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LA Fishing Report: Calicos, Rockfish, and Tidal Currents - Quiet Please 9/12/2025
Artificial Lure here with your Los Angeles area fishing report for Friday, September 12, 2025.
We kicked off the morning to a mellow light marine layer, opening to sunny skies and mild temps—mid 70s expected, with gentle onshore breezes under 10 knots. The west swells are running 3–5 feet with a little south pulse mixed in, so the surf line is fishable but pays to watch your footing on rocky spots. According to NOAA’s tide tables and Tide-Forecast.com, sunrise came at 6:34 a.m. and sunset’s hitting around 7:03 p.m. The first high tide rolled in at 1:13 a.m. (3.7 ft), low at 6:07 a.m. (2.1 ft), a strong midday high at 12:47 p.m. around 5.9 ft, then bottoms out at 8:22 p.m. with a 0.5 ft low. Those strong midday tidal swings mean moving water and active fish through early afternoon.
Fresh off the docks, 976-TUNA reports that yesterday’s party boats sent out 714 anglers, with solid counts: over 1,244 rockfish and a hot calico bass bite, with 542 bass caught and most released to keep the population healthy. Sculpin, sheephead, and some late-season bonito have also been showing, though yellowtail action’s been spotty, picking up on kelp edges when the current runs right.
If you’re land-based or on a skiff, the Palos Verdes kelp line and Sunset Beach have been pumping out chunky calico bass, especially near structure and kelp pockets. Anglers working plastics like 5-inch green sardine pattern swimbaits or hardbaits such as Lucky Craft Flash Minnows are seeing great results. The key is matching lure action to water clarity—go natural on those clear mornings and switch to chartreuse if the wind muddies things up.
For bottom bouncers, the breakwall at Cabrillo and Horseshoe Kelp are classic spots for rockfish—dropper loops tipped with squid or strips of fresh mackerel have been money. If you’re chasing the exotics, try iron jigs or trolled Rapalas out near the 150 Spot or outside Redondo Canyon for a shot at late-season bonito or maybe even a homeguard yellowtail if you hit the right current break.
Bay anglers, the back harbors around Long Beach and King Harbor are still holding some nice spotted bay bass—light line and small plastic grubs or live ghost shrimp on a drop shot will get it done, especially as the tide swings high midday.
With big tidal coefficients today—peaking over 70 per Tides4Fishing—expect fast-moving water and strong currents. Fish are getting pushed right to the edges of the structure on both the rise and fall, so position baits tight to rocks, pilings, or kelp stringers. Don’t forget a fluorocarbon leader: these fish are seeing plenty of pressure.
A couple hot spots you can bank on: the outside kelp at Rocky Point is loaded with calicos and the occasional legal halibut, particularly on slow-rolled swimbaits; and Terminal Island rocks, which have been a bakery for sheephead and goats this week—best bet is fresh-cut squid on a knocker rig. Early birds will find sand bass staging in tight before the sun climbs over the cranes.
Best baits today: live anchovy if you can score it at the receiver, with fresh squid strips a can’t-miss for the bottom fish. For lures, it’s hard to top a 1/2-oz leadhead with a brown-and-orange plastic for the kelp bass, or a silver Kastmaster for surface boils during slack tide.
That wraps the Los Angeles fishing scene for today—keep it safe, respect your limits, and don’t forget to take a kid fishing when you can. Thanks for tuning in, make sure to subscribe for more local saltwater scoop.
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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago