PIER PLEASURE; WHARF-FISHING IS SOCIAL, EASY, AFFORDABLE.

Byline: BRETT PAULY Angling

Take a stroll down any oceanside pier. You'll find families sharing laughs and dangling lines to catch their dinner. Newcomers fumbling with bait and fouling casts. Salty old-timers swapping elaborate stories while never losing the uncanny sense of detecting even the most subtle strikes.

It's a Southern California angling culture that hasn't changed much since its heyday from the 1880s to 1930s, after piers were built to receive lumber shipped from the Northwest and before the advent of affordable charter boats.

``It was more than fishing,'' said Ed Ries, an angling historian who as a teen-ager in 1930 cast his first line off the Santa Monica Pier. ``It was a whole new world of outdoors activity and communing with the sea, the birds, the fish and the people - the same sort of thing that draws us to it today. I spent every waking moment I could on the pier.''

Add to the mix the ease of gaining experience, that no fishing license is required, that the initial cost can be a little as $50 for tackle and bait and that a great variety of species can be caught with little effort and you have a activity that many can't resist.

``It's the same way my father introduced me to saltwater fishing,'' said David Anderson of Long Beach as he coached his sons Mark, 5, and Sean, 8, during a recent outing to the municipal pier here.

``Come on fishes, fishes, come on fishes, fishes,'' Mark uttered in hushed tones. ``The best part is you can catch fish,'' he said, even though on this overcast morning they hadn't.

Anderson spoke of the other advantages he sees in wharf-fishing. ``You don't have to go very far from home. It doesn't have the danger of being out in a boat. No seasickness, or having the boys get bounced around in the waves or having to wear a lifejacket that's not comfortable. It's a controlled environment; you can leave any time. There's no commitment to an all-day boat.''

Because tides and waves and salt air attract all walks of life, public piers offer the uninitiated a glimpse at the sport of angling. There is an opportunity to relax in a chair, read a book and depart for a few hours from workaday stress - all with the possibility of catching a legal-size halibut, a tasty corbina or a medley of croakers, perch and other surf fish, including sharks, rays and skates.

Children love to peek into buckets and find the surprise of a lively catch. And even the most grizzled anglers, those seemingly unapproachable old codgers hunched over their rusty tackle boxes, warm to company after a while and are glad to share their experiences and wisdom.

``I come to fish. I don't come to socialize,'' said William Walker, 79, of Seal Beach, the morning's success measured by the eight yellowfin and spotfin croakers in his bucket stationed on the pier's wooden planks.

Somehow I don't think Walker is all business. After a few seconds of prodding, he lets on: ``You get to meet a lot of real nice people out here. It's just excellent company.''

He owns a 17-foot Bayliner but prefers the wharf because there's no gassing up or washing down to worry about. He'll talk about how as a child in Iowa he and his brother lost a huge fish, probably a carp, after getting it halfway up a dock. ``I still think I'm trying to catch that fish.'' He doesn't like to eat fish; no, he gives all his catches away. ``I've got my friends all loaded up.'' And he'll reminisce about an old acquaintance who used to bounce bait off the bottom just up the pier a ways and regularly catch legal halibut. ``I like it best right here, though,'' he said, and that's where you'll find Walker at least twice a week.

It's hard not to get caught up in fun, and experts like Andy Menadier of Long Beach make the experience even more enjoyable when they offer advice and enthusiasm.

Have the bait right on the bottom, suggested the slender, green-eyed guide who specializes in taking clients float-tubing, surf-casting and pier-fishing. You want the drag tight enough to be able crank your fish up to the railing of the pier. And keep the line taut enough so you can feel the difference between the steady movement of the tidal surges and the more jerky, frantic bites of a fish: ``You want to be able to tell when you get rattled,'' Menadier said.

He had tied strings of size No. 6 hooks with his skinny, fidgety fingers. Bloodworms, ghost shrimp and mussels are the baits of choice for most pier-anglers, and Menadier prefers ``blood'' and ``ghosties.''

The action was slow upon our 6:30 a.m. arrival, but an hour later we pulled four yellowfin croaker over the railing in quick succession. Surf fish swim in schools; you can wait for hours for a bite, then, just like that, they'll hit fast and furious.

``Bye-bye, baby,'' Menadier gestured after releasing the last of the bunch. ``Now we're cooking with gas.''

We caught about a dozen croakers in four hours. Not many, but there are times when I would gladly trade a higher fish count for convenience.

And since pier-fishing, like most angling, is a wait-and-see proposition, there are ample opportunities to hone your skills and take in the yarns spun by the characters you meet.

Menadier reminded me to ``repair'' my bloodworm when it began unraveling from the hook. And he told countless fish tales - how he once landed a 125-pound bat ray with a 5-foot wingspan but didn't have a camera on hand and how he saw a dolphin give birth in the surf. His fiancee won't accompany him to tackle shops anymore because he gets so entirely lost in the storytelling.

