This young lady caught the first and only bonito when we visited the San Clemente Pier

Saturday, August 28 in Dana Harbor

Anyone one for cookies?

Setting up!

There was an inside classroom and also several places set up outside for short, 20-minute presentations on different topics (pier fishing, boat fishing, how to tie knots, lures, etc.)

Carrie Wilson of the DF&W was the main person who set up the workshop

Dr. Zachary Schakner discussed the biology of the  SoCal fishing environment

Marty Golden discussed ethical angling

Since most of the kids had never been fishing, one of the first lessons was how to hold a rod and — and how to make a cast — Ron Owens and Roger Eckhardt

Practice, practice, practice…

Mary Patyten discussed Marine Protected Areas

Wayne Kotow of CCA Cal discussed boating

Jordan Smith (not pictured) discussed how to release deep-water fish

Know your fish!

Two DF&W wardens discussed common problems they see

Outside

Oops, where’s the “pier rat”

Virgil Perez & Dave Young discussed how to tie knots

Lures

Emilio Rebollar

More practice casting — Marlon Meade, Dave Young, and Emilio Rebollar

Sunday, August 29, San Clemente Pier

First things first — cutting mackerel and squid for bait — Jordan Smith and Hashem Nahid

Helping the kids get set up

Pacific mackerel were the main catch

This young man caught a thornback ray

A mackerel coming over the railing along with Ben Acker (DompfaBen) helping untangle a line [Dompfa = dominating positive fishing attitude]

Mackerel

A bat ray

A happy mom and a young man’s first mackerel

Her first bonito!

The pier became fairly crowded

Another mackerel

A yellowfin croaker

Happy mom, happy daughter

Spotfin croaker

“Pier Rats”

Yellowfin croaker and a happy angler

Hashem Nahid and Carrie Wilson

California halibut

Our Gang #1

Our Gang #2

Given that we were busy setting the kids up to fish near the front section of the pier we failed to notice one very important visitor to the pier that morning — a “Great White” shark.

Luckily others noticed the shark swimming alongside the pier and took pictures which resulted in a newspaper article and a video. It’s unfortunate that we missed seeing the shark and showing it to the kids.

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/28/video-great-white-shark-filmed-near-san-clemente-pier/

Great white shark filmed near San Clemente Pier — Orange County Register — August 28, 2017 — Laylan Connelly

Jordan Jesolva was about to reel in a fish caught on her line when the shark suddenly appeared. “I didn’t care about the fish at that point, I was like, ‘I need to film this’,” she recalled saying as she handed her rod over to her grandfather to get her phone out to capture the sight. “This is once in a lifetime.”

While shark sightings are becoming more frequent, with many in the San Clemente area this past summer, the sight of a great white lingering just beneath a pier is enough to send kids squealing and adults running for the camera.

Jesolva said she spotted the great white — which she estimated to be about 10-foot — at about 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 27. “I was casually fishing on the pier, all of a sudden there’s a huge great white,” she said Monday. “It was probably 100 yards from shore. I had caught a fish — it kind of came right in front of me. It made a circle and it kept swimming under the pier.”

Jesolva, who was on a weekend trip from La Mirada, she had heard about all the recent sightings. “I’ve never seen a shark before. I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy’,” she said. “It was a really cool experience.”

She said it was on the left side of the pier, with surfers sitting out in the water on the right. Some people shouted to the surfers that there was a shark in the water and some paddled toward shore.

She said she didn’t think to report the sighting to lifeguards, too caught up in the moment. “I feel like maybe I should have. I was too excited,” she said. “Everyone on the pier came and looked at it.”

San Clemente Marine Safety Lifeguard Rod Mellott said no reports came into lifeguards about the sighting. “Anybody that thinks they saw a shark, has video or pictures, please contact the lifeguards right away,” he said. “We can do the proper follow-up and take the proper precautions.”

In the video captured by Jesolva, a child’s voice can be heard saying, “Oh. My. God. Get mom!” A man’s voice, while calmer, still suggests shock. “Wow, that’s a white.”

For Jesolva, it was quite the fish tale she’ll never forget. “Even though I was far from it, it was scary,”  Jesolva said. “But cool at the same time.”

