There are few places in the country you can pier fish that compare to the San Diego coast. Starting with Imperial Beach Pier in South San Diego going north just 45 miles to Oceanside you’ll find seven excellent fishing piers where you can relax, wet your line, and catch everything from the more common spotted bass and croaker to the elusive leopard shark and guitarfish.

If you live in the San Diego area, take the opportunity to fish all of the piers. They each have something unique to offer. If you’re coming from out of town, with limited time on your hands, I recommend hitting Ocean Beach Pier, Coronado Ferry Landing Pier, or Crystal Pier. These are just my favorites, but again, you won’t be disappointed with any of the fishing piers I’ve listed below.

Imperial Beach Pier

A really great pier in San Diego to fish. What makes Imperial Beach Pier so great? Well, for starters location. If you’re in San Diego proper, Imperial Beach Pier is just a 5 to 15 minute drive. It’s also the southern-most pier in California, just a hop skip and jump from the Mexican border and the beautiful Coronado Islands. Best of all it offers some of the most fish-rich waters off the San Diego Coast.

Most of the fish you’ll find off Imperial Beach Pier are the same sandy beach species you’ll find up and down the SoCal coast, such as yellowtail, halibut, spotted bass, and croaker. However, if you head out to the end of the pier you can fish several artificial fish attractants and reefs in the deeper water where you’ll find grouper species and shark. Eight foot thresher sharks have been pulled in from the pier as well as leopard sharks.

Most newbies head straight out to the end of the pier, and don’t get me wrong there’s good fishing to be had, but from my experience, the best fishing is just beyond the surf line, which is about half way down the pier. You’ll find barred surfperch here, as well as corbina, sargo, croaker, and the occasional bonefish.

One downside of Imperial Beach Pier is the cross-border pollution that works it way up from Mexico. At least a few times a year sewage from Tijuana is emptied into the ocean, and when currents aren’t favorable that sewage ends up off the beach in SoCal. I wouldn’t suggest you’re any danger eating your catch, but I might stray away from turning any fish you catch off the pier into ceviche.

There are two jetties just up the beach from the pier that can provide some good fishing from time to time. If you’re having a bad day on the pier, give the jetties a try. Just remember that you’ll need a fishing license if you fish anywhere along Imperial Beach. No fishing license required on for fishing off public piers in California.

The best baits for targeting surfperch and other species is live sand crabs, ghost shrimp, bloodworms and mussels.

Imperial Beach,
CA 91932,
8am-5pm
Directions

Coronado Ferry Landing Pier

This is a great little fishing pier located on the east side of Coronado Island on the San Diego bay facing Embarcadero Marina and East Village. What struck me the first time I visited the pier is its surreal urban landscape. Typically when I fish I want to be fully engulfed in nature, but I have to admit fishing off the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier with the majestic San Diego Convention Center and East Village cityscape as a backdrop is a truly unique and much appreciated experience. If you hit the pier on a overcast day it adds that much more to allure.

The pier sits behind a small shopping complex and restaurant, and you sort of have to park in one of the lots to the side and walk over before you can actually see the pier. It’s easy to get to, but a little bit hidden from view. So trust you GPS, park in one of the lots and then walk behind the complex to the beach front and you’ll find it.

Coronado Ferry Landing Pier has the usual suspects including spotted bass, sea perch, croakers, turbot, halibut, bonito, mackerel, sharks and rays—lots of rays. Bonito are sort of hit and miss depending on the time of year, but you’ll hook most of these species if you fish long enough. You’d think this pier wouldn’t produce as well as oceanside piers in deeper water, but it does. The water on the bay side is plenty deep, and has a lot of fish.

One more thought before moving on. San Diego bay is a great place for kayak fishing. If you want to get out to fish a little deeper than you can from the pier, the small beach next to the pier is a great place to put in and out of the water. Honestly, I haven’t kayak fished this part of the bay yet, but its been added to my bucket list.

If you’ll looking for good fishing, without the large oceanside crowds, Coronado Pier is really a hidden gem.

1201 1st Street (at B Ave)
Coronado, Ca 92118
10am-9pm
Directions

Embarcadero Park Pier

Embarcadero Park Pier is located on the south end of the Embarcadero Marina Park almost directly across the San Diego bay from the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier. From San Diego the Embarcadero Pier is quicker to access than the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier, but I’ve also found it tends to draw larger crowds on the weekends. Really good fishing, but can get a bit crowded.

Same fish you find throughout the San Diego Bay, including a variety of sea bass, perch, croaker (yellowfin, spotfin, white, black), turbot, halibut, lizard fish, bonito, mackerel, sharks and a variety of rays, are found in the waters surrounding Embarcadero Park Pier. I’ve even seen a few beautiful leopard sharks reeled in here as well. If you’re lucky, you may even land a bonefish or shortfin corvina.

The pier is surrounded by a mud bottom with ample eel grass. This tends to attract sea bass (sand bass, kelp bass, spotted bass), and this is what most anglers consistently reel in. You’ll have best success fishing the bay side of the pier where the water is a little deeper, but you’ll find a lot of perch, kelp bass, and sand bass around the pilings and in the grass along the shoreline side of the pier.

If you want to catch some bass, just bottom fish off either of the two ends using cut anchovies, bloodworms, strips of squid, or ghost shrimp. If you want to try some lures, bring some weedless paddle-tail swimbaits.

For halibut—and other flatfish—you want to be fishing live bait (anchovies, smelt, herring, or shinerperch) if you can, but they’ll also take bloodworms, ghost shrimp, and frozen cut bait.

The second most common catch on the pier—next to sea bass—the croaker can be taken using a number of baits including fresh mussels, clams, ghost shrimp, bloodwords or cut anchovies.

Shortfin covina are showing up in increasing numbers in the South San Diego Bay and can be taken with live bait or lures. You stand a good chance of hooking one of these beautiful fish during the day but mot covina are taken at night.

If lunker perch are on the menu, target the water between the pier and the shoreline. Perch prefer bait but will readily take plastic grubs or swimbaits.

The waters surrounding the Embarcadero Park Pier are often clear with high visibility. Fish may be scared off by heavier, more visible lines and you’re best of fishing with light tackle unless currents require the use of a heavy sinker.

South Embarcadero,
San Diego, CA 92101
Open 24 hours
Directions

Shelter Island Pier

Most anglers would look at this pier and would be turned off by its unassuming appearance, but don’t judge a book by its cover. My first trip to Shelter Island Pier yielded eight fish, mostly bass, but also a ray and small sand shark. Other visits have proven a bit lack luster, but it’s a great fishing pier that provides access to just about every type of fish that roams the San Diego Bay.

Most of what you’ll catch off the pier will be a variety of sea bass including spotted, calico, kelp, and barred sand bass. Rays are also quite common, bat rays in particular. Expect some bonito, croaker, halibut and barracuda. Sharks are less common but you’ll catch some if you fish the pier consistently. Sand shark, shovelnose shark (guitarfish) and leopard shark all pass through these waters but are a rare catch from the pier.

Built in 1991, Shelter Island Pier is relatively new. For as many fish as are pull from the pier each year, it’s surprisingly small. It’s a T-shaped pier that extend out into the bay just under 200 feet and then branches off in either direction. Each wing extends out about 250 feet. The west wing has a lowered dock for launching boats and kayaks. This section of the dock can produce some good catches, but there are some restrictions.

I wouldn’t say Shelter Island Pier is any more remarkable than the other pier within the bay, but every pier is unique and provides a slightly different environment and fishing opportunity. The bottom surrounding the pier is mostly sand and mud, with eelgrass beds extending from the shore about half way out to the main pier. Casting off the south side of the pier you’re able to reach deeper water with a little bit of structure where fish like to hold.

Most of the bass species you’ll find in the inside section between the shoreline and pier. Flatfish—including halibut and turbot—are typically found between the edge of the eelgrass and the pier where it’s mostly sand bottom. Yellowfin croaker spotfin croker, sargo and smelt are also common catching along the inside section. Casting out into the bay from the far side of the pier will yield more of the pelagic species.

If you’re really interested in catching a halibut or turbot, fish the area between the eelgrass and pier with a Carolina-type leader rig along the bottom using live bait (anchovies, smelt, herring, etc). Halibut will take cut bait, but are much more likely to strike live bait.

