Oceanside Pier

The McCullahs were known as two of the best fishing operators in Southern California, according to the Oceanside Daily Blade-Tribune, the local newspaper at the time. They signed a contract with Mayor Henry Witman and City Clerk John Landes, on behalf of the city of Oceanside, in January 1950.

Their company, McCullah Bros. Sport Fishing, began operating in April of that year from the Oceanside pier.

That’s where the adventure began, recalled Joel Hughes, 71, who owned the company from 1959 to 1965 with his stepfather, Ray McCullah, and his mother, Betty McCullah. The only way to board the boats, docked next to the pier, was to jump from the landing.

“You had to judge the swell. Some people found that very exciting,” said Hughes, who noted there was no harbor at Oceanside until 1963. Thousands of people came from all over Southern California to fish on the McCullahs’ boats. Visitors included Hollywood actors, such as Ray McDonald, Frank Ferguson and Lon Chaney, Hughes recalled.

“We had a following,” he said. “We made hundreds of close friends, many we’re still in touch with.”

Some fishermen learned of the McCullahs’ operation through their motto, painted on the sides of their boats: “Save a boat ride – Drive to Oceanside. McCullah Bros. Sport Fishing, Oceanside Pier. For reservations call Oceanside 4467.”

The McCullahs and Hughes were at the pier every day, tending to their boats, bait and tackle shop and restaurant, which opened on the pier in 1951. They also hosted the popular Win, Place and Show Derby. An angler could bet $1 that he or she would catch the biggest fish, such as a 10-pound bass or a 25-pound yellowtail. When there wasn’t a winner, the derby’s pot continued to grow. Occasionally, an angler won thousands of dollars, Hughes said.

The community camaraderie built by the McCullahs was evident when disaster struck in April 1951. A storm damaged two boats and two barges from the brothers’ fleet, temporarily shutting down the sportfishing operation, according to a report in the Oceanside Daily Blade-Tribune.

As the McCullahs advocated the need for a harbor to prevent future disasters, the townspeople and clubs, such as the Lady Anglers, donated money. The business recovered and saw many changes during the following years, recalled Hughes, who lives in Carlsbad with his wife, Dorothy. The company moved to the small craft harbor in 1963 and was sold to Pierpoint Landing of Long Beach in 1965.

Yet some things never changed. “When there’s a lot of fish, there’s no bait. When there’s a lot of bait, there’s no fish,” Hughes said.

— Amy Horton, San Diego Union-Tribune, July 17, 2005

Pictures courtesy of my son Mike

<*}}}}}}}}}>< — Sounds like “The Emperor’s New Clothes” or “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” And anyway, who ever heard of a fisherman telling whoppers?

Life Dream of Fisherman Who Almost Gave Up Hope but Didn’t

A year ago Charles (Chuck) Martin of Oceanside was reveling in his fame as a teller of fish stories. Now Chuck is bemoaning that same reputation. He says that once a fellow gets a reputation for telling whoppers no-body will believe he’s in earnest, even when he says it’s a nice day.

Among the fishermen well known on the Oceanside Pier is a gentleman who for years has been spending his summers in Oceanside. He comes from an inland town, and the dream of his life has been to catch a huge sea fish. Of course, there are places where one may be photographed with stock, stuffed fish, but that fisherman was too high-minded for such tricks. Summer after summer he returned to Oceanside, cherishing a secret hunch that the moment of achievement was at hand. But each autumn, as he sadly packed up to go home, he had to sigh and say: “Next year—maybe.”

So his eight-second anniversary arrived, and his dream was no nearer realization than it had been when he was a boy of 60.

He was no deep-sea fisherman. From a barge or from a sea-going launch he might have caught a big fish. Be he was a landlubber who would not venture farther from terra firma than the end of the Oceanside Pier. There he could feel that he was only knee deep in the ocean, and when a big wave burst on the knees of the pier with an ardor which made it tremble he could rejoice in the knowledge that its thousand sturdy legs were braced in solid earth.

He had about given up his lifetime dream. But it was something to be fishing at 82, so he went out again to celebrate his birthday. He went to the extreme end of the pier and let out enough line to carry his hook out beyond competition. And then suddenly he pole began to bend like a reed in a tornado.

He seized it with a shout. For a moment it looked as if he would either have to let go or be carried off the pier. But he hadn’t been fishing for thirty years for nothing. He knew how to play a fish. Other fishermen rushed to his assistance, but he waved them away—with his head, for his hands were busy. And at last he landed his prize—a jewfish weighing 202 pounds.

Chuck Martin was inspired. Of course he wrote the event up for the Oceanside Blade-Tribune. But all the readers of that excellent paper remembered Chuck’s series of “whoppers” and thought it was just one more. So he wrote a magazine story about it. But what chance has a man who has written a whole book of whoppers when he tries to write a true story? It was the impossibility of all Chuck’s whoppers which made them amusing. So the editors sent it back. “Are you losing your imagination?” they wrote. “This isn’t nearly as preposterous as the stories you’ve given us before.

Then Chuck accompanied his story with photographs of his elderly friend and the fish, towering half a head taller. But the editors knew that on the Long Beach pier there is, or used to be, a place where one could be photographed with stock fish which, before they were stuffed, weighed a ton or more.

So Chuck has a darned good fish story on his hands—one with a lot of real heart interest in it—perhaps the best fish story he ever wrote. And he can’t do anything with it because he has too good a reputation for whoppers.

—The Leeside o’ L. A. by Lee Shippley, Los Angeles Times, August 24, 1934

Did You Know? 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 per on those weekends (check the newspapers for dates) get there early.

Did You Know? The Oceanside Pier is seen in the movie Bring It On? Or that it is seen regularly in the television series “Animal Kingdom?” My son has worked as an extra on several of the episodes which gives him a chance to be in Oceanside and to take the pictures attributed to him.

Picture taken by son Mike

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.

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. Two events that start near the pier and can lead to virtually no parking being available are: (1) the Beach Soccer Championship, the largest on the west coast. It takes place the first weekend after Mother’s day in May; (2) Race Across America. Annually held in the second week in June, the 3,000-mile bicycle race is considered the world’s toughest sporting event.  Many other events are also held on the beach and pier and give reason why this is one of the most visited piers in the state.

Handicapped Facilities: The pier hashandicapped 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.