Monday, June 22, 2009

My Town Monday: Oceanside Pier



At feet, 1954 feet, this is our longest wooden pier on the west coast. The Oceanside Pier is open 24 hours and offers a great stroll with views of the beach and surfers. In case you need to know, restrooms are located at the Pier's halfway mark. There's a nice little restaurant (Ruby's Diner, 760-433-7829) at the end.



The Oceanside Pier is located in.....Oceanside, CA (sometimes life is not full of surprises!). Oceanside is a North County community located 35 miles north of San Diego. It's fairly close to Legoland and the Wild Animal Park and Mission San Luis Rey.

You do not need a fishing license to cast off from the pier. The general consensus is that live bait works best, especially anchovies. Some fish you might catch: mackerel, croaker, halibut, sand bass and guitarfish. I gather it depends on where you stand on the Pier and what you use as bait.


A couple of things to watch out for:
1. There can be friction between surfers and fishermen. The old territorial thing.
2. Throw back undersized white sea bass. You want to be nice and give them a chance to grow up. Also, it's illegal to keep them, and there's a fine.


For more info about the Pier, call 760-722-1534. Oh, and an interesting book: Pier Fishing in California



Next Monday, I will be posting about a different fun pier that's NOT in San Diego because....I won't be in San Diego. How's that for a little cloak and dagger?

Please surf over (corny, but it kinda works!) to Travis Erwin's blog. He's our Fearless Leader for My Town Mondays. Along with his own MTM post, he'll have a list of participants.


Sources:
http://www.pierfishing.com/resources/?id=piers:oceanside_pier
http://www.sandiegocoastlife.com/attractions/san-diego-coast/piers-oceanside.html
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/oceansi1.html
www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/10/12/news/coastal/4_01_2710_11_06.txt

18 comments:

  1. Travis ErwinJune 22, 2009 at 11:27 AM

    Now I want to go fishing.

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  2. Kat MortensenJune 22, 2009 at 12:00 PM

    I just watched your trailer and I SO want to read your book! I love that "Sherry Holmes" Clever. If I were a teen/tween, I'd be snapping these up (way more my thing than that Potter fellow).

    Luv,

    Kat

    P.S. I had no idea there was a Legoland in California.

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  3. BarrieJune 22, 2009 at 12:08 PM

    Hi Travis: You would so love pier fishing. I can just see you and your boys up there.

    Hi Kat: I'm glad you liked the trailer. And, yes, surely Sherry could be at least as popular as that Harry guy!

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  4. TeresaJune 22, 2009 at 2:06 PM

    Extremely cool post, Barrie. I've driven through Oceanside many times on the way to Sea World, Wild Animal Park, Legoland, and other expensive attractions. I never realized that there was something so beautiful that is free and much closer to my home in the OC. Thank you for this great "recession" outing post!

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  5. David CranmerJune 22, 2009 at 2:40 PM

    You always make me want to jump on the next available flight west!

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  6. Marilyn BrantJune 22, 2009 at 3:48 PM

    What a gorgeous picture of that pier! Did you photograph it? I was never very skilled at fishing, but I think I'd enjoy the view :)

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  7. Barbara MartinJune 22, 2009 at 4:09 PM

    This is the perfect post, Barrie, to get readers to visit the west coast. Already the other fisherpeople are raving about going fishing.

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  8. AnonymousJune 22, 2009 at 4:56 PM

    Why was it reconstructed in 1987? Was there a big storm or did it need renovation?

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  9. laughingwolfJune 22, 2009 at 7:26 PM

    really neat stuff, thx barrie :)

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  10. BeeJune 23, 2009 at 5:13 AM

    I once accidentally hooked someone whilst casting off, so I don't blame the surfers for feeling a bit leery!

    You keep giving me reasons to move to San Diego. . .

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  11. debraJune 23, 2009 at 6:23 AM

    It looks like a beautiful place, Barrie. There is something about being on the water that is special ad calming.

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  12. Scott D. ParkerJune 23, 2009 at 8:17 AM

    Viola! My family and I were there last year. I know exactly where you're talking about b/c we ate at Ruby's. Great little town, Oceanside. We loved it. We went to Legoland (the reason for the trip) and other SD locales. In fact, we were there last year at the same time they played the US Open at Torry Pines. Great place to visit and to live. Fun aside: one of the Perry Mason books I found and bought took place, in part, in Oceanside. Thanks for the memories.

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  13. Charles GramlichJune 23, 2009 at 11:03 AM

    Love that sunset pic. wow, your word verification looks pretty familiar, Gamich. Pretty close to calling my name, Gramlich.

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  14. Alyssa GoodnightJune 23, 2009 at 2:38 PM

    Looks like a very leisurely, pleasant walk. And it's got ocean views on both sides!

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  15. Kathy HolmesJune 24, 2009 at 1:15 PM

    Just back from the OC beaches so it was cool to catch up with your blog and see the Oceanside Pier. Love fires on the beach!

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  16. Chris EldinJune 27, 2009 at 4:15 AM

    My kids love fishing---this place looks awesome!!
    :-)

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  17. Alaska Pheasant huntingAugust 16, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    its been a few seasons since we last went hunting.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wisconsin Sport fishingSeptember 28, 2011 at 7:32 AM

    The Oceanside Pier, perfect to bait works, cool!

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Comments are always welcome!