Episode Details
Back to Episodes
California Coast Fishing Report: Tuna, Rockfish, and Fall Bounty
Published 7 months, 1 week ago
Description
Good morning, anglers – this is Artificial Lure reporting on the Pacific Ocean fishing scene up and down the California coast for Friday, September 19th, 2025.
First off, the skies are clear and summer-strong with that gentle early fall crispness, and the Pacific’s keeping it simple for us: sunrise is at 6:51 AM and sunset’s at 7:07 PM. The tides are running classic autumn form: the first high hits at 2:45 AM, first low at 8:47 AM, the afternoon high at 2:51 PM, and we’ll close out the evening with a low tide at 9:08 PM, according to Tide-Forecast.com. That afternoon tide swing is prime for those of you targeting the local structure-loving species.
Let’s talk fish. Offshore, the bluefin tuna bite has cooled slightly since that late August surge, but several Southern California party boats are still scoring limits closer to home. Fisherman's Landing in San Diego reports strong counts of rockfish, sheephead, and the occasional lingcod—with the Dolphin’s last half-day pulling in 63 rockfish, 12 sheephead, and 2 lingcod, a sign the bottom bite is rock-solid and should stay that way through the month.
Now, if you’re looking for inshore action, calico bass and sand bass are mixed in thick around kelp lines and rocky points. So Cal Fish Reports says the local scene is “still great,” with consistent catches of calico bass, sand bass, barracuda, and sheephead. That sheephead bite, in particular, has been picking up—so bring some shrimp or squid for best results, especially on light tackle.
Heading north to Shelter Cove, Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing tells us rockfishing is still producing easy limits most days, with the best action stretching from Rodgers Break to the Hat. Lingcod and occasional halibut are in the mix if you venture deeper, but halibut have gotten finicky with the cooler water in recent days.
For the salmon hunters, the late run just wrapped with 12,000 Chinook recorded between Pt. Reyes and Pt. Sur during the short September opening. CDFW hit its fall harvest guideline, so the ocean salmon fishery is now closed through October. If you’re chasing that salmon fix, keep watch on the estuaries like the Chetco, where fish are staging until we get enough rain to draw them upriver.
On the lure front, it’s hard to beat a natural look right now—anchovies behind a 360 flasher have been deadly for salmon, and for rockfish and lingcod, swimbaits in darker colors or dropper loop rigs with fresh anchovy have been the steady producers. For calicos and sand bass, try a weedless swimbait in “sexy smelt” or “brown bait” shades, and if you’re after sheephead, it’s shrimp or nothing.
Looking for hot spots? Locals are talking up the Osborne Bank for offshore bluefin, but for an easy day closer to shore, the kelp beds off Point Loma and the reefs outside Dana Point are loaded with bass and rockfish right now. Up north, Shelter Cove’s reefs and the famous Trinidad Head should be on your weekend shortlist.
That’s the word from the water—weather’s stable, seas are friendly, and the bite’s still lively up and down the coast. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s California Pacific fishing report. Don’t forget to subscribe for your local updates and fish tales every week.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
First off, the skies are clear and summer-strong with that gentle early fall crispness, and the Pacific’s keeping it simple for us: sunrise is at 6:51 AM and sunset’s at 7:07 PM. The tides are running classic autumn form: the first high hits at 2:45 AM, first low at 8:47 AM, the afternoon high at 2:51 PM, and we’ll close out the evening with a low tide at 9:08 PM, according to Tide-Forecast.com. That afternoon tide swing is prime for those of you targeting the local structure-loving species.
Let’s talk fish. Offshore, the bluefin tuna bite has cooled slightly since that late August surge, but several Southern California party boats are still scoring limits closer to home. Fisherman's Landing in San Diego reports strong counts of rockfish, sheephead, and the occasional lingcod—with the Dolphin’s last half-day pulling in 63 rockfish, 12 sheephead, and 2 lingcod, a sign the bottom bite is rock-solid and should stay that way through the month.
Now, if you’re looking for inshore action, calico bass and sand bass are mixed in thick around kelp lines and rocky points. So Cal Fish Reports says the local scene is “still great,” with consistent catches of calico bass, sand bass, barracuda, and sheephead. That sheephead bite, in particular, has been picking up—so bring some shrimp or squid for best results, especially on light tackle.
Heading north to Shelter Cove, Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing tells us rockfishing is still producing easy limits most days, with the best action stretching from Rodgers Break to the Hat. Lingcod and occasional halibut are in the mix if you venture deeper, but halibut have gotten finicky with the cooler water in recent days.
For the salmon hunters, the late run just wrapped with 12,000 Chinook recorded between Pt. Reyes and Pt. Sur during the short September opening. CDFW hit its fall harvest guideline, so the ocean salmon fishery is now closed through October. If you’re chasing that salmon fix, keep watch on the estuaries like the Chetco, where fish are staging until we get enough rain to draw them upriver.
On the lure front, it’s hard to beat a natural look right now—anchovies behind a 360 flasher have been deadly for salmon, and for rockfish and lingcod, swimbaits in darker colors or dropper loop rigs with fresh anchovy have been the steady producers. For calicos and sand bass, try a weedless swimbait in “sexy smelt” or “brown bait” shades, and if you’re after sheephead, it’s shrimp or nothing.
Looking for hot spots? Locals are talking up the Osborne Bank for offshore bluefin, but for an easy day closer to shore, the kelp beds off Point Loma and the reefs outside Dana Point are loaded with bass and rockfish right now. Up north, Shelter Cove’s reefs and the famous Trinidad Head should be on your weekend shortlist.
That’s the word from the water—weather’s stable, seas are friendly, and the bite’s still lively up and down the coast. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s California Pacific fishing report. Don’t forget to subscribe for your local updates and fish tales every week.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.