San Diego, CA

Rockfish (Sebastes spp.)

Sebastes spp.

Dozens of species share one habit: structure. Rockfish are the reliable backbone of BC bottom fishing and perfect for new boat anglers.

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmoides

Ambush predators of warm, weedy water. Bass reward anglers who fish cover precisely and slow down when the sun is high.

California Halibut

Paralichthys californicus

California's inshore flatfish, an ambush predator that lies on sand beside channels, piers and rock in bays and along open beaches. Slow-bounced swimbaits and live bait drifted along bottom are the standard producers.

Bluegill

Lepomis macrochirus

The classic beginner's panfish: abundant, willing and surprisingly strong on light tackle. Bluegill nest in colonies on shallow flats in spring and guard the beds aggressively.

California Yellowtail

Seriola dorsalis

Southern California's signature gamefish — a yellow-striped jack of the islands and kelp beds that surface-feeds in summer and pulls like a train year-round.

White Seabass

Atractoscion nobilis

The grey ghost of the Southern California bight — a big, croaking seabass that feeds on squid at dawn around the islands and ranks among the coast's finest eating.

Pacific Mackerel

Scomber japonicus

The west coast's bait-machine — Pacific mackerel swarm piers and kelp lines in green-backed schools, keeping pier kids busy and filling bait tanks for the whole fishery.

California Corbina

Menticirrhus undulatus

The grey ghost of the Southern California surf — corbina glide through ankle-deep wash picking sand crabs, so wary that sight-casting to them is the beach's highest art.

Barred Surfperch

Amphistichus argenteus

The king of the California beach — barred surfperch crush sand crabs in the trough all winter, giving surf casters big, broad-shouldered fights in knee-deep foam.

Ocean Whitefish

Caulolatilus princeps

The party-boat professional of Southern California — ocean whitefish school over island rockpiles by the hundreds, bite squid strips all day, and eat like the tilefish they are.

Kelp Bass

Paralabrax clathratus

The calico bass of southern California kelp forests — kelp bass ambush swimbaits and baitfish from the weeds and fight hard for the kelp. Summer is prime time, when big bull bass gather along the outer edge.