And we missed it — darn!

August 26-27, 2017 saw me scheduled to (1) present the “Basics of Pier Fishing” to a group of neophyte anglers at a classroom in Dana Point Harbor and to  (2) help them test out their new knowledge on a visit to the San Clemente Pier.

Needing to arrive the day before, and free the afternoon and evening of the class, meant I could get a little fishing in for myself. The final day wouldn’t allow time for fishing but would allow me to see some old friends and  get a few pictures on the pier.

Day One — Friday — I arrived at the pier after the long drive from Fresno. I was tired and hungry but I wanted to fish. I also wanted to see what was biting and what bait was needed so that Sunday’s outing with the new anglers would, hopefully, see them catch some fish. Since nothing seemed to be biting inshore, I headed out to the end. The fishing presented an interesting mix of fish but little worth filming (since I had already filmed all the species previously)

San Clemente Pier — August 25 — 5-7:15 PM
14 Pacific Mackerel  — 6 Salema  — 3 Jacksmelt —1 Rock Wrasse —1 Jack Mackerel  — 1 Topsmelt  — 1 Grunion

San Clemente was a busy pier that Friday night

I stopped after a couple of hours of fishing since I was tired and would be getting up early for the class. However, it was obvious by then that some fish were hitting at the pier (especially mackerel) and that we should be able to help the newbies catch some fish.

Day Two — Saturday — The morning was spent teaching the “new” anglers a little of what Ive learned about “pier fishing” over the years. The class was held in Dana Harbor and since just about every parking space in the harbor was taken at 6:45 in the morning, I parked near the small fishing pier at the north end if the harbor.

The class was over about 1:30 so I walked over to where I had parked my car, drove back to pick up my pier cart and all the goodies I had brought, and then drove back to the small pier. About that time Mahigheer (Hashem) called and said he was headed down to the harbor. He had decided to help out with the Sunday gathering and to do a little fishing himself.  He met me on the pier just about the time I was setting up to fish.

The Dana Harbor Pier from the classroom where we had our class

I began to fish from the small pier and though I tried a variety of baits — bloodworms, fresh mussels — cut mackerel and anchovies —I didn’t have a bite for over an hour until a small opaleye decided to grab a piece of worm. Mahigeer decided to move on to the San Clemente Pier and I told him I would join him but that I wanted to try the small pier a little bit longer.

A closer look at the Dana Harbor Pier — Baby Beach is to the right of the pier

Soon after I decided to change positions and moved inshore where I cast to the waters just outside “Baby Beach.”  A few minutes later I caught a spotfin croaker so again decided the spot deserved a little more time.

A few minutes later my second rod had a good hit. I grabbed it and made sure the fish was hooked and then watched the fish and line perform a large curving arc from about the 15 minute spot on a watch to the 45 minute spot. The fish was moving fast and I wasn’t sure what I had hooked. It didn’t fight like a croaker, bass, mackerel, flatfish or sharay that typically inhabit the harbor. But within a short time I had the fish to the pier and much to my surprise saw it was a bonefish, a Cortez bonefish to be exact, the first I had caught in nineteen years. I had landed two from the Embarcadero Marina Pier in San Diego Bay in 1999 but they had been caught in deeper water on a heavier line and didn’t give the same fight as this fish. The fish MADE MY TRIP..

Cortez Bonefish

Dana Harbor Pier — August 26 — 3:15-5:15 PM
1 Cortez Bonefish —1 Spotfin Croaker — 1 Opaley

Although I wouldn’t have minded trying for a second bonefish, I decide to join Hashem at the San Clemente Pier for one more rnight of fishing.

The fish were still there but now I told Hashem we needed to catch some mackerel to use for bait on Sunday morning. We were probably not going to have fresh mussels so instead of croaker we would target mackerel and mackerel like nothing better than a fresh piece of another mackerel. It was much the same species, mainly mackerel and salema, but I did add a small black croaker. Since black croaker will often school together with salema at night it seemed to make sense that one would grab my bait.

Salema

Black Croaker

Once again I decided to call it a night somewhat early. We had enough mackerel for bait  on Sunday and I was ready for a meal.