1776 Shelter Island Dr
San Diego, CA 92106
6AM-10PM
Directions

Note: Signs in the parking lot indicate the pier closes at 10PM but anglers who stick around to fish at night typically aren’t bothered.

Ocean Beach Pier

Extending 1971 feet into the ocean, the Ocean Beach Pier is the second longest pier on the West Coast. Its T-shape at the end adds an additional 553 feet to its total length. It has one wing that runs 360 feet to the south and another running 193 feet to the north. The pier was originally constructed for fishing, specifically to provide anglers that ability to fish beyond the vast inshore kelp and rock beds and access fish species that live in the deeper 25 to 30 foot waters.

This pier gets a lot of fishing pressure but, because of its size, it doesn’t typically feel that crowded. More important than how many fisherman visit the pier, is how many fish you can expect to catch. As popular as the pier is, in my opinion, fishing here is the same as most other ocean side piers along the San Diego coast—decent, but rarely exceptional.

I actually prefer fishing off the smaller piers in the San Diego Bay. While there is the promise of hooking some larger pelagic species including giant grouper, black sea bass, white sea bass and barracuda, on most days expect more common species—croakers, perch, mackerel, rays and a few smaller sharks. Occasionally, bigger fish show up, but it’s not a daily occurrence. You’ll catch as many—if not more—fish off Embarcadero, Shelter Island or Corona Ferry Landing.

So why fish Ocean Beach Pier? Again, if you want the chance to hook some of the larger pelagic fish, Ocean Beach Pier will get you out there where they’re at. It’s hit and miss but some giants do pass through the pier from time to time. Also, the sheer length of the pier covers a lot of water and provides anglers multiple environments in which to fish.

About half way down near the bait shop either side of the pier offers good fishing for white seabass (sea trout), croaker, surfperch, queenfish and mackerel. Halibut, bat rays and ray-like guitarfish are also common catches about half way down the pier.

Closer to the shore, during high tide, you’ll find several rocky shore species including sea perch, black perch, opaleye (a perch like fish), and many of your common sea bass species. In shore fishing off the pier will also produce some good lobster catches and if you wait until after sunset you may hook an eel or two.

Bonitos have historically been a common catch off Ocean Beach Pier, but their presences varies from year to year. Some years produce large schools of bonito, while other years these fish seem nearly nonexistent. When bonito are present, a bonito feather on a 2/0 hook under a casting bubble is going to be your go-to presentation for targeting larger fish. Bait will pull in bonitos as well, but usually smaller fish—and with a five fish limit why even mess around with smaller bonito?

Beyond the bait shop area to the end of the pier you’ll find barracuda, pacific mackerel, rays, guitarfish, and some larger thresher and leopard sharks. If sharks are on the list, the left branch (sometimes referred to as “Shark Alley”) that extends south is the most frequent place sharks are caught. It’s also a hotspot for catching sheepshead.

So like most piers, there are pros and cons to fishing Ocean Beach Pier, but really it’s just another unique fishing experience.

1850 Ocean Front St
San Diego, CA 92107
24 hours (currently closed)
Directions

Crystal Pier

While crystal pier isn’t at the top of my list of fishing piers, it’s certainly one for the bucket list. At 872 feet long, it’s less than half the length of Ocean Beach Pier and the waters surrounding the pier aren’t any more remarkable for fishing than any other stretch of inshore coastal waters—but it is unique. It’s the only pier on the West Coast to offer cabins/cottages that allow visitors to sleep over the ocean. You can even drive your car onto the pier to reach your cabin.

Fishing off the pier can be pretty good but it can be just as good anywhere along that stretch of Pacific Beach with the right setup. You’re not going to find the breadth of species at Crystal Pier as you will other fishing piers, but there are high concentrations of some species.

At high tide Crystal Pier is good spot to target corbina, surfperch, yellowfin and spotfin croaker, halibut, guitarfish and a variety of rays. Fishing off the far end of the pier you may also encounter mackerel, jacksmelt, bonito and white seabass. Some of the best fishing is to be had about halfway down the pier off the south side.

