Huntington Beach is the
hub of free fishing fun in HB, CA. From the morning when the sun
is just coming up and the pier opens to nightfall, you'll find
fisherman and women with their rods and reels casing lines to
catch some fish. Why is the sport so beloved by all
cultures and ethnic groups? It's free, first off.
There's not another sport that puts you in touch with nature in
the manner that fishing does.
Family friendly - In
Huntington Beach the event is a family fun activity costing not
much more than the investment in an affordable rod and reel (or
you can rent one on the pier) and some bait. Like fishing
throughout California, you don't need a fishing license to fish
at the Huntington Beach Pier.
You don't need a
license to fish on California piers. You do need a
California Fishing License elsewhere, except in the twice a year
free fishing days.
During my tenure at the
Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau, I posted a web
page for the CVB about grunion, and in so doing unleashed a
barrage of telephone calls from the public that Visitor Services
Center coordinator Connie Springer and I were forced to answer
about how people can go see these little fish. People calling
had this amazement that they were going to watch something as a
form of entertainment, with some wanting to bring huge tour
buses at midnight to see the grunion.
When
the grunion run...you catch them by hand along the shoreline.
The tiny, silvery fish are eaten in casseroles, fried and
prepared in a variety of ways. But they do not yield large sums
of food. Here's the catch--grunion require a day license for those 16 years and older. So
these clever callers wanted to argue about why they didn't need
a license to watch the fish, because their kids under 16 were
going to do it. Add to that a beach curfew after 10 p.m. and
things became a matter of referral for local beach operations
and the Department of Fish and Game. We've seen fishermen catch
all sorts of things, including stingrays and sharks off the
pier. Corbina and perch are some of the favorites but there are
seasons for fish and times of day that are best.
