Marina del Rey
The country’s biggest small-craft harbour, right on Santa Monica Bay — halibut flats, breakwater bass, and a straight run at Catalina.
- Sits on
- Santa Monica Bay
- Signature
- Halibut flats
- Home rock
- The breakwaters
- Reaches
- Catalina Island
Why it fishes
Marina del Rey opens straight onto Santa Monica Bay — a broad, sandy bay that’s classic halibut water. Drift the flats for flatfish, work the harbour breakwaters and jetty rock for calico and bass, and you’ve got a full day without a long run.
When you want more, the bay’s Horseshoe Kelp and a crossing to Catalina add yellows, seabass and deeper structure. It’s a convenient, protected home port for the whole west side of LA.
What you’ll chase
Leaving Marina del Rey, on any given week you could tangle with:
The grounds within range
- Santa Monica Bay flats
Broad sand — the bay is classic halibut drifting water, with sand bass on the flats in summer.
- The breakwaters & jetties
Harbour rock holding calico and bass close to the ramp.
- Horseshoe Kelp
A deeper hard-bottom grounds out in the bay — bass and, when open, rockfish.
- Catalina Island
A longer crossing for island kelp, yellowtail and white seabass.
When it’s good
Marina del Rey fishes the bay hardest in the warm months — halibut drifting picks up in spring, sand bass move onto the flats to spawn in summer, and bonito show on a warm push. Catalina is a spring-to-fall run. Winter is slower on the bay.
Warmer means better. A rough shape of the year, not a promise — the ocean writes its own calendar, which is exactly why you check the daily read.
🌊 Heads up: the Catalina crossing is open ocean — check wind and swell. Halibut, sand bass and rockfish all carry CDFW size and bag limits that change — check the current rules before you keep.
Read the water from Marina del Rey
See today’s Bite Score for the grounds you can actually reach from here.