Pier fishing story nets mixed catch

“A Little Fish Story” [Feb. 22] was so delightful and refreshing -- far from the other stories that directed the course of the day, from the drenching to the depressing. As a native of the South Bay area, I’ve always been familiar with the Redondo Beach Pier and can appreciate the pleasantly charming observations you made. Thanks for introducing us to some individuals who were interestingly ordinary, and routinely unique.

Kerri Webb

Inglewood

I was under the impression the Outdoors section was about outdoor recreation, not a Hemingway-styled trip into depression. No focus, no research, just a journalist’s junket to a pier where he lost it and tripped out on his own hangover.

Peter Balwan

Glendale

Decades ago, when having fun with the kids did not involve an expensive expedition to a theme park, the piers of L.A. were among our favorite destinations. When summer evenings were too hot to cook in our apartment, a picnic dinner and fishing as the sun set was a lovely option. Sometimes we went out on the half-day boats. One day my daughter Cathy hooked a nice fish. Daddy was helping her reel it in when a shark took a huge bite out of it. Daddy rescued the tackle and a deckhand brought out a shotgun and shot the shark. This may have been too much nature for Cathy. But my son Jack now has a 34-foot boat in San Pablo Bay and goes out whenever he can.

Marty Rauch

Los Angeles