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Manhattan Beach Pier (Manhattan Beach State Pier), painted with roundhouse aquarium
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Manhattan Beach Pier (Manhattan Beach State Pier)

Manhattan Beach, California

928 ft longLandmark: Roundhouse Aquarium
Pier Scout California spiny lobster mark
Pier Scout field profile
Structure, marine growth, access, and fishing zones
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Fishing conditions

Weather

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National Weather Service (api.weather.gov)

Tides — NOAA El Segundo, Santa Monica Bay (~2.1 mi away; subordinate tide-prediction station)

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NOAA CO-OPS predictions, station 9410777

Sun & moon — today
  • Sunrise—
  • Sunset—
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Dawn/dusk and a moving tide (the hour around a high or low) typically bring the most active bite — worth timing a trip around whichever falls closest to first/last light.

Wind vs. pier

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Ocean Swell & Water Temp

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NOAA National Data Buoy Center

License: No California sport-fishing license is required when angling from a qualifying public pier in ocean waters. All other rules—including seasons, size and bag limits, report-card requirements, and the public-pier limit of two rods/lines per person—still apply. Fishing is permitted year-round at Manhattan Beach Pier, but check current CDFW rules and posted City tackle restrictions before fishing.
Pier structure· Built Constructed 1917-1920; Roundhouse added in 1921-1922 and reconstructed around 1989-1992; pier deck and much of the support structure replaced in the 1992 rehabilitation

A straight, steel-reinforced concrete deck and piling structure ending in a widened rounded platform around the octagonal, Mediterranean-style Roundhouse Aquarium. California Historical Landmark No. 1018 preserves it as Southern California's oldest remaining example of early reinforced-concrete pier construction. The current deck and much of the support structure date to the 1992 rehabilitation; the sea-foam-green rail system is aluminum, selected to retain the historic appearance while improving corrosion resistance.

Species & regulations

Explore SoCal Seasonality Almanac & Rig Guides→
California halibut (Paralichthys californicus)
Fair activity
Bag limit5 per day south of Point SurSize limit22 in. minimum total length

Fish a live smelt, small sardine, queenfish, or small mackerel near the sandy bottom from mid-pier; the local guide suggests whole or cut anchovy when live bait is unavailable.

⚠ OEHHA (Santa Monica Pier to Seal Beach Pier): women 18-49 and children 1-17 may eat 1 serving per week; women 50+ and men 18+ may eat 2 servings per week.

Photo: RatioTile · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pacific chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) caught in San Diego Bay
Peak season
Bag limitNo limitSize limitNo minimum

Use a small high/low rig or bait-catching rig from the outer half when schools move through; a small piece of mackerel or other bait can help when fish are not striking bare lures.

⚠ OEHHA (Santa Monica Pier to Seal Beach Pier): women 18-49 and children 1-17 may eat 2 servings per week; women 50+ and men 18+ may eat 4 servings per week.

Photo: Ruff tuff cream puff · CC0 1.0

Barred surfperch (Amphistichus argenteus)
Off-season / low
Bag limit20 surfperch in aggregate per day, with no more than 10 of one speciesSize limitNo minimum for barred surfperch

Fish sand crabs, bloodworms, mussels, clams, or shrimp on the bottom in the inshore surf zone; the local guide favors winter through early spring.

⚠ OEHHA (Santa Monica Pier to Seal Beach Pier): up to 2 servings per week for both advisory groups (women 18-49/children 1-17 and women 50+/men 18+).

Photo: Andy Kleinhesselink · CC0 1.0

Yellowfin croaker (Umbrina roncador) from San Diego Bay
Peak season
Bag limit10 per day (within the general 20-finfish aggregate limit)Size limitNo minimum

Use fresh mussels, clams, sand crabs, bloodworms, or shrimp on the sandy bottom; local reporting places them from the surf zone through mid-pier, especially in summer and fall.

⚠ OEHHA (Santa Monica Pier to Seal Beach Pier): up to 2 servings per week for both advisory groups (women 18-49/children 1-17 and women 50+/men 18+).

Photo: Ruff tuff cream puff · CC0 1.0

Kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus)
Peak season
Bag limit5 in combination with barred sand bass and spotted sand bass (no more than 4 barred sand bass)Size limit14 in. minimum total length or 10 in. alternate length

At the rounded end, fish a whole or cut anchovy near the quarry-rock reef; keep enough clearance from the structure to reduce snags.

⚠ OEHHA (Santa Monica Pier to Seal Beach Pier): up to 1 serving per week for both advisory groups (women 18-49/children 1-17 and women 50+/men 18+).

Photo: Steve Lonhart / Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary · Public domain (NOAA)

White Croaker ("Tomcod")
Year-round
Bag limit10 per day (within the general 20-finfish aggregate limit)Size limitNo minimum

Small pieces of anchovy at mid-depth or near the sandy bottom produce this commonly reported mid-pier fish; release rather than retain because of the location-specific advisory.

⚠ DO NOT EAT fish caught between Santa Monica Pier and Seal Beach Pier. OEHHA gives the same do-not-eat advice to women 18-49, children 1-17, women 50+, and men 18+ because of mercury, DDT, or PCBs.

Bag/size limits sourced from CDFW's ocean sport fishing regulations — always double-check the current CDFW regs before keeping fish, as rules change.

Moon tracker

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Recommended spots

  1. Rounded-end reef-facing rail
    Outer rail / artificial reef and pelagics

    The strongest documented structural target: CDFW/Wildlife Conservation Board records establish a quarry-rock reef in the Manhattan Beach pier program, and the local guide places roughly 2,000 tons of rock about 65 ft from the end. Reports associate the outer rail with Pacific and jack mackerel, bonito, barracuda, kelp bass, sand bass, and California scorpionfish. The Roundhouse occupies the platform center, so usable rail and crowding still depend on the day.

  2. Inshore surf-zone rails
    Sandy surf / croaker and surfperch

    The local pier guide identifies the sandy inshore water for barred surfperch, croakers, corbina, rays, and shovelnose guitarfish, with barred surfperch strongest from winter into early spring and croaker/corbina activity concentrated in summer and fall. Current Esri imagery confirms a broad breaking-wave band over sand. Productive species-specific water, but swimmers, surfers, breaking waves, and shallow depth reduce casting freedom.

  3. Mid-pier open-sand rail
    Open sandy bottom / halibut and croaker

    The local guide places white croaker, queenfish, jacksmelt, yellowfin croaker, and occasional California halibut in the mid-pier zone and recommends live smelt or other small baitfish for halibut. The current aerial view shows open water away from the piling shadow and no discernible surface canopy here, giving a cleaner bottom-oriented cast than the piling pockets.

  4. Piling-adjacent pockets
    Concrete structure / perch

    Pier Fishing in California reports pileperch, walleye surfperch, silver surfperch, sargo, and salema around the pilings, with mussels or bloodworms as practical baits. The same mussel-covered concrete structure that attracts fish also raises snag and line-abrasion risk, so this is a targeted presentation beside—not directly into—the piling line.

Landmarks

  • Pier entrance — Manhattan Beach Blvd & The Strandaccess

    Landward access point at the west end of Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Coordinate is the CDFW/OES Manhattan Beach Pier facility point, not a surveyed gate position.

  • Concrete piling line (mussel biofouling)hazard

    Representative mid-pier point, interpolated along the centerline. Local reporting describes mussel-covered pilings; the Roundhouse explains that pier pilings support mussels, crabs, fish, and rays. Fish beside the structure but expect snag and abrasion risk close to it.

  • Outer-pier fish-cleaning sinksamenity

    Approximate outer-pier location, interpolated from sourced endpoints. The City's 2018 pier and Roundhouse improvement scope installed fish-cleaning sinks; verify the exact fixture location and availability on site.

  • Roundhouse Aquarium and rounded end platformstructure

    Octagonal aquarium and marine-education facility at the pier's rounded seaward end, with public restrooms in the renovated building. Coordinate is the CDFW/OES Roundhouse facility point.

Vegetation / growth assessment

Substrate: Predominantly sandy open coast beneath the pier, plus a documented quarry-rock artificial fishing reef near the rounded outer end and biofouled concrete pilings. · confidence: low

No rooted or surface kelp canopy is claimed. The current Esri World Imagery export shows open water around the pier with no clearly separable canopy patch; a long dark band tracks the pier and is consistent with structural shadow. CDFW records do confirm an artificial quarry-rock reef built in the 1960s, and both the local fishing guide and Roundhouse educational material document mussel/algal life on pier pilings. Because Kelpwatch's interactive site could not be queried here, CDFW aerial-survey polygons were not extracted for this exact site, and the reef's current footprint and vegetation cover were not independently imaged, the map zones are limited to light piling biofouling on both flanks. They should not be read as mapped kelp beds.

Piers grow algae, mussels, and barnacles on their pilings and along the deck edges over time — that build-up is what this section tracks. The more growth in a stretch, the easier it is for your hook, sinker, or line to catch on it and get stuck, which is one of the most common ways beginners lose tackle. Heavier growth isn't a reason to avoid a spot — it often holds bait and structure fish like — just expect to snag more and re-tie more often there.

Manhattan Beach Pier (Manhattan Beach State Pier)'s heaviest checked growth is still only light, on the left flank, mid-structure and the right flank, mid-structure — snag risk from vegetation is low across the structure right now.

  • Left flank · none
    unconfirmed, not yet assessed

    No side-specific vegetation observation was independently verified here; gridded as checked, none confirmed.

  • Right flank · none
    unconfirmed, not yet assessed

    No side-specific vegetation observation was independently verified here; gridded as checked, none confirmed.

  • Left flank · light
    some growth, light snag risk

    Facing seaward, this marks documented mussel/algal piling habitat rather than visible surface vegetation. Extent and intensity are generalized because individual pilings cannot be resolved consistently in the reviewed orbital image.

  • Right flank · light
    some growth, light snag risk

    Facing seaward, this mirrors the documented piling-biofouling habitat. Much of this flank is obscured by the pier shadow in the current Esri export, so no stronger intensity or canopy claim is warranted.

Last reviewed 2026-08-25 · sources: Esri World Imagery export for bbox -118.4162,33.8823,-118.4100,33.8857 (retrieved 2026-08-25; imagery capture date not exposed by the export); Kelpwatch.org map landing page and Landsat/Planet methodology (1984-present Landsat; 2017-2024 Planet); interactive site-specific layer unavailable in this session, so no local result is claimed; CDFW Aerial Kelp Surveys overview and GIS-data links; no Manhattan Beach site polygon extracted; CDFW/Wildlife Conservation Board 1965 and 1972 records for the Manhattan Beach quarry-rock public-pier reef; Pier Fishing in California — Manhattan Beach Pier (mussel-covered pilings, sandy zones, artificial reef, species by pier zone); Roundhouse Aquarium — Pier Piling Tank (mussels and other habitat on pier pilings)

Reference sources