While you’re more likely to catch more sea bass at other piers—especially those piers located in the San Diego Bay—anglers are increasingly reporting catches of kelp bass and sand bass off Crystal Pier. Recently, an angler even reeled in a giant sea bass. Sargo, which were rarely caught off Crystal Pier, are also becoming more common.

Spiny lobster are also a common catch off Crystal Pier. Just remember to throw back any lobster you catch during the summertime—or face a hefty fine. Recreational lobster season runs from 6pm on the Friday before the first Wednesday in October through midnight on the first Wednesday after the 15th of March.

4500 Ocean Blvd
San Diego, CA 92109
6am-9pm
Directions

Oceanside Pier

Most any summer night you’ll find Oceanside Pier crowded with anglers hoping for there next big catch and locals out for a stroll enjoying the sights and sounds of the ocean.

Oceanside Pier has always been a productive inshore fishery. Stories tell of 286-lb black sea bass, 200-lb hammerheads, 40-lb croakers, 12-lb bonito and 10-plus pound lobster taken from the pier. While its glory days of giant catches are in the past, the pier is still as productive as ever—although you’re likely to get more quantity than quality these days.

Near shore it’s yellowfin croaker, spotfin croaker, surfperch, sargo, corbina, your rays, a few sea bass, and an occasional guitarfish.

Go about halfway down the pier and you’ll start seeing halibut, white croaker, queenfish, butterfish, jacksmelt, walleye surfperch, sand sharks, and greater variety of sea bass—including barred sand bass, white sea bass, kelp bass, and if you’re lucky the giant black sea bass.

Out toward the end of the pier you’ll start running into pelagic species including bonito, mackerel and sea trout. You’ll also find some leopard sharks, blue sharks and threshers, as well as larger rays and guitarfish.

As with most piers, fishing on Oceanside can be hit or miss. Some days the fish are biting, others it feels like they’ve gone on vacation. Lot to do and see on the pier so just grab a burger, sit back, and relax. If you’re there during the winter, you may even be privileged to see the grey whale migration.

March through July are the most productive months to fish Oceanside pier. If you want to target sharks and rays, locals say cast long off the southern most corner of the pier.

Pier
Oceanside, CA 92054
4am-10pm
Directions

J Street Marina, Chula Vista, Pier

The J Street Pier, aka Bayside Park Pier, is a small fishing pier located next to the Chula Vist Marina at the south end of the San Diego Bay. Fishing here can be a bit slow, but on the bright side there is rarely any fishing pressure. Most of the anglers that visit the pier are locals.

You can fish the inside of the pier nearest the boat slips, the outer wall of the pier that fronts the open ocean, or the end of the pier into the channel—my preferred spot.

The bottom surrounding the pier is mostly mud and sand. Expect to catch many of the species found elsewhere in the bay including croaker, bass, perch, queenfish, turbot, halibut, rays and sharks, among others. Occasionally you’ll hook a mackerel or bonito. Sharks and rays are typically caught off the end of the pier.

Surprisingly, J Street Pier is one of the best piers in San Diego to catch bonefish. A study published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that bonefish is one of the more commons catches off this pier—although I personally have yet to hook one.

Some of the best fishing to be had in San Diego Bay occurs during the night. Unfortunately, the J Street Pier closes at 10:30 p.m.

900 Marina Pkwy
Chula Vista, CA 91910
6am-10:30pm
Directions

Pepper Park, National City, Pier

About three quarters of a mile north of J Street Pier, next to Pier 32 Marina on Sweetwater Channel is another small fishing pier—”Pep” Pepper Park Pier. The Pepper Park Pier in National City is a 162 foot wide T-shaped fishing pier situated at the mouth of a flood control channel entering the San Diego Bay.

What’s unique about this fishing pier? It’s located next to National City’s Pier 32 Marina with is one of the few water ways that is regularly dredged. This offers some of the deeper waters available in the area for pier fishing. In addition to croaker, bass, rays, smelt and halibut, expect to find a few pelagic fish species here, such as mackerel.

Being on the South Bay, where the waters are a bit warmer, this pier tends to draw in several of the more exotic fish species from time to time including bonefish and corvina. However, this pier is really hit or miss. Sometimes the fishing is good, but reports suggest that most of the year fishing is lackluster.

3299 Tidelands Ave.
National City, CA 91950
6am-10:30pm
Directions

South Mission Bay Jetty

If you want to get off the piers and fish something that feels a little more natural, I highly recommend fishing some of the jetties along the San Diego coast, such as the Mission Bay Jetty. San Diego’s jetties tend to be productive places to fish and the Mission Bay Jetty—also known as the Point Medanos Jetty or Mission Beach Jetty—is no exception.

The Mission Bay Jetty is located just up the street and across the channel from Ocean Beach and the Ocean Beach Pier. It extends almost exactly 2000 feet directly into the ocean. If you’re in the area it’s a great place to wet your line. It’s also a great alternative to the Ocean Beach Fishing Pier, which tends to be closed from time to time due to repairs and construction.

Corvina and rays are common catches off the jetty—especially during the summer. Fishing the seward side—out near the end of the jetty—often yields pelagic species such as mackerel and bonito. As you move closer to the surf, croaker and surf perch are common catches. On the channel side, anglers report catching everything from large opaleye to cabezon to wrasse.

Most of the action along the jetty is going to be closer to the rocks. From my experience, cut bait is most productive, but artificial lures also tend to work well.

Ocean Front Walk
San Diego, CA 92109
Directions

Note: On rock wall adjacent to the jetty a fishing license is required.

Oceanside Harbor Fishing Pier

A nice little L-shaped fishing pier located inside the Oceanside Harbor. Typically offers a good variety of fish. Doesn’t usually experience much fishing pressure and gets great reviews from the locals.

Compared to the Oceanside Pier, the Oceanside Harbor (Small Craft) Fishing Pier is quite small. Where Oceanside Pier can handle hundreds of anglers, the Oceanside Harbor Pier feels crowded with more than fifteen anglers. Fortunately, the pier experiences fairly low pressure most of the year—although, I recommend hitting it on a weekday if you’re able to escape from work.

The Oceanside Harbor Pier has a mostly mud and eelgrass bottom. However, the narrow waterway between the pier and shoreline tends be a bit rocky so you may want to avoid using sinkers when fishing this area. You can also cast parallel to the shoreline off either end of the pier, or fishing directly into the bay.

There are about 20 fish species you can expect to find around the pier, with a few of the more common being kelp bass, croaker, topsmelt, jacksmelt, shinerperch and some fairly good size opaleye and surfperch. If you fish the pier at night, expect to hook a fair number of spotted bass as well.

A few pelagic species show up around the pier during certain times of the year, with mackerel leading the charge. Barracuda are another common pelagic catch when night fishing, and on warmer water years bonito can show up in droves.

Flatfish are not as common but are pulled off the pier from time to time. California halibut are the most common flat fish you’ll find off the pier, with an occasional turbot. Your common rays and sharks are another mainstay of fishing off the pier.

All in all, a great little fishing pier that offers a laidback, relaxing atmosphere.

Oceanside
CA 92054
Directions

Oceanside Harbor North Jetty

Oceanside Harbor North Jetty, also known as Oceanside Harbor Beach Jetty, or simply Oceanside Jetty, is a 640 foot fishing jetty located on the north end of Oceanside Beach. It has a north arm that extends 186 feet into the mouth of the Oceanside Harbor and a south arm that extends away from the harbor 326 feet toward the open ocean.

Although relatively small, the jetty offers three unique fishing environments. The first is the surf along the pier’s east side fronting the beach. The second is the west side facing the open ocean. And the third is the longer north side that extends along the Oceanside Harbor. While you’ll find basically the same fish species along the jetty, on any given day each environment will provide a slightly different fishing experience.

1373 N Pacific St
Oceanside, CA 92054
Directions

Note: On rock wall adjacent to the jetty a fishing license is required.

Recommended Gear for Pier Fishing

So let’s get right to the point. The beauty of pier fishing is that anyone can do it—rich or poor. I’m going to make some recommendations for gear below, but just remember, the key to pier fishing is presentation and bait. I see Vietnamese anglers out on the piers all the time reeling in croaker, bass, bonita, and more by the bucketful with nothing more than a bamboo rod in one hand and spool of fishing line in the other. But they know how to present their bait, and which baits to use.

