Springtime Fishing Report: Halibut, Perch, and Croaker Bite Strong Along LA Coast

Artificial Lure here with your Los Angeles fishing report for Sunday April 20th 2025. We’ve got a beautiful spring day shaping up along the SoCal coast. The weather this morning is cool with light breezes, and highs should reach into the mid 60s by afternoon. Sunrise was at 6:15am with sunset coming in at 7:35pm, so you’ve got plenty of daylight to chase that trophy. Tides are moderate for LA today. The morning high peaked around 5:30am, dropping to a minus low near noon. Early risers working the dropping tide had the edge, especially for surf and pier action. Fish activity has been picking up with the warming water. Inshore, anglers are reporting good catches of California halibut, barred surfperch, yellowfin croaker, and the occasional legal white seabass. The halibut bite has been solid especially near the mouths of Ballona Creek and the jetty at Playa del Rey. Much of the action is coming on artificials. If you’re tossing lures, jerkbaits and hardbaits like the Daiwa Salt Pro Minnow and Yo-Zuri Hydro Monster Shot in baitfish colors—think green mackerel or yellowfin croaker—are scoring well when worked slow and close to the sand near structure or troughs. For plastics, motor oil and oxblood colored grubs and swimbaits are staples for perch and croaker, fished on a drop shot or Carolina rig. Local anglers also still swear by MM1-3 Arron Magic and oxblood soft plastics for bass and perch, especially in deeper troughs or around jetties. If you like fresh bait or want to increase your odds for halibut, go with live smelt or cut sardine. For surfperch, sand crabs, bloodworms, or gulp camo sandworms do the trick. For leopard sharks after dark, chunk mackerel or croaker is the ticket—rig on heavy wire with circle hooks for easy release. Hot spots today include Dockweiler and Venice beaches for surfperch and halibut, and the Santa Monica Pier for croaker, perch, and the chance at halibut as well. Early morning and last light into the evening will be the best bite windows with the changing tide. In short, the bite is on the upswing, and this is classic spring fishing in Los Angeles. Travel light, match the hatch with your lures, and don’t be afraid to move until you find feeding fish. Tight lines from Artificial Lure—I’ll catch you out there. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.