Oceanside Pier

The huge fish began pulling under the pier and Espinoza worried he would tangle or break off on the pilings. The fish was exhausted and Espinoza wanted to keep control so he could make sure the fish recovered safely. To do this, he climbed down a ladder to water level, but large swells made it dangerous. “I waited to see if it was OK. Eventually I could see it was revived and ready to go, so I cut the line,” he said. The big fish turned and took off.

At that point, all Espinoza could do was sit down. “I was exhausted, my muscles ached, my shoulder out of place, and it’s taken me five days to recover,” he said. He got lots of high fives and congratulations after the successful release. “No one realized there was a fish that big in the water around here,” he said… After a few minutes, Espinoza baited his hook and was back in the water. He went to work that day and returned that evening. It was hardly an eventful fishing trip, however, only landing an 80- to 90-pound bat ray.

—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, June 30, 2016

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.

Cephalopods. 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.

Humboldt Squid — 2007

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.

Crustaceans. Although not really noted as a great pier for spiny lobsters, many bugs are taken every year. If it’s not the normal fall-winter month’s season do not keep them. If it is during the legal season, remember that they can only be taken with hoop nets (not on a rod), must be legal size, and you need a lobster card to keep them. Most of the bugs will be taken at night and some are pretty good-sized.

Lobster taken in 2015

A few crabs, crustacean cousins of the lobsters, may also be landed. Most of these will be the big, gnarly-looking spider (sheep) crabs and though ugly, and not the easiest thing to clean, they are good eating. Occasionally a rock crab, usually a yellow rock crab, may also show up but rarely are they in the numbers or of a size to justify a hoop net expedition for crabs; they’re strictly an incidental catch.

Non-fish. Other creatures are occasionally encountered.One catch that I found 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

There’s truly a plethora of species to be caught at the pier and though most will be the common species, you just never know what you might catch.

Da Birds. Visit almost any pier and you will probably see some birds—pigeons, sea gulls, cormorants and pelicans being most common, while herons and egrets are regulars at several piers.

The pigeons are actually usually tame and not bothersome although they, like all birds, can leave a mess on the pier. Sea gulls are sneaky and a pest. They will patiently sit on the railing until you forget they are there — and then grab any unattended bait or fish. Cormorants do their dirty deeds under water where they swim and grab fish, including hooked fish at times. Pelicans are big and they can be aggressive. They too will grab unattended bait and fish but they also will sometimes try to grab fish (even fairly large fish) still attached to a line, a fact that doesn’t make anglers too happy. The herons and egrets tend to be more cautious and are rarely a nuisance although they also will grab unattended bait and fish left by careless anglers.

Of the mix, the pelicans seem to be the favorite of tourists to the pier. They’re big, kind of awkward, and goofy-looking birds that seem well suited for a Jurassic Park/World movie (fitting since they appeared during the dinosaur era and they resemble the extinct pterosaurs). They have also become the favorite additions for people taking “selfies” on the pier. Of course that innocent-looking pelican, sitting placidly on the railing, will also reach out and bite you if you get too close and seem threatening (and it can be a painful nip).

The Oceanside Pier sees all of these birds but as expected the pelicans are the favorites.  Although there were a number of different pelicans over the years, one of the favorites was Charlie, a seemingly staid and gentle bird that most days would be sitting on the trashcan near the bait shop (where he got a LOT of attention).  People would line up to get a picture with Charlie. Ed Gonsalves, who owns the bait shop has even been known to toss an anchovy or two at the birds which seemed to keep both the birds and tourists happy.

Charlie

Ed will never admit he’s soft hearted for the birds but he is. One pelican showed up in the winter of ’18 with a torn pouch (it can be tough dive bombing from a high altitude (40 feet or so) into the sea in pursuit of fish—as pelicans are known to do). The bird, obviously injured, landed next to the bait shop, and then, when people were busy, strolled right into the shop.

Ed ushered him out but worried about the bird so he called a number of different animal agencies for help and advice. Unfortunately, no one offered much help but at least Ed could try to feed him and he managed to get a few anchovies down his throat.

Michael (Picture courtesy of the Oceanside Pier Bait Shop)

Birds learn fast — and know a sucker when they see one. The bird kept showing up, kept walking into the shop, and grabbed bait whenever available. But, there was a shortage of anchovies and they were expensive. Ed put out the word that some small fish to feed the pelican would be appreciated and the regulars responded with more than enough fish to feed the bird until it was healthy. Since the bird liked to bob and weave — and dance around — he finally acquired a name — Michael Jackson, and now he’s a star at the pier.

Ed though may have gone a little too far when he decided to paint Michael’s toenails pink. Michael didn’t seem to mind and tourists loved it. Ed would tell them that it was pelican breeding season and he wanted to give Michael an edge up when Michael was out there seeking a little female companionship. One day one of the regulars brought down some glitter but to date it’s still sitting on the shelf and da bird still has his pink toes.

     Michael’s pink toes (Picture courtesy of the Oceanside Pier Bait Shop)

Of course the herons and egrets spotted these freebies for Michael and they too felt they deserved a meal — and Ed obliged.

Ed feeding breakfast to Michael the pelican, Herman the heron, and a snowy egret.(Picture courtesy of the Oceanside Pier Bait Shop)

Herman the Heron (Picture courtesy of the Oceanside Pier Bait Shop

 It’s hard to say how long Michael will stay at the pier and how long the “Oceanside Pier Wild Bird Act” will continue but the cast and audience — the birds, Ed, and the tourists, all seem to enjoy the show.

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!

Potpourri — some articles and (hopefully) interesting facts about Oceanside’s Favorite Pier

Pier Rats — Garth and Lisa

<*}}}}}}}}}>< — 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.

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.