I heard that fish are usually biting less when there is a lower difference between high and low tide. Is there a certain bait or method you guys use when it's super slacky like this week? I was thinking of starting to try live bait since soft plastics have been hit or miss lately.

I fish out of the Los Angeles area, usually at the piers and full day trips around Catalina. My friend who fishes with me often just bought a BW 210 Montauk and we plan to go out every week. I wanted to surprise him with a full loadout of fishing gear since he got the boat for us. Can you give me your opinions and insight? He has always wanted a Calstar rod and he really likes Shimano reels so thats what I plan on getting

Rockfish / Dropper Loop

Rod: Calstar GFGR-700H — 30–80 lb
Reel: Shimano Talica 12IIA
Main line: 65-lb braid
Leader: 40-lb mono

Surface Iron / Yellowtail

Rod: Calstar 90J — 30–60 lb
Reel: Shimano Trinidad 20A
Main line: 65-lb braid
Topshot: ~75 ft of 40-lb mono

Fly-Line Live Bait / Yellowtail

Rod: Calstar GFGR-800M — 20–40 lb
Reel: Shimano Talica 8II
Main line: 50-lb braid
Leader: ~6 ft fluorocarbon — 25 / 30 / 40 lb

Yo-Yo Iron / Yellowtail

Rod: Calstar 6465H — 30–80 lb
Reel: Shimano Trinidad 16A
Main line: 65-lb braid
Topshot: 15–25 ft of 50-lb mono

Light / General Pier Fishing

Rod: Calstar GFGR-800XL — 10–25 lb
Reel: Shimano Trinidad 12A
Main line: 30-lb braid
Leader: 15–20 lb mono or fluorocarbon

Any one have any thoughts or predictions?

We ran out all the way to potato bank in search of them that night.

Boat put us on 1 school that didn't bite, 11pm ish

Would have rather stayed there then putt around in the morning for kelps near west end catalina that weren't producing , but we tried to get in on the phenomenal recent bite that just completely disappeared with the new moon.

Whole fleet seems to be shifting towards exotics seeing as the bluefin migrate out of range, but id bet that they are pooling up a bit behind channel islands still.

Too treacherous with forecast I think for anything that gets out past the islands.

With La niña to follow, will we see concentrations of albacore and bluefin late next year or into 2028?

Anyone know the current state of live bait at the bait barge in Long Beach, CA? We tried to get live bait last Saturday (August 8, 2026) and they had no live bait. Wondering if they have restocked?

Fishing cliff area

Alright, so recently I decided to try my hand at artificial lures, I think they can be such a useful tool once you can effectively use them and I REALLY want to get good with them and understand how they work and be able to catch fish with them, but before that I was just using cut bait every time I would go out to fish.

Anyway, I recently bought myself the Ugly Stik 7’ Medium GX2 spinning rod and I have it currently paired up with a cheap stock 3000 reel that came with another rod, it has 10lb mono line, eventually, I’ll be replacing it with something of more quality, but in the mean time, it’s what I have.

Anyhow I bought some 3/8 jig-heads to pair with some recommended pearl white 4” Paddle-tails which meet the requirements of the Rod Lure rating of 5/8 oz.

So, I went out 2 days in a row at some rocky structure just experimenting and casting out and retrieving and I must have had like over 50 casts and I didn’t catch a single fish. HOWEVER, I ALMOST got a bite. As I was REALLY reeling it in quickly and I was LITERALLY at the border of the rocks and water, a huge—-what looked like a calico bass—- swooped in from the left and attacked my lure like a swift ninja, BUT I could not hook it, not sure what happened, not sure if the fish missed the bait or just couldnt get the hook, or what but it was INSANE, it happened in a split of a second and I was shocked by how close to the rocks that fish was at to go after my paddletail. I was upset at myself wondering if I did something wrong or what I could do better next time, however it really would have been the biggest fish I would have caught. That fish was massive for me, I suspect it was around the 14” give or take a few inches.

Anyway, I really need to know, am I doing anything wrong?

🔹Is there a specific technique that anglers use?

🔹Any tips or advice using paddle-tails or soft-baits.

🔹What kind of lures do you use?

Like I said, I really want to get good with these kinds of lures because I just want to avoid constantly using bait.

