LA Fishing Report: Record Heat, Mixed Bag Bites, and Tips for Staying Safe on the Water

Artificial Lure here, checking in with your Los Angeles fishing report for Wednesday, August 20, 2025. Starting off, anglers are waking up to *record-breaking heat*. According to the National Weather Service and multiple local outlets, downtown LA is on track for highs up to **105-109 degrees**, with a Heat Advisory and Red Flag Fire Weather Warning in effect through the weekend. Nights'll stay warm in the mid-70s, so plan accordingly, hit the water early, and keep an eye on those hydration levels. Today's sunrise was 6:18 a.m., with sunset around 7:36 p.m., so dusk and dawn offer your best shot at that cooler bite. On the tidal front, expect a mid-morning rising tide peaking just before noon—ideal for nearshore action on structure and kelp edges around the LA breakwaters and rocky points. Recent fish counts are solid. The LA Waterfront Sportfishing fleet, as reported by 976-TUNA.com, saw boats coming in with mixed sacks: **Yellowtail, Barracuda, Bonito, Calico Bass, Perch, and Whitefish**. Full-day trips last week put up numbers like 1 Yellowtail, 21 Barracuda, 15 Bonito, 25 Whitefish, 32 Perch, and 25 Calico Bass for 20 anglers. Channel Islands boats just a few miles up the road have racks loaded with **Calico Bass (50-90 per trip!), Halibut, Barracuda, White Seabass, and Rockfish**, showing we're right in the thick of the summer surface season. Long Beach and Santa Monica Bay are producing well on **Calico Bass and Sand Bass**, with boats reporting 40-90 Calico apiece per day. Rockfish totals remain strong—expect limits within a couple hours on deep structure when the sun is high. Out deeper, there's been a scattered bite for **Halibut** and still a few **Lingcod**. Surf anglers are getting in on the action, too: **Perch** are biting well on the beaches between Dockweiler and El Segundo, especially where the morning tide pushes bait up into the troughs. Use sand crabs or gulp camo worms for best results. Best lures and baits: For Bass, the magic is happening on small **plastic swimbaits** (think 3" Big Hammers and MCs in natural colors), and **spinnerbaits** tossed tight to kelp. Surface iron like Tady 45 or Salas 7X in blue/white draws strikes from chasing Barracuda and Yellowtail. For Rockfish, classic strip baits (squid or cut mackerel) on dropper loops are still king; lingcod are smacking big, bladed jigs tipped with squid. With the heat and fire risk up, don't forget extra ice for your catch and gear. If you're shore fishing, keep an eye out for local closures and respect the cooling center setups for your safety and others’. Hot spots this week: - **LA Harbor Breakwall**: Consistently good for Calico Bass, Whitefish, and chance at summertime Barracuda. Launch early—first light bites best before the heat sets in. - **Palos Verdes Point**: Rocky drop-offs shaded by early morning fog are holding hungry sheepshead and big perch for those fishing fresh mussel or strip baits. - **Santa Monica Bay—From Redondo up to Malibu**: Surf perch This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.