San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Hello everyone. I'm new to the group so I apologize if this is a frequently asked question. My family and I will be in San Diego the first of September. We are a big fishing family and I'd really like to get my boys on a pier fishing. However we are not traveling with gear. Are there any piers in San Diego that have tackle and bait shops and rent gear? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach did have rental gear and bait the last time I was there….. It used to be very reasonably priced, but the new operators really raised the prices… Hopefully they reduced them to be more affordable…. I believe the pier is only open from sunrise to sunset, unless you are a staying at the cottages on the pier… Have fun with your boys..
Butch

Ocean Beach pier is closed. A couple of nice bay piers that are great for kids are the Shelter Island pier & Coronado pier. Other than Crystal as mentioned by Midnightpass, you would have to go to Oceanside if you want an ocean pier.

You can go to Walmart for $15 rod/reel combo. Good enough for pier fishing. You can also get sabiki rigs there as well, and get a pack of sinkers.
It would cost you at least that much to rent a combo from pier.
Use them for a couple days, then drop them off at Goodwill before leaving. All good. You may even get some tax write off.

I know you said pier fishing, but this is also a surf fishing site too

There are lots of fish that can be caught from the surf and as Zhao suggested, Walmart combos would be fine. Sand crabs are free and the fish are not too far out. I'm sure if you post your general location in SD, someone here will help you out with the nearest beach to catch fish. If your kids are under 16, they don't need a license. If you are here August 31, it is a free fishing day and no license is required for anyone. Fish in the surf and maybe pickup a couple of cheap body boards for your kids to play around in the waves with too.

Have fun... they grow up fast!

Midnightpass wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2024 9:12 am Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach did have rental gear and bait the last time I was there….. It used to be very reasonably priced, but the new operators really raised the prices… Hopefully they reduced them to be more affordable…. I believe the pier is only open from sunrise to sunset, unless you are a staying at the cottages on the pier… Have fun with your boys..
Butch

Crystal Pier are closed due to last winter storms damaged.


Oceanside Pier have have gears rental but 1/4 of the pier are closed due to fire damaged few months ago.

Chris69 wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2024 6:26 am

Midnightpass wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2024 9:12 am Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach did have rental gear and bait the last time I was there….. It used to be very reasonably priced, but the new operators really raised the prices… Hopefully they reduced them to be more affordable…. I believe the pier is only open from sunrise to sunset, unless you are a staying at the cottages on the pier… Have fun with your boys..
Butch

Crystal Pier are closed due to last winter storms damaged.

That’s right… I forgot about that… And I was staying on the pier ..
Butch