San Clemente Pier — August 26 — 6-7:45 PM
23 Pacific Mackerel — 11 Salema —1 Black Croaker

Day Three — Sunday — Although I had hoped to once again do a litle fishing I would stay far too busy with the kids to fish.I did get a chance to see some friends and to take a few pictures of people (not in the class). The classroom/pier pictures will be in a different post.

The San Clemente Pier during the day — beautiful shoreline

The rules

Three “Excellent” friends — Eugene Kim (kelpangler), Ben Acker (DompfaBen —  Dominating Positive Fishing Attitude Ben), and Hashem Nahid (Mahigeer)

Two nice “Golden” Spotfin Croaker caught on fresh mussels

Mina Kim and friend with a Pacific Mackerel

Bonito caught by “Dusty”

Salema

KJ and DompfaBen — Reunion time

A Pacific mackerel and a really nice family that we met

Spotfin Croaker

Bonito

By the end of the class a break and lunch was needed. DompfaBen headed home while Eugene, Hashem and myself went across the street to the Pizzaria. After lunch I headed over to Redondo Beach to meet my son and the next morning I would get to fish a couple of hours at the Redondo Sportfishing Pier (no pictures).

Redondo Sportfishing Pier — August 28, 2017 — 6-8:30, 10:15-11:15 AM
22 Kelp Bass  — 7 Senorita  — 3 Rock Wrasse  —2 Opaleye

A nice spotfin croaker taken by “Charley” in 2016

The croaker family—yellowfin croaker, spotfin croaker, white croaker, black croaker, corbinia, queenfish (aka herring), white seabass and shortfin corvina are among the most important fish for SoCal pier anglers. The small queenfish and white croaker annually rank among the largest number of fish caught from piers while yellowfin and spotfin croaker yield both high numbers and eating size fish. Corbina are the favorite of many surf and pier anglers while shortfin corvina,, a fish more common to southern waters in Baja, have become a fairly regular fish for pier and shore anglers from San Diego Bay north to Oceanside. White seabass, the big brute of the family, are less common on piers but rank as one of the favorite sportfish for boaters  from southern California to Monterey Bay.

A nice 15-inch corbina taken by “Ambrosia” in 2015

One of the best producing piers for the favored yellowfin and spotfin croaker is the Oceanside Pier. Although the summer months, usually July through August will yield the highest number of yellowfin and spotfin, the larger spotfin really seem to be available throughout the year even if in lesser numbers.

A shortfin corvina taken by “Lewis” in 2015

Herein are some of the croaker taken from the pier in the past few years.

A spotfin taken during the “UPSAC Youth Fishing Derby” in 2012

Another spotfin, this one taken during the “UPSAC Youth Fishing Derby” in 2010

A mess of yellowfins and spotfins at the UPSAC Youth Fishing Derby in 2011

A large corbina caught in 2015

 A large spotfin croaker taken by “Humberto” in 2015

Yellowfin and spotfin croaker taken during the “UPSAC Youth Fishing Derby” in 2010

Yellowfin croaker taken during the “UPSAC Youth Fishing Derby” in 2010

Shortfin Corvina taken at the pier in 2015

37-inch, 5-Pound spotfin croaker caught by Lee in 2015

Two nice shortfin corvina caught by “Mark” in 2016

Several nice croaker taken in 2013

A good-sized spotfin taken by “Richard” in 2015

A small spotfin taken during the 2012 “UPSAC Youth Fishing Derby”

Many thanks to Ed Gonsalves and the Oceanside Pier Bait Shop for the use of their photos (all pictures excepting the UPSAC Youth Fishing Derby pictures).

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.

“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

Registration was organized and handled efficiently by Pam Gonsalves and her team of helpers

Several pelicans make the pier their home

Free loaner rods and reels, free bait, free hot dog lunches, raffle prizes, and free “goody bag” for every youngster helped make it a fun morning. Age group winners in each category (ages 6-15) won trophies from UPSAC, a beautiful IGFA certificate, and an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones.

