Late Fall Fishing Bliss Along the California Coast

This is Artificial Lure with your Pacific Ocean, California fishing report for Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Beautiful late November weather is hanging on, with calm seas and cool mornings up and down the coast. Sunrise hit at 6:59 AM, and sunset will be at 4:46 PM, so anglers have a decent window to work both early and late bites. The tide started low around 2:06 AM, peaked at a mild high of about 0.2 feet at 7:31 AM, dropped again to nearly slack low by 1:26 PM, and will rise this evening to 0.26 feet at 8:17 PM, according to Tide-Forecast. The flat, small tides mean less current offshore, so focus your efforts on rocky structure, reef edges, and kelp lines, especially around slack tides when fish set up tight to cover. Action has been fantastic for bottom fish and the late-fall surface scene. According to Channel Islands Sportfishing, full-day boats have been posting limits of rockfish and whitefish, with strong showings on sheephead, lingcod, and halibut. The Aloha Spirit and Mirage boats are turning in mixed bags—recent hauls include 100–200 rockfish per trip, up to 16 sheephead, and lingcod showing in steady numbers. Halibut are still in the mix, with some boats landing up to 10 a day on the drift. Bonito are active around the islands, especially when tide starts moving. Down in San Diego, Fisherman's Landing reports the Dolphin delivered 105 assorted rockfish on the morning run and limits of sculpin, 12 sheephead, 7 sand bass, and several calico bass on the afternoon trip. Marina del Rey Sportfishing in LA counted 15 calico bass, 218 sculpin, 155 whitefish, and plenty of rockfish and sand bass just this week. And up north, The Coral Sea from Santa Barbara hit 250 rockfish, 104 whitefish, and 10 lingcod in a single 3/4-day trip. NorCal Fish Reports described the action as “lights out” for rockfish and Dungeness crab around the central coast. If you’re targeting bottom dwellers, nothing beats a dropper loop with strips of fresh squid or chunked sardine. For sheephead and whitefish, try shrimp, mussel, or clam—these baits are reliable for coaxing them out of the rocks. Anglers drifting for halibut should set up with whole sardine, live anchovy, or a sliding egg sinker rig to keep bait moving just off the sand. Artificial baits are working well with the calm water and clear visibility. Paddle-tail soft plastics in brown, green, or motor oil have been the ticket for rockfish and calico bass, especially when bounced slowly along ledges or kelp stringers. Soft plastic shrimp and jerk shads imitating local baitfish are drawing strikes from both bass and lingcod, especially in deeper pockets or at current seams—this mirrors the advice from Flats Class, who rate paddle tails and shrimp lures as best in colder months. For those drifting, try a 3- or 4-ounce leadhead with a big curly-tail or a swimbait in darker colors for lingcod or cabezon. Hot spots today include the outer edges of the Channel Islands—Anacapa and Santa Cruz reefs have held bi This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.