HUNTINGTON BEACH : Reeling in the Catch at New Pier

It’s summertime and the fishing is fine on the new Huntington Beach Pier.

Hundreds of anglers--ranging from small children to grizzled veterans--have been drawn to the pier since it opened on July 18 after being closed for more than four years.

They have been rewarded with plentiful catches of perch, yellowfin croaker, halibut, sand bass and a variety of sharks and rays.

About the only thing that slowed the fishermen in their quest for the denizens of the deep has been the absence of a bait-and-tackle shop, since no buildings came with the trimmed-down pier with the exception of the old lifeguard tower, which was reinstalled.

But in the interim, June Lloyd and her husband, who operate a bait-and-tackle store on Beach Boulevard, have come to the rescue with a 10-foot portable trailer that they have hauled out to the pier loaded with munchy bait such as sand crabs, mussels, anchovies and squid.

The Lloyds, who received a month-to-month permit from Community Services Director Ron Hagan, have been operating for a week. They pay the city $350 a month and provide their own insurance. Their permit is revocable at any time.

The city had received “tons of requests” from fishermen for a place to buy bait and tackle shortly after the pier opened, Hagan said.

About 10 halibut of the minimum legal size of 22 inches long have been caught, according to the Lloyds. A lot of smaller halibut have also been caught, about halfway out to the end of the pier.

Hagan said fishing has been so feverish that people at times have had to stand in line at the sinks installed on the pier to wash their catch of the day.

“I walked out on the pier with a friend the other night at about 9 o’clock and there must have been about 500 people out there,” he said.

Hagan also said his department sent letters to beach concessionaires this week, seeking someone to operate a portable food business on the pier on a month-to-month basis until a permanent restaurant is built.

Construction is not expected for 18 months to two years, Hagan said.

The City Council, reportedly concerned over the design and costs of the buildings, probably will not make a decision on pier buildings for 90 days, he said.