Late Spring LA Fishing: Halibut, Perch, and Bass in the Bight

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Los Angeles coastal fishing report. We’ve got a stable late‑spring pattern along the Southern California Bight: cool marine layer early, then clearing skies and a light onshore breeze by midday. Air temps are hanging mid‑60s in the morning, pushing into the low 70s along the beach in the afternoon. Typical west to southwest wind builds to 10–15 knots after lunch, so the calmest conditions are at first light and again right before sunset. Ocean temps are running in the low 60s, just cool enough that fish want movement and scent. Sunrise is right around 5:40 a.m., with sunset just before 8:10 p.m., so you’ve got a nice long window, but the best bites have been in that gray light: first hour after dawn and the last hour before dark. Midday is slower unless you’re fishing structure or deeper water. Nearshore tidal swing today is moderate, with a low tide in the early morning, then a decent incoming through mid‑day and an outgoing pushing into the evening. Around here, fish really wake up on that moving water. Plan your trips around the top third of the incoming and the start of the outgoing—perfect for surf perch, corbina, and halibut. Surf action from Santa Monica down through Dockweiler and El Porto has been steady. Anglers have been picking up barred surfperch, yellowfin croaker, and a few spotfin on classic bait rigs. Soft‑shell sand crabs are king right now for corbina and croaker, with lugworms and bloodworms a solid backup. For artificial fans, a 2‑inch to 3‑inch sand crab‑pattern soft plastic or a small camo grub on a Carolina rig has been doing work in the troughs. Halibut reports have ticked up along Hermosa, Manhattan, and the stretches around Marina del Rey and Playa del Rey. Most fish are short, but there have been enough legals to keep everyone interested. Top producers: 3‑ to 5‑inch swimbaits in sardine or smelt patterns on ½‑oz heads, slow‑rolled just off the bottom, plus live smelt or anchovy if you can make bait. Fish the edges of holes, current seams around jetties, and any patchy sand meeting rock. In the bays, especially inside Marina del Rey and up around Long Beach/LA Harbor, spotted bay bass and sand bass have been chewing around structure—docks, pilings, and rock walls. Small paddle‑tails, curly‑tail grubs, and shrimp‑scented plastics on light leadheads are getting bit, especially on the uphill current. Night sessions have produced the better‑quality bass, plus the odd legal halibut lurking underneath the bait. Offshore and local party boats out of San Pedro, Long Beach, and Marina del Rey have mainly been on rockfish, whitefish, and sculpin, with the occasional sheephead and a few calico bass when the conditions line up. Squid strips and cut sardine on double‑dropper loop rigs are still the standard. When boats slide in closer to the kelp and hard bottom, 5‑inch weedless swimbaits in brown/green or bait colors are getting smoked by calicos. Two local hot spots to circle: • **El Porto / Manhattan Beach stretch** – Consistent surf perch and croaker action, plus a realistic shot at a legal halibut if you put in time at first light with swimbaits or live bait. Work the cuts between sandbars and any dark patches you can spot in the lineup. • **Marina del Rey jetties and inside wall** – Great mix of species: halibut, sand bass, spotted bay bass, and the occasional sheephead or sargo. Fish the up‑current side with swimbaits or plastics on light jigheads, or soak live smelt and anchovy near the rocks with just enough weight to hold. If you’re heading out today, think light line, natural colors, and keep your presentations moving but subtle. Cover water until you find life—bait dimpling, birds picking, or that one nervous pocket of water along the beach. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn