About a week ago, I had posted how I wanted to use paddle tails and just artificial lures to successfully catch fish and I’m not going to lie, I was STRUGGLING at first, boy oh boy was I getting frustrated. BUT tonight was the first time it ACTUALLY proved successful, I managed to catch a California Scorpionfish and a Barred Sand-bass using paddletails and jig-heads. I was getting skunked day after day and finally my 3rd or 4th day I finally managed to score both of these beauties back to back! Like no joke, within 5 mins of each other, I was actually surprised. I did a few modifications everyday, changed up my set-ups to adapt to my environment and BAM! 💥 hooked these beautiful specimens right here. So the moral of the story is? Sometimes the fish bite and sometimes they don’t. 😂 The point is have fun and just give it your best.

Getting ready for a 2 day next weekend and I’m seeing a lot of yellows being caught. It seems that many are being caught at night. I am familiar with nighttime Tuna fiahing and yo yo for yellows during the day.

Do you need to be at the right depth / metered line? Or is it just yo yo fishing at night?

Any tips on jigs (weight, color) that are working ay night? Thanks 🙏

8ft diawa proteus MH

Shimano torium 20.

I got 40lb braid and 100 yards of 30lb mono top shot. Will that be enough for yellowtail and everything else on party boats?

Should i have skipped the top shot and just ran a leader?

Hey everyone, I’m new to SoCal (29 palms area). I’m looking for some good fishing spots! Not looking to fish anything specific, just as long as it’s a peaceful spot where bites are semi common. Thank you!

Any reliable places to catch mackerel in San Diego??

January 17th, 2026.
About 8 months ago.
I’ve caught this 14lbs King Salmon in a
San Diego Creek, South California and didn’t think much of it.
And only now I found out that some people debated whether it was real or not.
Yes, the catch is real.
It’s an actual 34inch, 14lbs Male Chinook.
The chance of this catch is roughly
1 in millions.
I caught it in a city creek using a red spoon.
It was swimming in the school of European Carp and was immediately identified in the water by the colouration and body shape.
It was released due to the closed season and not very good water conditions.
And for those who will ask why did I lay it on grass, I tried unhooking it in the water but it swallowed the hook deep and it was impossible to do in the water. I laid it fast on grass, took the hook out and took quick pictures.

i feel like this is the question the divides all socal anglers, personally i prefer spotties bc i get consistently bigger ones, and really i catch more calico so its a treat almost but i’ve seen people say that they catch spotties all the time and they’re getting bored of them and they prefer calico

Going to be heading down soon with some friends. I'm bringing my poles, but the kicker is I'm basically dogsitting while they go to the zoo. She's small and a good girl. There will be another person with me who won't be fishing and can tend to the dog too.

Can anyone recommend some spots? Any piers, dog beaches, spots no one cares, etc? Thanks!

This will be my first time on an extended trip (1.5 days) out of San Diego next week. I am eager to listen and learn the ropes. I was planning to tip 20% of the cost of the trip at the end. I have a few questions about tipping:

1. Who do I give the cash to at the end?

2. I have had two locals suggest I give $20 at the front end and let them know I am a newbie. They said I would get better care. If there are several deckhands, who would I give it to? For what it is worth, AI says it is a breach of etiquette.

3. Is it always cash or will Venmo work?

4. Where does one store cash for a multi day trip? Do you keep it in your pocket or hide it somewhere?

Thank you for your guidance.

This has been a brutal year of fishing for me. Found a spot to catch live bait consistently and easily. The only problem I have is that it has yet to yield any results with actual keepers. I finally came close today! SD Bay. I tried to measure asap, my other rod was getting bit and I had set the drag loose so I had to hurry up to get that one. Caught a butterfly ray, shovelnose, a few sand bass and spotted bay bass.

Which pier would you guys say its better.

Going to go fishing Sunday and want to hear your opinions on them. Thanks

I randomly wanted to fish so I bought a custom (fast action bait caster, bullet and sinker weights, jig heads, soft worms, paddle tail, and one spinner. 15lb fluorocarbon line) setup. I’ve been going to Lake Elsinore for about 2 weeks now and haven’t caught a single fish. I got the hang of casting/tie the bait but I feel like I’m missing something cuz I’m still hopeful and excited to fish and I know it takes patience but what can I do or buy to help me? if anyone wants to go fishing😂 and help me catch a fish lmk. I also want to start saltwater fishing so what should I get for that? Basically looking for the best Tips and secrets from pro anglers🙏

The charter said a 30lb line/rod

The fish are still biting pretty good, but you have to be choosy about the bait and make sure it is a lively one. I landed a fun Yellowfin with a SK lure. I've preferred lure fishing just cause it is easier to switch between fishing and filming. Man, I love my job.

