Deep dives on SoCal gamefish
How the fish this coast is known for actually behave: where they hold, what moves them, and what that means for your day.
Winter fishing in Southern California: what still bites from November to March
The tuna boats stop, the counts get shorter, and a lot of rods go in the garage. Here is what is still worth chasing between storms, and how to pick the days.
Fishing out of Dana Point: the kelp, San Clemente Island and the blue water
Kelp and reef close in, the shortest Orange County run to the blue water out front. The landing, the grounds, the protected areas and how the year runs.
Fishing out of San Diego's Point Loma: the kelp, the Coronados and the banks
The warm water reaches San Diego first and leaves it last. The landings, the kelp, the Coronados and the numbered banks, and how the year usually runs.
Swordfish or marlin? How to tell a broadbill from a striped marlin
Two fins on flat water in October. Bill, dorsal, keels, color and how each fish shows on the surface, so you can call it before anybody reaches for a gaff.
White seabass and the squid spawn: why the ghosts follow the squid
Find the squid and you have found the seabass. The island squid grounds, the night and grey-light bite, and the rigs that put a live squid in front of a ghost.
Thresher sharks in Southern California: the nearshore shark that hunts with its tail
Threshers stun anchovies with a tail as long as their body, a few hundred yards off the beach. How they feed, when they show, and the bait that keeps the hook out of the tail.
Skipjack tuna in Southern California: what a skipjack school tells you
Belly stripes, warm water and kelp paddies. How to tell a skipjack from bonito and school yellowfin, when they show up, and why a skipjack boil is worth slowing down for.
Barracuda in Southern California: when they arrive, where they hold, why some years boom
Barracuda ride warm water up from Baja each spring and can fill a slow morning by summer. When they show, where they hold, why the numbers swing, and how to beat the teeth.
Opah in Southern California: the warm-blooded moonfish of the deep
Round, silver and scarlet, and warm all the way through. Why the opah is unlike any other fish off this coast, and why the few caught here are almost always a surprise.
Ocean whitefish: the island reef fish nobody targets and everybody takes home
A tilefish from south of the border that rides the warm years into the Bight. Where it holds on the island reefs, how to fish for it, and why its colours fade so fast.
Mako sharks in Southern California: when they show, where they hold, and why they jump
Many makos off Southern California are young sharks raised in the Bight. When they come back each summer, what draws them to a slick, and what to do when one jumps.
Lingcod in winter: what the spawn does to Southern California's lings
Lingcod head for the spawning rock as the water cools, and the males stay behind to guard the eggs. Here is what that means for a late-season trip in the Bight.
California sheephead: how the reef's red-and-black wrasse lives and changes sex
Every sheephead starts life as a female, and the biggest become the red-and-black males that hold a stretch of reef. What that means for where you fish and what you keep.
Cabezon on the shallow reef: where they hide and how to get one out
A crab-eating sculpin that lives in the surge, guards its nest through winter and carries poisonous roe. How to find cabezon on the shallow rock and get one out.
Barred sand bass and the summer spawn: where they gather and why the bite turns on
Every July the sand bass leave their home reefs and pile onto the flats. Here is what they are doing out there, why the bite comes in bursts, and why the spawn is smaller than it was.
Yellowfin or bluefin? How to tell Southern California tuna apart
Long pectoral or short? The fins, body shape and one cleaning table check that settle the yellowfin versus bluefin argument on the boat.
Dorado season in Southern California: when they show and when they leave
Dorado season is not a date, it is a water temperature. When the fish usually reach the Bight, where they show first, and what October tells you.
When and where marlin show up off Southern California
The Bight is the northern edge of the marlin's range. Here is what decades of catch records say about the season, the water and the banks.
Fall bluefin in Southern California: the tuna that stays
When the yellowfin leave, the bluefin often do not. Where they hold in the fall, how they show themselves, and why they are so hard to get to eat.
Calico bass in the kelp: fishing LA and Orange County's home-team fish
No long run and no warm-water year required. The breakwaters and kelp lines that hold calico close to home, and how to win the first seconds of the fight.
Rockfish at the north end: deep reefs out of Santa Barbara and Channel Islands
When the surface goes quiet, the bottom does not. Why the cold north end of the Bight grows good rockfish, how to fish a drift, and how to send one back down.
Bluefin tuna in Southern California: when, where and how they bite
Bluefin show earlier and stay later than any other SoCal tuna. Here is when they come, where the fleet finds them, and why they are so hard to hook.
Calico bass in Southern California: the kelp, the seasons and the bite
The home-team fish of the Bight: where calico bass live, why water temperature runs their bite, how they feed, and the four ways locals catch them.
Fishing out of Channel Islands Harbor and Ventura: landings, grounds and seasons
The shortest run to Anacapa and Santa Cruz: landings, grounds, seasons and island rules for fishing out of Channel Islands Harbor and Ventura.
Fishing out of Long Beach: the breakwater, the flats and the run to Catalina
The landings, the grounds and the seasons out of Long Beach, from half-day bass on the breakwater and Huntington Flats to island runs to Catalina.
Fishing out of Marina del Rey and Santa Monica Bay through the year
A big sandy bay, harbor rock close to the dock, and Catalina when the water warms. Where the Marina del Rey boats fish, what bites in each season, and why.
Fishing out of Newport Beach: the canyon, the flats and Catalina
Deep water close to the harbor, summer flats full of sand bass, and a run to Catalina or the banks when the water warms. How Newport fishes through the year.
Fishing out of Oceanside Harbor: the landing, the grounds and the seasons
Kelp off Carlsbad for a quick half day, or a run to San Clemente Island and the blue water. What Oceanside boats fish, where and when.
Fishing out of San Pedro: Horseshoe Kelp, Palos Verdes and the Catalina run
The landings, grounds and seasons out of San Pedro, from bass on the Horseshoe Kelp and Palos Verdes kelp to yellowtail runs across the channel to Catalina.
Fishing out of Santa Barbara: the landing, the islands and the Channel kelp
Cold water, deep reefs and the northern islands: how to fish out of Santa Barbara, from rockfish and lingcod to calico and spring white seabass.
Rockfish in Southern California: species, depth, seasons and how to fish them
Vermilion, copper, bocaccio and the rest: where SoCal rockfish live, how the season and depth rules work, and how to release the ones you cannot keep.
Fall yellowfin in Southern California: where they go in October
Yellowfin are the last tuna to show up and the first to leave. Here is how to find them on the fall edge, and how to tell when the run is over.
Reading a kelp paddy: how to fish dorado in Southern California
Which paddies are worth the stop, how to slide up on one without spoiling it, and the one habit that turns a single dorado into several.
Chasing the grey ghost: how yellowtail relate to structure
Why yellows glue themselves to hard bottom, current lines and kelp, and how to put the boat on the side of the spot they are actually watching.