Fishing from Piers & Surf Fishing the Beaches

The miles of wide, sandy beaches, rocky outcroppings public fishing piers throughout Southern California make for fun, inexpensive fishing to thousands of avid fishermen year round. For year round fun, a fisherman needs only an fishing rod & reel, an extra hour or two, and few items of tackle in his pocket. On the fishing piers, not even California fishing license is needed.

Many popular game fish are available to the shore angler. In fact a number of world’s record fish, for fly fishing line classes, have been taken literally in the shadow of expensive condominuims from shore in one of the largest cities in California.

Map of California Pier and Surf Fishing Spots

Nearly everywhere where sea meets shore is a possible fishing spot, so to list them for the entire Southern California Coast would be silly. The following chart and table shows some of the more popular shore fishing areas and the major piers you’ll find in Southern California:

Locations of California Pier and Surf Fishing Spots

Best Times of Year for California Pier and Surf Fishing

Following is a chart of the commonly caught pier and surf fish, and the time of year you’re likely to catch them. Be SURE to check with the California Department of Fish and Game for the latest regulations on closed seasons, closed areas, minimum size and maximum bag limits on any fish you plan to take. The regulations change often. This information is available on-line on the Cal DF&G; website at: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/

The Best Techniques for California Pier and Surf Fishing

Surf fishing is generally done with lighter tackle than in other areas of the world. Usually freshwater tackle is sufficient with 6lb to 12 lb test being the preferred. A sinker and tiny hook holding sand crabs, bloodworms, ghost shrimp, or pieces of clam or mussels is cast right into the whitewater areas. Sometimes Corbina can even be seen feeding with their backs out of the water, so it is totally unnecessary to cast far out past the breaking waves.

On the piers, light tackle fished in the surf line for those species, or in the mid pier area for others, usually offers the best results. A few piers can stretch right out to shallow reefs, where kelp stands grow, In these areas, see the section on Kelp Bed Fishing for suggestions on the most productive techniques in these areas.

At night, the piers and bay shores become the domain of the sharks and rays. Heavier tackle is needed because these fish can get over a hundred pounds! Normally cut Mackerel strips are the preferred bait for these nocturnal feeders.