LA Coastal Fishing Report: Rockfish, Sculpin, and More on the Tide

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Los Angeles coastal fishing report. We’re sitting on a solid tide swing this morning. Tide-Forecast shows a low just before 3 a.m., building to a big **high around 9 a.m.** and draining back to a negative **low about 4:30 p.m.**, with another moderate high late tonight. Sunrise is right around **6:55 a.m.**, sunset just before **4:50 p.m.** That gives you a tight winter window, with the best movement right through mid‑morning and again mid‑afternoon as the tide dumps. Weather-wise, the local marine forecast has cool, stable winter conditions along the LA coast: light morning winds, bumpier and breezier into the afternoon with a short‑period wind swell on top of a longer west/northwest swell. That means **morning sessions** are more comfortable and usually fish better inshore. On the counts, SoCalFishReports and 976‑Tuna both show the local boats absolutely leaning on **rockfish, sculpin, sheephead, whitefish, sand bass, and calico** out of Marina del Rey and Long Beach. The New Del Mar’s recent half‑day run posted about **58 sand bass, 125 sculpin, 33 sheephead, 47 calico bass, and 133 whitefish** for 47 anglers, while Long Beach boats like the Eldorado and Victory stacked several hundred **rockfish and sculpin** per trip. Bonito are still showing farther south, but up here it’s classic winter bottom‑fish and structure bass. Fish activity lines up with that tide. Fishingreminder’s solunar outlook has the **major bite windows around the morning high and late afternoon drop**, which matches what we’re seeing on the boats. Inshore, expect calicos and sand bass to chew best right as that incoming tops off and again when the water really starts to move out. Best offerings right now: - **Lures:** - 3–4 inch swimbaits in **sardine, anchovy, and red/green rockfish patterns** on 1/2–1 oz leadheads for calico, sand bass, and shallow rockfish. - **Lead jigs** and small knife jigs (2–4 oz) in chrome, blue/white, or scrambled egg for deeper rockfish and the odd ling. - For harbor bass, go with **Keitech‑style paddletails**, small jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits slow‑rolled along pilings. - **Bait:** - **Squid strips** and cut **anchovy or sardine** are putting up numbers on sculpin, whitefish, and rockfish. - **Shrimp or mussel** chunks near structure for sheephead. - Live anchovy or small sardine, if you can get it, still outfishes artificials for numbers on the party boats. A few local hot spots if you’re staying shore‑based or on a small skiff: - **Venice Pier / Santa Monica Bay reefs:** Good winter mix of surf perch, occasional halibut tight to the sand, and calico on the inshore stones. Fish the **first couple hours of the incoming** with grubs or swimbaits in the troughs, then heavier gear on the outer edge of the structure as that high tops out. - **Palos Verdes / Rocky points around PV and outside Long Beach Harbor:** Hard bottom and kelp pockets holding **calico, sheephead, a This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.