California Coastal Fishing Report: Rockfish Bonanza, Tuna Offshore Action

Artificial Lure here with your California Pacific fishing report for Sunday, November 2nd, 2025—let’s jump right in. Clear, crisp fall morning across the coast, with sunrise at 6:36AM and sunset at 5:09PM for the upper regions like San Francisco. San Diego’s out the gates a touch earlier at 6:07AM, sunset 4:56PM. Most of the coast sits under partly cloudy skies, calm seas, and a high around 63°F, perfect for working the nearshore and island waters. Tides are moving in your favor for active morning bites—the first high tide hits San Francisco around 8:43AM at 5.77ft, low again 2:50PM at 0.74ft, and high once more near 9:10PM. Down in San Diego, you’ll see a high tide at 6:38AM, nearly 6ft, then low at 12:57PM, with another push late evening. Fish activity’s been downright excellent—fall conditions have triggered heavy feeding. Santa Barbara’s boats had banner days: Stardust and Coral Sea loaded up with limits, hauling in nearly 500 rockfish and 35 lingcod combined on their most recent runs, the lingcod up to 16 pounds. Avila Beach’s Patriot reported similar: over 200 rockcod, 8 lingcod (biggest topping 16lb), plus copper and canary rockfish. Morro Bay? Starfire boat stacked 180 rockfish and 6 lingcod. Not bad for November. Further south, San Diego’s Dolphin boat scored 284 rockfish in their morning run, while the half-day PM trip saw over 120 calico bass caught and released. Boats like the Pacific Queen are reporting big offshore action with 82 bluefin tuna and 24 yellowtail landed yesterday—so if you’re chasing pelagics, this is your time. Hot bait and lure choices: For rockfish and lingcod, medium to large jigs tipped with squid, Fishbites strips, or cut mackerel are dynamite. Bomber Saltwater Grade Drumbeater spinnerbaits in chartreuse or white are banging for inshore lingcod and big calico. Gulp! and YUM paddletail swimbaits fished on a heavy jig-head are putting numbers on the deck, especially near kelp lines. If you’re on the hunt for surface game, hard jerkbaits and glide baits—like the Spro Bronzeye Spit Shad or local frog baits—are solid for those hot calicos and even the odd halibut. Yesterday saw the opening of recreational Dungeness crab in NorCal, so grab those crab snares and hoop nets, especially in zones north of the Sonoma/Mendocino line where trap restrictions apply. Early pullers are getting nice Hauls with big, meaty keepers. Rock crab is still a year-round play statewide, and easy limits come to those working reefs and structure with chicken backs or squid. Best hot spots today: - Santa Barbara Landing (rockfish, lingcod, white seabass near the islands, especially on deeper reefs) - Avila Beach/Port San Luis (big rockcod, lingcod, plus solid surfperch off the sand) - Morro Bay (reliable for rockfish and reds, especially deep) - Sunset Beach, Orange County (reported legal halibut and big barred perch for lucky surfcasters) - Offshore Sausage Point and Tanner Bank, SoCal (bluefin tuna, yellowtail action for those running This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.