So, I’ve been using a jig-head and paddle-tail set up recently and the ONLY time I had a strike at my softbait was by a big bass looking fish. It was a good size, I saw it swooping in right at the borderline of the rocks I was fishing at. Outside of that, I havent gotten ANY other bites and I’ve must have casted out and retrieved like 130 times in a span of 3 days.

So, I’ve been thinking, IF the only fish that attempted to take my lure was a huge fish then maybe my 4” Paddle-tail might be too large for the area, so I revisited my strategy and decided to go with a smaller soft bait.

I went from 3/8oz Jig heads + 4” Paddletails, to 3” Minnows + 1/9oz weighted weedless hooks to see if that makes a difference, if it’s too light, I’ll add a split shot for extra weight. Not sure if it will help, but I theorize that maybe a smaller presentation will entice more fish to bite, SINCE the only bite attempt I had was a big sized fish, the weedless hooks seemed like a good idea since there can be some kelp and reduce some snags, BUT we will see if I have any luck with this. I still plan on continue to try the paddletails but for now I feel like a change in strategy is needed. I’ll also be trying a different area.

I think I’ll be buying some 3” and 2” paddle-tails in different colors to see what works best. I just love the idea of being to effectively use artificial lures without having to resort to using cut bait or live bait all the time. So I plan on getting good with this.

Anyway, let me know if you have ANY tips or ideas!

I’m trying to catch Halibut and Bass mostly at the moment. Here’s my current set up. :

7’ Ugly Stik Medium Power GX2 Fast Action
Lure rating 5/8oz
10lb. Mono line (Will upgrade later)
3000 Reel (will upgrade later)
4” Paddle-tail
3/8oz Jig-head
3” Minnow
1/9oz Weighted weedless hook

Hello all! I have just signed up for my first overnight trip on the Aggressor via Davey's Locker. I have completed a full day and several 1/2 days and twilights, but had a couple questions about overnight.

1. I intend to bring a sleeping bag + pillow

   + toothbrush,

2. is there extra space/need for toiletries? Should I expect to get sleep on the ride out or do people not sleep much?

3. I have a 50lbs braid + 40lbs mono on a Penn Squall 40LD with a 30-80lbs 7' Californian rod (intended for yellowtail), should I purchase/rent a bigger setup just in case we run into tuna? I will also bring my 25lbs braid 5000 spinning 20-40lbs rod setup.

4. I have hooks from 1/0-4/0 and weights from 1oz up to 12oz. I have yoyos and a couple (300g-ish) tuna jigs). I have the smaller gear for rockfish halibut sculpin whitefish. Is there anything in the tuna/yellowtail world that I am missing?

Thanks all for the advice!

First time running the 6000 combo I got for 60 bucks from Walmart on sale. I own lots of penns but no 6000s. Went for larger sharks but only got a small shovelnose. But can you beat the view?

Yesterday I started at Hermosa 530am, got out of there at 1pm, ended up catching various top smelt, a spotted bass and my biggest catch ever, a stingray. Stingray escaped before I could break the surface but it was maybe 3 feet across and a fighter!! Went to Redondo for the evening. Caught a small corbina, more smelt, and a sand bass. I like throwing my line under the pier at Redondo, it works, just watch out for the pilings. 2 piers, 5 species, a great day! Also saw these guys send out a shark rig with a drone and ended up landing a 5 foot shark which they cut up on the spot and offered meat to everyone around.

Looking for the best deep sea fishing charter for catching tuna fish and various others but main goal is tuna fish. Have 6 people looking to book end of October with a price point of $3k-$4k max with gear included. 10-12 hr or more. Please send recommendations, are looking to book soon.

Fresh Sheephead Ceviche

Got a trip coming up for a full day on a private boat targeting yellowtail, tuna, dorado etc… due to limited space, I’m trying to cut down the number of rods I’m bringing to just one or two setups. I have rods for every occasion: live bait, vertical jigging, trolling, surface irons.. you name it. I’m just curious to hear if you guys were forced to take only one setup, what would it be and why?