UPSAC President Ken Jones giving  derby instructions

Cutting bait

Of course the chance to catch a fish was the prime motivation for the day and in many cases that meant a first fish. Fish that were caught included spotfin and yellowfin croaker, barred surfperch, walleye surfperch, Pacific mackerel, sand bass, Pacific sardine, jacksmelt, shovelnose guitarfish, thornback ray, round stingray, and a bat ray. Most kids caught “something” and all had a great time.

The kids were ready to catch some fish!

A nice spotfin croakerThe California Fish and Game Department distributed literature and helped the youngsters fill out their “Passport” booklets

A spotfin croaker

Pelicans always attract a crowd

UPSAC’s Brian Linebarger helps out a youngster

Oceanside Pier Bait Shop

At the end of the fishing each youngster and parent was given a hot dog lunch and Immediately after that each participant was given a “Goody Bag” full of prizes.

Next up was the raffle gifts with each youngster winning a gift. Gifts were donated from a large group: Oceanside Pier Bait and Tackle; Pacific Bait and Tackle, Oceanside; Anglers Bait and Tackle, Oceanside; Pats Bait and Tackle, Vista; Nautical Bean Coffee, Oceanside Harbor; and J and M Bait Co. in San Marcos; Western Outdoor News.

The final event was the rewarding of the gifts to the age group winners and each age group, 6-15 had a winner. The individual age group winners were: 6-year-old, Brandon Ngo; 7-year-old, Isiah Sanchez; 8-year-old, Anthony Fowler; 9-year-old, Ben Marek; 10-year-old, Noah Silk; 11-year-old, Andreio Flores; 12-year-old, Nico Place; 13-year-old (tie), Franco Deporzi & Alfonso Paz; 14-year-old, Carlos Arango and 15-year-old, Froilan Tan.

UPSAC’s Ken Jones, NOAA’s Marty Golden, and the 6-Year-Old Winner — Brandon Ngo

7-Year-Old Winner Isiah Sanchez

8-Year-Old Winner Anthony Fowler

9-Year-Old Winner Ben Marek

10-Year-Old Winner Noah Silk

11-Year-Pld Winner Andreio Flores

12-Year-Old Winner Nico Place

13-Year-Old (tie), Franco Deporzi & Alfonso Paz 

14-Year-Old Winner Carlos Arango

15-Year-Old Winner, Froilan Tan

The “Top Angler” Award was won by Brandon Ngo

A large event like this takes considerable time and effort but luckily the good folks at the Oceanside Pier Bait and Tackle (Pam and Ed Gonsalves) were up to the challenge and they derserve a BIG THANKS!

Volunteers: From UPSAC—President, Ken Jones, Vice-President, Robert Gardner, Secretary, Brian Linebarger, and member, Richard (Big Rich) McIntosh; From IGFA—Gary Graham; From the California Department of Fish and Game—Carrie Wilson and a group of other volunteers; NOAA—Marty Golden; Oceanside Pier Bait and Tackle—Owners Ed and Pam Gonsalves along with Johnny Arrage, Rebecca Dutkiewiez, Ronnie Newland, Joy Koepke, Stephen Sandberg, Sarah Cousins, Richard Vodlak, Joe Darden, Wayne Kotow, Chris Monsale, Bradley Hicks, Johathan Kotow, and Mark Neenan; Senior Anglers of Oceanside—Bill and Manuel.

UPSAC President Ken Jones, NOAA Pacific Recreational Fisheries Coordinator Marty Golden, and UPSAC Board Member Eugene Kim with his daughter Mia

Carrie Wilson (CA DF&G), Marty Golden (NOAA) and volunteers

And we bid adieu to a beautiful pier, the Oceanside Pier!

Getting ready

It starts

Sign here!

The sign-up tables

Sponsored by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), United Pier and Shore Anglers of California (UPSAC), NOAA, and the Oceanside Pier Bait and Tackle, the event was declared a rousing success by all.Loaner rods

Getting the “Goody Bags” ready

Free loaner rods and reels, free bait, free lunches (more than 300 served), and help from more than 25 volunteers greeted the 109 young anglers and their parents.

Heading out!

UPSAC President Ken Jones giving tournament instructions

Ed and Pam Gonsalves, co-sponsors from the Oceanside Pier Bait shop

You might as well be comfortable when you are fishing

UPSAC’s Hashem Nahid offers assistance to a young angler

Hook up?

