LA Coastal Bite: Bass, Halibut, and Moving Water This Afternoon

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Los Angeles coastal fishing report. MarineWeather and NOAA show a weak morning high followed by a mid‑day drop and a modest afternoon push, so expect the better bites to line up with that late‑morning to afternoon moving water. Light onshore breeze building to 10–15 knots, typical June marine layer burning off late morning with highs in the 70s along the beach. Time and Date reports sunrise around 5:42 a.m. and sunset near 8:08 p.m., so you’ve got long low‑light windows to work with. Water temps along the Santa Monica Bay buoy line are riding in the low to mid‑60s, just warm enough that the summer life is creeping in but not full throttle yet. Local shop chatter around Redondo and Marina del Rey is that bass and halibut are doing the heavy lifting right now, with the offshore game still ramping. Inshore, pier and surf anglers from Malibu down through Dockweiler are seeing a steady pick on barred surfperch, yellowfin croaker, corbina, and the occasional legal halibut. Best numbers have been on Carolina‑rigged sand crabs and lugworms, with a fair number of fish coming on 2‑inch motor‑oil grubs and small swimbaits slow‑rolled just outside the first trough. Reports out of the Hermosa and Manhattan Beach piers mention several halibut in the 20–24 inch class this week, plus lots of short flatties keeping rods bent. Inside Marina del Rey and King Harbor, spotted bay bass and sand bass have been biting around rock walls and harbor mouths on the incoming. Local skippers are talking about half‑day trips bringing back mixed bags of rockfish, whitefish, a few sculpin, and a sprinkle of legal calico. Most of those are falling for squid strips on double‑dropper loops in 150–250 feet, with leadheads and swimbaits getting the bass higher in the column. Offshore and just outside the bay, private boaters working paddies and temperature breaks are marking bait, birds, and a few early‑season yellowtail, but landings haven’t reported big counts yet. It’s more of a “one‑here, one‑there” game for the guys who are willing to burn fuel and hunt. For lures, this is prime time for **3–4 inch swimbaits** in sardine, smelt, and anchovy patterns on 3/8 to 1/2‑ounce heads for bass and halibut along the beaches and harbor mouths. A **Krocodile** or small **Castmaster** is money when the wind comes up and fish push bait to the surface. In the surf, keep it simple: sand crabs, mussel, and lugworms for croaker and corbina, and switch to a white or smelt‑colored jerk shad on a light jighead if you’re hunting halibut. If you’re bank‑bound, two hot spots to circle today: 1. **Dockweiler State Beach:** Long stretches of sand with defined bars and troughs. Fish the first and second trough at first light with sand crabs for corbina and perch, then drag swimbaits for halibut as the sun gets higher and the tide starts moving. 2. **Marina del Rey North Jetty and harbor mouth:** Work the rocks with swimbaits, small hardbaits, and live bait if you can get it. Bass, halibut, and the odd sheephead hang tight to that structure. Time it with the incoming tide for your best shot. Boat guys, consider sliding just outside Palos Verdes to pick at rockfish and whitefish in 180–220 feet with squid on droppers, then move shallow for bass on swimbaits and plastics as the afternoon breeze kicks up. That’s your Los Angeles fishing rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn