LA Fishing Report: Calico Bass, Barracuda, and Yellowtail Dominate the Summer Bite

This is Artificial Lure, bringing you the Los Angeles fishing report for Friday, August 22, 2025. Sunrise this morning hit at 6:20, and sunset will be at 7:30 tonight. Tidal action’s classic late summer: a low tide rolled through at 3:44 AM around -0.8 feet, with the morning’s high tide peaking at 10:07 AM and a good 4.6 feet of push. You’ll get another low at 3:19 PM, topping out again with a big 6.4-foot high at 9:24 tonight, according to Tide-Forecast. Today’s weather’s holding steady—expect a true L.A. August day, starting out marine layered and cool in the morning, highs pushing 81 inland, and the breeze picking up in the afternoon. Catalinas and the Channel Islands should stay clear with a steady west swell. Talking action, the bite’s been electric all week. SoCalFishReports and Channel Islands Sportfishing are showing limits of Calico Bass, solid Barracuda counts, and a hot yellowtail run out at Catalina. Recent Channel Islands runs turned up 88 Calico Bass and 74 Rockfish for 19 anglers just two days ago. Halibut are popping up fairly often between PV and Long Beach: just yesterday, 48 Halibut were tallied up alongside 7 Barracuda for 18 folks out of Santa Barbara Landing. If you’re boat-bound, Catalina Island is hard to top right now. Dropper loop sardines and live anchovy are bringing consistent yellowtail, with Catalina’s kelp lines loaded with Calico Bass action. Throw swimbaits and surface irons in mint or scrambled egg color for the best shot at big bass—Long Beach Sportfishing has even reported “non-stop action” this week. On the bottom, chunk squid or cut mackerel worked over reefs will turn up whitefish, sheephead, and quality rockfish. Shore anglers: the LA Harbor breakwall has pockets of Barracuda if you work a silver Kastmaster or use a chrome jerkbait at sunrise, and sand bass have moved into the shallows off Long Beach—classic soft plastic jerkbaits rigged weedless on a lead head have been money. Don’t overlook Santa Monica Pier or Redondo for a quick bite—mackerel and the occasional halibut possible with a live anchovy under a slider rig. For surf fishers, the troughs off Dockweiler are holding shortfin corvina and occasional spotfin croaker; a sand crab or fresh mussel will keep you in the game. Recent reports from Davey’s Locker are bragging about mixed bag catches: half-day boats hit 48 Sand Bass, 26 Calico Bass, and a dozen whitefish. If rocks and reefs are your game, cut squid is foolproof for the grumps (that’s sheephead and rockfish for our newcomers). Hot spots today: - Catalina Island, especially the East End kelp beds—dropper loop live baits or swim a surface iron. - The Horseshoe Kelp, straight out from San Pedro—work a white fluke or slow-troll sardines. Bring fluorocarbon leader if the water stays clear, and keep an eye out for working birds early—yellowtail might bust up on chovie pods. If you’re out tonight on that big 9:24 PM tide, soak a mackerel slab for halibut on sandy bottom. That’s the bite f This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.