The Bait Shop stayed busy

UPSAC’s Eugene Kim and Hashem Nahid 

NOAA’s Marty Golden

NOAA’s Marty Golden and UPSAC’s Ken Jones talking to the mayor of Oceanside — “Wow, isn’t this a great event?”

The IGFA’s Mike Farrior and members of the Oceanside Senior Anglers Club

Although the fishing was a little slow, the anglers, many who were fishing for the first time, managed to pull in a nice variety of SoCal species that included halibut, kelp bass, barred surfperch, walleye surfperch, spotfin croaker, yellowfin croaker, white croaker, queenfish, sargo, jacksmelt, mackerel, and a baby bat ray.

A spotfin croaker

A nice catch of spotfin croaker

 The capture of the fish yielded ten age-group winners.The winners were: 6-year-old Carlos Cruz, 7-year-old Emily Dipitro, 8-year-old Kathryn Oh, 9-year-old Riley Bryant, 10-year-old Angel Flores, 11-year-old Elvis Rivera, 12-year-old Claire Christy, 13-year-old Mikey Pugh, 14-year-old Edward Dizon, and 15-year-old David Hernandez (who was the grand champion in 2010). The Grand Champion this year was Mikey Pugh. Each of the winners received a new rod and reel, an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California, and a beautiful IGFA certificate. The grand champion also had his name engraved on a perpetual trophy that stays at the pier.

Waiting for the results and the raffle

IGFA’s Mike Farrior and a young lady with a yellowfin croaker

It looks like a queenfish

Two yellowfin croaker

Ken Jones announcing the winners

6-Year-Old Winner Carlos Cruz

8-Year-Old Winner Kathryn Oh

9-Year-Old Winner Riley Bryant

10-Year-Old Winner Angel Flores

11-Year-Old Winner Elvis Rivera

12-Year-Old Winner Claire Christy

13-Year-Old Winner Mikey Pugh

14-Year-Old Winner Edward Dizon

15-Year-Old Winner David Hernandez

13-Year-Old Winner and Grand Champion Mikey Pugh with IGFA’s Mike Farrior

Next up was the raffle!

Waiting for the tickets to be drawn

A winner

Twenty youngsters won free raffle prizes and all of the participants received “goody bags” filled with a plethora of gifts.

Pam Gonsalves handing out “Goody Bags”

The main coordinators were Ed and Pam Gonsalves of the Oceanside Pier Bait and Tackle shop and Ken Jones, President of UPSAC. They were ably assisted by IGFA’s Mike Farrior and Gary Graham, UPSAC Board members Eugene Kim and Hashim Nahid, Marty Golden from NOAA, and a large group of volunteers including the judges from the Oceanside Senior Anglers Club – Lee Wood, Dan Ontiveros, Manuel Ontiveros, Hal Reeser, Ray Wilkerson, Fred Kazzmerek, Jim Swartz. Joining the crowd was the Mayor of Oceanside Jim Woods and Councilman Jack Fuller. Filming the event for KCOT TV was Video-Photographer Bill Stromberg.

Local helpers included Betty Sanchez, Konnie Newland, Joy Koepke, Willie Stevens, Don Dotson, Mountain Man Mark Lewis, Chris Monsale, Larry Snell, Wayne Kogow, Ted Gillespie, Chris Rivas, and Johnny Aggrange.

Among the groups and businesses donating prizes were Oceanside Pier Bait and Tackle, Anglers Bait and Tackle, Arcadia Tackle, Charles Belñavis T-Shirts, Danielson Mfg., Helgren’s Sportfishing, IGFA, J&M Bait Distributors, NOAA, Pacific Coast Bait and Tackle, Pat’s Bait and Tackle, Pierfishing.com, Promar, and Ruby’s Restaurant.

Some of the wonderful people who helped put on the tournament

Species: Roncador stearnsii (Steindachner, 1876); from the Spanish word roncador (in reference to a snorer) and stearnsii  (referring to Robert E. C. Stearns, a 19^th Century sea shell expert in San Francisco).

