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Winter Wonderland: LA Coastal Fishing Report for Calico, Rockfish, and Lobster
This is Artificial Lure with your Los Angeles coastal fishing report.
We’re sitting on a mellow winter pattern along the LA/Long Beach stretch: cool mornings, light offshore breeze early, and not much swell. The National Weather Service marine forecast is calling for west winds around 5–10 knots with seas 2–3 feet, so it’s comfortable for small boats and party boats alike.
According to Tide-Forecast for Los Angeles, we’ve got a pre-dawn **high tide** around 2:30 a.m., dropping to a **low** about 7:30 a.m., then a solid **midday high** just before 1 p.m., and an evening low after 8 p.m. Sunrise is right around **6:45 a.m.**, sunset close to **4:45 p.m.** That late-morning push and the afternoon outgoing are the sweet spots today for inshore bass and rockfish.
SoCal Fish Reports and SportfishingReport dock totals show the local boats leaning heavy on bottom critters. Out of Marina del Rey, the New Del Mar and Spitfire have been stacking **sand bass, sculpin, whitefish and a sprinkle of calico and sheephead**, with counts like 85 sculpin and 30 sand bass on recent half- and three-quarter-day runs. Long Beach boats like the Victory have been whacking **rockfish and whitefish** in big numbers—over 200 rockfish on some trips—plus sheephead and more sculpin. Twilight runs out of San Pedro are still loading up on **spiny lobster**, with several dozen legals a night along with lots released.
Fish activity is classic winter: slower overall but steady if you stay on structure. The bass are hugging hard bottom and wrecks, sculpin and rockfish are chewing in 150–300 feet, and the sheephead are posted on rocky edges and boiler rock. Offshore exotics are mostly out of the local picture; the action is on the stones.
For **lures**, keep it simple and local-style:
- For sand bass and calico: 3–5" **swimbaits** in sardine or brown bait on 1/2–1 oz leadheads, or lighter if you’re fishing inside the bays.
- For rockfish/whitefish: 6–8 oz **metal jigs** or heavy colt snipers in scrambled egg or blue/white. Tip with strip squid for more bites.
- For sheephead and whitefish: dropper loops with small **octopus hooks** and a strip of squid or mussel.
Bait-wise, **live anchovy or sardine** is still king when you can get it. Otherwise, **squid strips** catch almost everything right now—bass, sculpin, whitefish, and especially sheephead. For lobster, stick with **mackerel or bonito chunks** in your hoops.
Couple of hot spots to hit today:
- **Horseshoe Kelp / Long Beach artificial reefs**: great for sand bass, sculpin, and winter calico on that midday high tide. Fish the upcurrent side of structure with a 1 oz leadhead and a swimbait or squid.
- **Breakwall edges at Angel’s Gate and Queen’s Gate**: bounce the rocks with swimbaits for calico and sand bass at gray light, then switch to dropper loops as the sun gets up.
If you’re staying inside, the **inner harbor around Pier J and the oil islands** can quietly kick out some nice bass on lighter jigheads and 3" plastics during the afternoon outgoing tide.
That’s the bite around LA today. Rig a little heavier than you think, bring squid and a handful of swimbaits, and fish slow and tight to structure.
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Published on 2 weeks, 2 days ago