Historian Ries vividly recalls the regulars he meet on pier in the early 1930s, when a big summer run of bonito would draw anglers elbow to elbow but when more often than not herring, jack smelt and perch - bait and ``trash fish'' by today's standards - would serve as table fare. There was Corbina Man - a loner who avoided conversation but would catch corbina in profusion by using gobs of fresh, juicy mussels tied onto the hook by thread - and Earthquake Lady - who swore the 1933 Long Beach temblor was caused by hot weather and who got very angry when Ries scoffed at the notion.

Indeed, it is more than fishing.

For a list of licensed fishing guides, contact the Department of Fish and Game's License and Revenue Branch at [phone]. Andy Menadier can be reached at [phone].

IF YOU'RE GOING . . .

Public piers where a state fishing license is not required, listed by county, city and nearest major intersection:

Los Angeles County

Malibu Pier: Pacific Coast Highway (1) and Sweetwater Canyon Road.

Santa Monica Municipal Pier: Colorado and Ocean avenues.

Venice Fishing Pier: Washington Boulevard and Pacific Avenue.

Manhattan Beach Pier: Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Ocean Drive.

Redondo Beach Pier: Torrance Boulevard and Harbor Drive.

Cabrillo Beach Fishing Pier: Pacific Avenue and 36th Street, San Pedro.

Belmont Pier: Ocean Boulevard and Grand Avenue in Long Beach.

Pleasure Pier: Avalon, Santa Catalina Island.

Ventura County

Port Hueneme Fishing Pier: Ventura Road and Surfside Drive.

Ventura Pier: Harbor Boulevard and California Street.

Northern Orange County

Seal Beach Municipal Pier: Ocean Avenue and Main Street.

Huntington Beach Pier: Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street.

Newport Pier: Newport Boulevard and Balboa Boulevard.

Balboa Pier: Balboa Boulevard and Main Street.

- Daily News

WHARF COURSE 101

Recommendations to make pier-fishing an enjoyable experience:

Deeper water doesn't mean more fish. Many nearshore species, such as croakers and corbina, prefer the surf line, swimming near where the breakers hit the beach. Many species can be hooked at pier's end, including mackerel, sharks, skates, rays and the occasional halibut, but many of the best-eating fish are closer to shore.

Consult Pages 57-59 of the California Sport Fishing Regulations handbook for health concerns pertaining to fish consumption. When in doubt, practice catch and release. Follow surf warnings after storms.

Tidal movement is key to nearshore fishing as it stimulates feeding, and a high incoming tide is like a dinner bell to surf species.

Ask other anglers on the pier for tips on tides and other fishing suggestions; many are more than willing to share their knowledge.

Use a fairly stiff but sensitive 7-foot rod with a spinning or bait-casting reel capable of holding 200 yards of 12- to 15-pound line.

Match the size of the hook to the size of the bait: For example, No. 6 hooks for bloodworms, Nos. 1/0 or 2/0 for large ghost shrimp.

A 2-ounce claw-foot sinker or other surf sinker tied at line's end should keep the bait on the bottom, but add weight if tidal surge demands it.

Use only live ghost shrimp; they stay on the hook better and seem to attract more fish. And the larger the better. Bait prices (in Seal Beach): ghost shrimp, $3.25/dozen; bloodworms, $3.25/half-dozen; mussels, $1.95/pound; razor clams, $2.80/half-pound; frozen anchovies, sardines or squid, $2.50/1-pound package.

Some anglers us grappling-like hooks to scrape mussels off pier pilings, where permitted. Added bonus: Fish apparently can't resist the worms that make their homes among the mollusks. Another way to make bait from the pier is by using bread crumbs or dog food to lure smelt into butterfly or umbrella nets.

While fishing licenses aren't required, anglers must follow all other ocean-fishing regulations.

Observe posted rules: At the Seal Beach Municipal Pier, for example, no overhand casting is allowed, anglers can use up to two poles at a time and all fish must be cleaned at the sinks.

While underhand casting takes getting used to, it is important to make casts of 20 feet or more so that there is enough line out for the bait to be moved around by the tide.

When casting, respect the surfers.

If you ha ve trouble detecting a strike, clip a bell on the rod; it acts as a strike alarm. Bells are sold at tackle shops.

Veteran pier anglers keep nets to land larger specimens, especially when the halibut start swimming inshore in spring. Pier offices also keep nets on hand. Know where to borrow one before that big bruiser strikes.

Throw back what you won't eat. Nothing is worse than killing a skate or bat ray as a way to impart to passers-by, ``Look what I caught.''

Have fun and relax. Many anglers spend as much time making friends, swapping stories and reading books as they do actively minding their lines.

When you do leave your rod unattended, place it against the rail as close to the tip as possible. If it rests at a spot lower on the rod, a fish can pull the whole outfit over.

- Brett Pauly

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos, 2 Boxes

PHOTO (1--Color) ``It's the same way my father introduced me to saltwater fishing,'' said David Anderson, shepherding his sons, Sean, right, and Mark, at Seal Beach Municipal Pier.

(2--Color) At Seal Beach Pier, Andy Menadier lands a yellowfin croaker.

(3--Color) William Walker of Seal Beach catches his share of spotfin croaker during twice-weekly visits to his hometown wharf.

Brett Pauly/Daily News

BOX: (1) IF YOU`RE GOING . . . (see text)

(2) WHARF COURSE 101 (see text)