Fishing
Pier Fishing
Rainbow Harbor
Located in downtown Long Beach, Rainbow Harbor is perhaps best known for The Pike, a vibrant dining and entertainment district linking the Long Beach Convention Center to Rainbow Harbor's waterfront and the Aquarium of the Pacific.
An approximately 369,000 square foot waterfront entertainment district located in downtown Long Beach, The Pike presents visitors with a variety of restaurants, entertainment venues, a Ferris wheel and open-air marketplace. Not to mention the fact that any local anglers or guests can enjoy some Long Beach pier fishing off the Rainbow Marina docks.
The Marina is located next to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It has a 100-foot long dock for day guests and 250 feet dock for day guest mooring, along with twelve 150-foot docks for commercial vessels. Along with some sport fishing, other attractions at Rainbow Harbor include whale watching, dinner cruises, private charters, boat rentals, personal watercraft rentals and shuttle busses or boats to other facilities in Long Beach.
One of the greatest features of the Rainbow harbor is that it is open 24 hours. Whether you are an early bird or prefer going on a midnight fishing trip, this harbor allows you to cast anytime at your leisure. The parking is metered, and like many other fishing piers in California, no fishing license is required to cast a line here.
Common catch you will find at Rainbow Harbor are a surf perch, queenfish, halibut, bonito, croakers and an occasional shark and barracuda (a Do Not Consume fish). The most popular catch at Rainbow Harbor is the white croaker. Unfortunately this is one of the Do Not Consume fish, so when you catch white croaker at this pier, please practice catch and release to protect your health.
Because of the Pike, you will tend to find a mixed crowd at this harbor between tourists, local anglers, families and beach walkers out for a stroll. Because it’s a convenient location to go fishing for many locals, you’ll find some people out there casting a line on a break from work (which makes for interesting conversation.) You’ll also find a large amount of locals actually fishing for their dinner. All in all, Rainbow Harbor is a mix of an entertainment driven tourist crowd and a working class “fishing to eat” crowd.