MINIMUM SIZE
14 in total length
Species · Bass
Spotted bay bass fishing in Southern California bays
Paralabrax maculatofasciatus
The bay's resident bass: a year-round, light-tackle fish you can catch from a kayak in four feet of water.
TYPE
Spotted bay bass
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Paralabrax maculatofasciatus
TYPICAL SIZE
1–3 lb
LIVES IN
Bays, eelgrass, riprap
BEST ON
Light tackle and plastics
BEST MONTHS
Year round
spotted bay bass regulations
DAILY BAG
5 bass, all species combined
OPEN SEASON
Year round
Shared with calico and barred sand bass. Most people who fish the bays seriously put them back regardless.
14 CCR 28.30, 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 spotted bay bass
One of the Paralabrax bass, alongside the calico and the barred sand bass, and the one that stayed home. “Spotties” live inside the bays their whole lives, covered in dark spots, and they are the reason a lot of SoCal anglers own a kayak.
Where spotted bay bass hang out
San Diego Bay is the famous one, with Mission Bay and Newport close behind. They hold on eelgrass edges, riprap, dock pilings, channel drop-offs and anything else that breaks current, often in water shallow enough to see the bottom.
How big spotted bay bass get
A pound is a normal fish and three is a good one. They do not grow much past five. What they lack in size they make up for in availability: they are there in January, they are there at lunchtime, and they will eat when nothing offshore is working.
How to catch spotted bay bass
A small plastic swimbait or a grub on a light leadhead, cast at structure and hopped back. Fish the moving tide and work the edges. This is a catch-and-release fishery for most people who fish it seriously, which is a large part of why it has stayed good.
🐟 FUN FACT
Spotted bay bass are hermaphroditic like their cousins, and they mature young and stay small, which is exactly why a bay full of them can absorb a lot of fishing pressure as long as the fish go back.
More species
Bluefin TunaYellowfin TunaYellowtailDoradoCalico BassRockfishMarlinWhite SeabassBarred Sand BassCalifornia HalibutCalifornia BarracudaPacific BonitoLingcodCalifornia SheepheadSculpinOcean WhitefishPacific MackerelAlbacoreShortfin MakoCommon ThresherGiant Sea BassOpahSwordfishSkipjack TunaCabezonPacific Sanddab
From the logbook
More on spotted bay bass
Fish
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.
Gear
Spotted bay bass on light tackle: plastics, tides and structure in the bays
A light rod, a small grub and a moving tide. The gear, baits and structure that catch spotted bay bass inside the bays, plus why almost every one goes back.
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.