Long Beach fishing spots and seasons
Behind the longest breakwater on the coast: easy sand bass and calico close to home, with Catalina and the Huntington Flats in reach.
Today's read out of Long Beach
Horseshoe Kelp grades Pass for calico bass today, scoring 60 out of 100.
One ground, read every day, so you can watch it move. A trial opens the rest: every species, and the best water in range. Updated SAT 31 OCT · 15:00 UPDATE. A Bite Score grades the conditions, it does not promise a fish.
Start free trial →Sheltered water and easy fish
Long Beach sits behind the longest breakwater on the coast, which makes for calm, protected water and an easy launch. The breakwater rock itself holds calico and bass, so you can bend a rod without ever leaving the harbor complex, a great port for a quick trip or newer anglers.
Just outside, the Huntington Flats load up with barred sand bass on the summer spawn, and a run across to Catalina puts you on yellows, calico and seabass in the warm months. It's the classic LA mixed-bag home port.
Long Beach fish species
Leaving Long Beach, on any given week you could tangle with:
Fishing spots within range of Long Beach
- THE BREAKWATERMiles of rock right in the harbor: calico and bass close to the ramp, sheltered from the swell.
- HUNTINGTON FLATSBroad sand, barred sand bass on the big summer spawn and halibut across the bottom.
- CATALINA ISLANDA run across for island kelp, calico, yellowtail and white seabass.
- HORSESHOE KELPA deeper hard-bottom grounds for bass and, when open, rockfish.
Which ground holds which fish
The grounds above, grouped the other way round. Where to go is the part that does not move; what you may keep, and when, is not, so read the note at the foot of this page and check the current CDFW rules before you run.
Yellowtail
- CATALINA ISLAND
Calico Bass
- THE BREAKWATER
- CATALINA ISLAND
- HORSESHOE KELP
Rockfish
- HORSESHOE KELP
Sand Bass
- HUNTINGTON FLATS
Halibut
- HUNTINGTON FLATS
Bonito
- THE BREAKWATER
Sheephead
- THE BREAKWATER
- CATALINA ISLAND
Whitefish
- CATALINA ISLAND
Sculpin
- HORSESHOE KELP
Thresher
- HUNTINGTON FLATS
Best time to fish out of Long Beach
Long Beach is a summer port at heart: the sand bass pile onto the flats to spawn in the warm months, and bonito and calico show when the water warms. Catalina fishes best spring into fall. Winter is quieter, but the breakwater still gives up fish.
Warmer = redder. A rough shape of the year, not a promise: the ocean writes its own calendar, which is exactly why you check the daily read.
More on Long Beach
White seabass without squid: jigs, swimbaits and spoons for the daytime bite
No squid in the tank and no light boats on the grounds. Where white seabass hold in daylight, which jigs and swimbaits get bit, and the tackle to turn them.
Mackerel off the pier: catching Pacific mackerel from Southern California piers
Mackerel are the pier fish everybody catches. Where they hold around a pier, when they come up, what to tie on, and what to do with them after.
Halibut from shore: catching California halibut off piers, beaches and jetties
You do not need a boat for a big halibut. Where shore fish lie in spring, how to rig live bait on a pier and lures in the surf, and how to get one up the rail.
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.
How to catch sheephead in Southern California: reef, bait and the fall bite
Sheephead keep eating when the calico bite goes quiet. Here is where to drop, what bait stays on the hook, and how to win the first ten feet.
How to catch bonito in Southern California: breakwaters, bubbles and fast chrome
Bonito come close to shore when the water warms. Here is where to look, what light tackle to bring, and four rigs that get them to bite.
Read the water from Long Beach
See today's Bite Score for the grounds you can actually reach from here.