8/16 Berkeley Pier Report

Went over to Berkeley marina, launched from the Cal Sailing side at 11 back by 3. Paddled out in perfect conditions and was able to make it to the end of the pier ruins, saw a ton of little white birds diving at bait but was unable to sabiki anything up. So I fished with brined herring until a PB guy came by and gave me some live anchovies [emoji106].

The fan turned on and I drifted the chovies and rode some sheep back on one long drift on the channel side. No bites [emoji53]  but I got to see the underside of the pier, the concrete has fall off the bottom and there is rusted rebar hanging down, looked pretty messed up wonder what it would cost to repair?

First attempt at Berkeley butt haven't been able to catch a hali on the East bay side of the bay yet, but it was nice to get out on the water and out of the heat!

Excellent report, thank you.

A for effort.thanks for reporting!

It is a bummer seeing the pier in such bad shape.  It is a bummer that they have closed the pier with no plan to re-open it.  This is the third pier to shut down in California in the last few months.  Hopefully the state will place some funds to get the piers repaired.

Great report.  Better luck next time!

I have caught several halibut on the south side of the pier, within casting distance of the rocks on the shore. There is a fish cleaning station just past the bathroom on the pier, I use that as a marker, and pulled two there last time I fished it year before last. I would paddle up along the pier, outside of cast distance haha, and drift back into the shore on an incoming tide, and repeat. Also, near the harbor mouth along the rockwall is a great spot to catch perch with pile worms 

Yeah, used to buy live anchovies at K-dock then wheel my live bait on the pier for some halipers until I got into kayak fishing. I do missed Berkeley pier for that. Thanks for the report and pictures Tsuri.

Jedmo

Thanks for the report!  How's the launch at Cal Sail?  We used to drop our sail boats down using the crane.

Pier is closed?  Back in high school, we used to fish there fri/sat late night for sharks and rays.

Yeah, the pier closed last month i believe.  I used to frequent it for sharks and rays.   I will sure miss that pier

Thanks for the report!  How's the launch at Cal Sail?  We used to drop our sail boats down using the crane.

Pier is closed?  Back in high school, we used to fish there fri/sat late night for sharks and rays.

There is a small craft launching dock with a great ramp next to a big parking, just roll down, slide it off the rubber mat at the end and drop in. The easiest launch anywhere I have ever been and no sand on your boat on the way out....now if they just had a hose and some halibut.

Thanks for the fishing report and pictures Tsuri.

    Pier closed? That's sad.  When I was a poor student in the 60's, it was one of the few free escapes from the grind.   I can't recall ever catching anything, but then I probably was on student hours.   
    In years since, it's been an interesting place to take a walk.   
    That is a nice protected launch, used to sail a small boat out of there, and you could basically choose the wind speed you felt comfortable with by how far out from the cove you went.   The little shops and restaurants there really fell on hard times in recent decades.
     I am sure it would take a fortune to rehab the pier and the facilities, but many cities would love to have the chance to work with such a setting.   It should be a regional effort, because it serves a much larger area than Berkeley.