Alternate Names: Spot, spotties, golden croaker or roncador. Called roncador aleta manchada in Mexico.

Yellowfin Croaker (Top), Spotfin Croaker (Bottom) — San Clemente Pier

Identification:  A heavy-bodied croaker which has a large black spot at the base of the pectoral fin; the mouth is underneath the head (subterminal); they do not have a barbel on the chin (unlike most California croakers). Their coloring is metallic gray above and brassy on the sides. Occasionally you may see a beautiful, bright “golden” spotfin. This color phrase by larger males is during spawning and led, at one time, to the mistaken belief that there were two distinct species of spotfins. I’ve only caught a few spotfins over the years that had the bright gold coloring but each was a truly beautiful fish. Apparently the females do not acquire this golden coloring, instead they develop blackish streaks on their bellies during the spawning season.

Spotfin Croaker — UPSAC/IGFA Kid’s Fishing Derby, Oceanside Pier, 2010

Size: Reported to reach a length of 27 inches and a weight of 10 1/2 pounds (although the record fish would seem to contradict this usually given factoid). Most caught from piers are less than 20 inches and range from one to three pounds. A 26 ½-inch, 9 ¼-pound fish was 15 years old; reaches 18-19 years in age. The California record fish weighed 14 lb 0 oz and was taken at Playa del Rey in 1951 (and was apparently a freak of nature).

Range: Mazatlan, Mexico to Point Conception. Most common from Los Angeles south. (One specimen reported from south San Francisco Bay.)

Habitat: Shallow-water sandy areas, both in bays and along the coast. In coastal conditions they tend to be in the slightly deeper waters beyond the innermost line of breakers (out to about a 30-foot depth). A difference in body shape, together with an air bladder, prevent their feeding in the backwash of the surf, the common area of corbina and sand crabs.

Piers: Common at most bay and oceanfront piers north to Los Angeles Harbor; those that have a sand or mud bottom. Best bets: Embarcadeo Marina Pier, Shelter Island Pier, Crystal Pier, San Clemente Pier, Oceanside Pier, Oceanside Harbor Pier, San Clemente Pier, Dana Point Harbor Pier, Huntington Beach Pier, Seal Beach Pier, Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier, and lately—the Santa Monica Pier.

Spotfin Croaker — Crystal Pier

Shoreline: One of the main catches by sandy shore and bay anglers in southern California. Favored areas include Mission Bay, Newport Bay, and Alamitos Bay.

My dad and a spotfin from Mission Bay

Boats: An inshore species but some are taken by boaters fishing the various bays in southern California.

Bait and Tackle: Spotfin croaker have pharyngeal (throat) teeth made for crushing heavy shells and primarily feed on the bottom for clams, although polychaete worms and mussels are also a popular diet (studies on fish captured in Long Beach also revealed crabs, shrimp, serpent star fragments, scallops, sand stars and lots of crushed shells and sand in the bellies). Therefore, the best bait is clams, but ghost shrimp, fresh mussels, bloodworms, lugworms and innkeeper worms can also be good. Best tackle is a high/low leader with number 6 or 4 hooks fished directly on the bottom. Although spotfin may be caught year-round, the best time is late summer to fall. In addition, spotfin follow the tides, so fishermen should do the same. Fish two hours before and after a high tide, especially a late afternoon or evening tide. Late evening and night is often the best time to catch spotfin croaker.

Spotfin Croaker — Ventura Pier

Food Value:  An excellent mild-flavored fish that shares the same problems with pollution as the other croaker species. They may be unsafe to eat in certain localities.

Comments: Spotfin croakers are one of the favorite inshore fishes of southern California. In bays, spotfin croaker tend to congregate in croaker holes; when these are discovered, the anglers can often return time after time for fish. It is much harder to find these holes and depressions around piers, but it can be done. Look for spots where the surf-line seems to flatten out; this often indicates a depression in the sand. Illegal to take in California with nets since 1909, or to buy or sell since 1915. Scientific studies indicated an increase in numbers in the late 1990s while anecdotal PFIC reports have shown a startling number of large spotfins being caught at piers in 2006-2010, especially those at Oceanside, Huntington Beach and Santa Monica.