around the mouths of streams and rivers in the winter and early spring (December to March).

A Starry Flounder caught from the Capitola Wharf in 2013

Piers: Once common in central and northern California but far less common today. Best bets: Cayucos Pier, San Simeon Pier, Capitola Wharf, Santa Cruz Wharf, Pillar Point Pier, Berkeley Pier, Point Pinole Pier, Martinez Pier, McNear Beach Pier, Paradise Beach Pier, Adorni Pier, and the “B” Street Pier in Crescent City.

Shoreline: Once a common shore catch by anglers in San Francisco and Humboldt Bay but today far less common.

Boats: Once a favored fish for boaters in the San Francisco Bay Area but numbers have dropped dramatically over the years.

A Starry Flounder caught from the Pacifica Pier in the ’70s

Bait and Tackle: Once heavily fished in the San Francisco Bay Area although numbers have dropped. The most common rigging is a sliding live bait leader baited with pile worms, live grass shrimp or ghost shrimp. Many are also taken on high/low leaders baited with pile worms, grass shrimp, ghost shrimp, cut anchovy, squid, or even pieces of market shrimp. Medium-size tackle with number 4 or 2 hooks is adequate.

Some are also taken on artificial lures. In Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest by Andy Lamb and Phil Edgell it’s reported that “small spinners slowly retrieved near the sandy bottom also attract this good light-tackle battler. Fly fishermen seeking a novel experience can sometimes catch this inhabitant of shallow water when it rises to the surface at night, attracted either by pier lights or the small prey congregating there.” I’ve never heard of similar fishing in northern California bays but it may be possible.

Another book, one that was a favorite of mine when I was young, is Anglers Guide To The Salt Water Fishes by Edward C. Migdalski. In his discussion of starry flounder he writes, “during one expedition to Unimak Island in the Aleutians, Larry Sheerin and I experienced some wonderful sport with the starry flounder. We were fishing primarily for dolly varden trout as we cast small spoons into a fairly large and rapid river which emptied into the sea a couple of miles further down. We caught many good-sized dolly varden, which put up a splendid battle in such cold swift water, but the occasional large starry flounders that grabbed our lures out-scrapped the trout!”

Another Starry Flounder from the Capitola Wharf

Food Value:  Generally good although some have only a fair flavor. This is another fish that may be unsafe to eat in areas with heavy pollution. Best fried or baked.

Comments: Young starries apparently subsist mainly on a diet of shrimp and worms. As they mature they develop more of an Epicurean craving for such items as crabs, clams, brittle stars, sand dollars and other fish. I imagine anyone baiting up his or her hook with a brittle star or a sand dollar (and I’m not sure how you would do it) would get a really strange, only-in-California look from other anglers. Starries live to about 24 years of age.

As mentioned, the numbers have dropped. In Marine Food and Game Fishes of California by John E. Fitch and Robert J. Lavenberg, the authors say “starry flounder are the most common flatfish caught by sport fishermen in central and northern California, an estimated 14,000 per year being taken during the period 1958 to 1961. About half of these are caught by pier fishermen and most of the rest by shore and skiff fishermen.” However, in reviewing the fish catch data from central and northern California piers, 2000-2009, I could only find three piers where starry flounder were the predominant flatfish—the McNear Beach Pier, Paradise Beach Pier, and Point Pinole Pier, all in San Francisco or San Pablo Bay (although piers in the Carquinez Strait were not surveyed and probably would show starry flounder as the number one flatfish at those piers). The number one flatfish at most piers, especially oceanfront piers and those near the entrance to San Francisco Bay was sanddabs although some piers showed good numbers of California halibut (especially the Berkeley Pier).

Could da’ books be wrong? Until recently (2002) most authoritarian guides listed the range of starry flounder as south only to Santa Barbara or the Santa Ynez River (near Santa Barbara). However, on July 4, 1962, I caught a fish off of Newport Pier that seemed to match, in every respect, the characteristics of starry flounder: its coloring was the same, it had rough scales, etc. Several source books conflicted on the southern range of this fish, but one old text did include a listing for a southern starry flounder that showed a more southern range. That identification satisfied my biology teacher at Newport Harbor H.S. as well as myself. The guidebooks still do not list starries as extending south to Newport Beach but I will continue to believe that I caught a starry flounder at the Newport Pier on Independence Day, 1962.

A Starry Flounder from the Santa Cruz WharfStarry Flounder from Joseph’s Fishing Resort Pier (San Pablo Bay) in the ’70s

A Starry Flounder caught from the Paradise Beach Pier (San Francisco Bay)

Species

Alternate Names: Silver perch or surfperch. In Mexico called mojarra ovalada or perca.

Identification: Their coloring is silver with duskiness on the back and the tail is usually pink. They have no spots on the fins with the exception (generally) of a small orange spot on the anal fin. Often confused with walleye surfperch but the tips of the pelvic fins ARE NOT black and they do not have the large eyes like walleye surfperch.

Size: To 10.5 inches; those caught off piers are usually 6-8 inches.

Range: Rio San Vicente, northern Baja California to Schooner Cove, near Ucluelet, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Habitat: Shallow-water areas near both sand and rock. Common in both oceanfront areas and in bays.

Piers: Most common on central and northern California piers. Best bets: Pismo Beach Pier, Seacliff State Park Pier, Santa Cruz Wharf, Pacifica Pier, Fort Point Pier, San Francisco Municipal Pier, Elephant Rock Pier, Fort Baker Pier, Point Arena Pier, Commercial Street Dock (Eureka), and the Trinidad Pier.

Shoreline: One of the main fish for sandy shore anglers in central and northern California anglers.

Boats: An inshore species rarely taken by boaters.

Bait and Tackle: Silver surfperch can be caught similarly to walleye surfperch with the following modifications: silver surfperch are usually mid-depth to the top of the water so fish off the bottom; and silver surfperch are more likely to take a worm-baited hook than walleye surfperch.

Food Value:  Fair, although most of the fish are too small to have much meat available.

Comments: Silver surfperch are very attractive perch that, in northern areas, seem to average much larger size than silver surfperch in the south. They are one of the main fish caught by pier anglers in central and northern California.

Totuava — San Felipe, Mexico — 1925

Today totuava are endangered and illegal to keep

Giant (Black) Sea Bass taken at Coronado in 1905

Today the number of Giant (Black) Sea Bass has decreased and they are illegal to keep

A 428-pound Giant (Black) Sea Bass taken at Catalina

White Sturgeon

In California today you have to release white sturgeon over 72-inches in length

Fish on the Santa Cruz Wharf in the early part of the 1900s — Giant (Black) Sea Bass, White Seabass, Salmon, etc.