While most of us aren’t going to fish using a bamboo stick and free floating spool of fishing line, there’s no need to break the bank buying fishing tackle either. You just want to make sure your tackle is geared to the size of fish you’re targeting and the conditions under which you’ll be fishing.

The following is a list of basic gear I recommend for general San Diego pier fishing based on target fish size and fishing conditions.

Light tackle – for the majority of fish (croaker, bass, perch, mackerel), average conditions, and close to shore fishing.

• Light saltwater rod or medium freshwater rod (6-9 feet in length)
• Light saltwater spinning reel (200 yard line capacity)
• 6-12 pound test line
• 1-2 ounce weight
• Artificial lures

Heavier tackle – for medium to large fish (bass, halibut, rays, shark). For current, windy conditions, and end of pier fishing.

• Medium to heavy rod (8-9 feet in length)
• 12-25 pound test line
• Medium sized saltwater spinning reel (250 yard line capacity)
• 4-6 ounce weight
• Live/cut bait

I’m recommending spinning reels above, but if you prefer using a baitcaster reel you can certainly go with a baitcaster. I don’t recommend using a baitcaster for pier fishing unless you already have one and are comfortable using it.

Again, the size of your tackle should be determined by your target fish size and water conditions. If you’re going to target larger fish, or you plan on fishing off the end of the pier into deeper water consistently, then you’ll want a heavier tackle setup.

If you’re like most anglers, you’ll do just fine pier fishing with a light tackle setup. In fact, light tackle is the setup of choice for most anglers.

If you plan on fishing any of San Diego’s larger piers, I’d also recommend purchasing a solid bucket and pier cart to lug your tackle around with. Trust me, it will be worth every penny.

San Diego Pier Fishing Tips

Just a few general tips, tidbits, and words of advice for fishing San Diego piers.

• Time your fishing trip to hit the changing tides. Changing tides stir up nutrients that bring fish in to feed. This is your “go” time when you’re most likely to get a bite.
• Fishing just before and after high tide is preferable. For some piers, when the tide is low, there may be little or no water making fishing more challenging.
• For inshore fishing, hit the rising tide. Rock fish, perch and bass, in particular, are easier to target nearshore when water levels are higher.
• Saturdays are great, Sundays are better, Mondays are the best. If you can hit your favorite piers during the week, you’re going to experience a lot less fishing pressure.
• Get there early, especially on weekends. This will give you time to test the waters, find the perfect spot and get set up before other anglers arrive.
• Fishing the bottom will yield bass, croakers, queenfish (herring), halibut, flounder, turbot, seatrout, sheephead, sharks and a variety of rays.
• Anglers fishing the upper water column are likely to encounter mackerel (Pacific and jack), barracuda and jacksmelt—especially at night.
• Public piers in California do not require a fishing license. However, the moment you start fishing off the pier to at the beach or a jetty, a recreational fishing license is required.
• Live bait is almost always preferable to cut bait or lures. You should bring live bait with you, or plan on netting your own when you arrive at the pier.
• For mackerel, fish a 2/0-4/0 hook weighted down with a simple split-shot sinker. Keep your presentation near the top of the water. You can also use a high/low style rig with a couple of 6-2 hooks and a torpedo sinker.
• For bonito fish live bait on a slider rig or a bonito feather trailing behind a casting bubble. To target larger bonito the second presentation is best.
• For queenfish (herring) and white croaker fish a 2″ strip of anchovy up next to the pilings. Don’t use a whole anchovy. Queenfish size 6 or 8 hooks. Size 2 or 4 for croaker.
• Best all around baits for targeting the largest variety of fish include ghost shrimp, bloodworms, anchovy, strips of squid, fresh mussels, or clams.
• Shark and ray species—including leopard sharks, bat rays, and guitarfish—are best targeted at night. Sharks prefer fresh mackerel. Rays prefer squid.
• Most San Diego piers have healthy populations of crab and lobster found nearshore in beds of eelgrass and rocky bottoms. Crabbing is a great pier activity. Just follow all regulations.
• A word about night fishing. It’s great! It’s fun and a lot fish species feed at night. Pressure tends to be lower too. Make sure the pier you visit is open 24/7, or that you won’t get kicked off.