MINIMUM SIZE
None
Species · Shark
Shortfin mako fishing in Southern California
Isurus oxyrinchus
The fastest shark in the ocean, and the one known for leaping into the boat rather than fighting beside it.
TYPE
Shortfin mako
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Isurus oxyrinchus
TYPICAL SIZE
50–150 lb
LIKES WATER
60–72°F, blue
KNOWN FOR
Speed, and jumping
shortfin mako regulations
DAILY BAG
2
OPEN SEASON
Year round
Two of each shark species, so mako, thresher and blue are counted separately rather than together.
14 CCR 28.42, as read on October 9, 2026. Limits, seasons and marine protected area boundaries change, so the CDFW ocean sport fishing regulations are the authority, not this page. Check them before you keep anything.
Meet the mako
A deep metallic blue above and white below, with a conical snout and teeth that show even with the mouth shut. Makos are partly warm-blooded, like tuna, which is what lets them swim and strike as hard as they do. They are generally held to be the fastest shark there is.
Where makos hang out
Out in the blue water off Southern California, often in the same temperature band the tuna fleet is working, and often found the same way: by the life. They come in closer in late spring and early summer, which is when most of the local encounters happen.
The part people underestimate
A hooked mako jumps, repeatedly, and sometimes into the cockpit. Boats that fish for them seriously keep the leader man clipped in, keep a clear deck, and have a plan for cutting the fish off. This is not a species to get casual about on a small boat.
Rules and release
Mako are managed as a highly migratory species and the rules have tightened over the past decade as stock assessments have come in. Size limits, gear requirements and reporting change; check the current CDFW and NOAA Fisheries rules before you target one, and release anything you are not certain about in the water.
Where to catch shortfin mako
The grounds that hold shortfin mako within reach of each home port, south to north. Follow a port through for its season, the rest of the water it reaches, and the rules that apply there.
- Point Loma
- THE OFFSHORE BANKS
- Oceanside
- THE OFFSHORE BANKS
- Dana Point
- THE OFFSHORE BANKS
- Newport Beach
- THE OFFSHORE BANKS
Seasons, depth limits, size and bag limits and marine protected area boundaries are set by CDFW and change from year to year. Check the current rules for the ground you are running to before you keep anything.
🐟 FUN FACT
Makos are in the same family as the great white, and like the white shark they keep their body and eyes warmer than the surrounding water. That is the whole trick behind the speed.
More species
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From the logbook
More on shortfin mako
Heading out for something we do grade?
This is a profile, not a scored species. Fish or Pass grades seven fish across the Bight every day, so if you are going anyway, see what the water is doing for those.