Pismo Beach Pier
Pismo Beach · near Pismo Beach · Central Coast
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Best season
- Surfperch fall–spring (winter prime); year-round pier
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- No
- Licence detail
- The pier is license-free; a CA license IS required fishing the open surf/beach off the pier.
What is here
- Features
- Rebuilt classic pier · Wide surfperch beach · Historic Pismo clam grounds · Easy town access
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Fishing detail
- Water type
- pier-jetty
- Water
- salt
- Methods
- Pier fishing · Surf casting · Carolina rigs · Sand-crab bait
- Boat
- shore
- Target species
- Barred surfperch · Walleye surfperch · Jacksmelt · White croaker
- Intl tip
- Winter, not summer, is prime here — fish sand crabs or Gulp! on a high-low rig in the surf troughs for barred surfperch. The surf requires a license even though the pier doesn't.
The guide
Pismo's rebuilt pier is a quintessential beginner and surfperch destination, fronting one of the central coast's best barred-su…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Pismo Beach Pier — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 35.14, -120.6465