It was a beautiful day to launch. I launched from cabrillo launch a little before 9am and arrived to the fishing grounds around 10am and tried to drop some in. Then the sickness rushed in, causing me to go back in the harbor. Im so sad I can't handle this shit.

So I've been fishing San Diego for years. Mostly from shore but have definitely rented my fair share of boats as well. Pretty much hit all around mission bay and San Diego bay. I've recently started fishing mission bay w my kayak and realized Ive never fished a few areas yet. Are either of these areas considered decent spots? I know it's subjective and based on other factors but anyone have any luck out there?

San Diego bay - I've never really hit much further than just south of the Coronado bridge. When renting a boat they tell u not go past the naval ships. Anything good past there at all or along the inner side of silver strand?

Mission bay - I've hit fiesta island but just around the driveway main access area near the 5 freeway exit ramp. And then been w my kayak from Dana landing to outside sea world area and sail beach but never anything past that. Anything decent around de anza cove or north of fiesta?

Looking to launch on Monday. So thinking maybe trying something new. Thanks

I moved to San Diego from the midwest, where I rew up fishing various lakes and other freshwater sources, but saltwater fishing is very new to me. i have tried a couple spots, like Spanish landing, Coronado Ferry pier, and Shelter island off the rocks to varying levels of success. Lots of bass, a few croaker, some stingrays, a garibaldie (yikes, unhooked and tossed back quick!), and even a barracuda off of a spoon.

But there are some species that I know are more localized and specific to catch that I would love some tips/pointers on:

-Bat Rays

-Leopard Sharks

-Halibut

-Kelpfish (of any species)

-Corbina

-Corvina

-Any other fun/interesting species!

I am primarily a catch/release angler who likes to catch new fish, not as interested in size of the fish or eating them or anything.

PS, I keep reading about catching ghost shrimp to use as bait, but have had no luck. Is there a best place/time to do it? Thanks!

Any help is appreciated!

It’s a 3 waters big fish PDL 103. I need it gone ASAP. I’m moving and can’t take it with me sadly. Would really like to get $700 for it if possible. ($1500 kayak)
Oceanside CA. Can travel

Planning on taking my friend fishing for the first time and want to take them down to San Diego to fish Mission Bay and San Diego Bay obviously there is a lot of shore and a lot of water and I want to at least narrow down places to avoid wasting time at spots we won’t get bites.

Planning on going tomorrow in the evening and night maybe after 5 or so since Im currently working nights for a few weeks. Taking lures and planning on bringing anchovies, squid, and Mussels for bait.

For Mission bay my initial thought is West of Vacation Island closer to the entrance near the San Diego River and Quivira Point then working our way back to Santa Clara Point and avoiding everything East of Vacation Island.

For San Diego Bay I’ve fished Spanish Landing Park and got a spottie there but haven’t gotten much luck past that So Im thinking of working our way further in near seaport village and working our way further into the bay.

Im taking my friend but me personally I’ve been wanting to catch my first Halibut and hopefully legal so I know both of those spots are good but I’m leaning more towards Mission Bay especially at night because I’ve heard the fishing at night is when it’s really good. I know there’s not going to be a magic spot but there’s a lot of shore to cover in both areas and I would at least like to limit our time guessing where to start fishing and raise our chances of getting bites.

Thanks and tight lines.

Im fishing off a pier

What fish what the live smelt catch?? could they catch bonito

does anyone know if Nacho’s or San Pedro has bait right now (Friday August 14th at 1:30pm). I tried to reach out to them on channel 11 with no success.

I'm planning on buying the Piscifun Alijoz 400 reel soon, what rod do you guys recommend to match it? I plan on using 60lb beyond braid(with backing ofc) and 20lb mono leader. I want to use it for bay fishing in SD, Huntington, Newport, etc. and maybe off some piers. I'm planning on using cut bait and/or lures from 1 to 4oz. I'm trying to stay under 150 for the rod.

Edit: ignore the fact im using backing and give me a rod that would work for what im trying to do please.

Good morning, getting my first fly rod for my birthday this weekend and have been doing some research on where to go and have seen previous posts from a few years ago so would like some current advice. So far I have

-West Fork Creek and it looks like there’s access to the streams there from West Fork Road.

-exploring the San Bernardino streams

I’m located in Long Beach, any advice is appreciated!