About this episode
This is Artificial Lure with your Los Angeles coastal fishing report.We’ve got a cool, clear winter start along the bay. National Weather Service coastal waters forecast is calling for light to moderate northeast flow nearshore with generally calm seas and good visibility, so it’s a green light to get out. Sunrise is right around 7:00 AM with sunset near 5:00 PM, giving you a tight but very fishy window around the low-light periods.Tides are in our favor for a morning bite. Tide-Forecast’s Los Angeles table shows a solid predawn high just under 5 feet around 3:30–3:45 AM, dropping to a late‑morning low near 1.3 feet around 11:15 AM. Surfline’s Venice Beach chart has a similar 4.7‑foot high around 3:41 AM. That falling water through mid‑morning is prime for bass and inshore surface life.According to 976‑Tuna’s latest landings reports, the local half‑day and three‑quarter‑day boats out of Long Beach, San Pedro, and Marina del Rey have been leaning hard on **calico and sand bass**, **sculpin**, **whitefish**, **sheephead**, and mixed **mackerel and bonito**. Recent numbers include trips with limits of sculpin, 40–60‑plus legal calico, solid counts of sand bass pushing 150‑plus fish, and bags rounded out with 20–50 whitefish, a pile of blue perch, and assorted rockfish. One Monte Carlo trip reported just shy of 60 keeper calico, plus a “whole bunch” of bottom grabbers on squid and shrimp. There’ve also been a sprinkling of **barracuda**, the odd **halibut** short, and a few **yellowtail** still hanging around the islands and outer structure.Fish activity’s been best where you’ve got clean, slightly warmer water and some current. Many of the local captains are saying the bass bite has been “up on the surface” with water temps in the mid‑60s and lots of fish eating shallow.For **lures**, keep it simple and local:- Small **paddle‑tail swimbaits** on leadheads, in bait colors—sardine, anchovy, and smelt—for calico and sand bass along the stones and kelp.- **Plastic jerkbaits** and **A‑rigs** fished near the surface over boiler rocks and harbor walls for calico and the odd bonito or barracuda.- Compact **metal jigs** in chrome or blue/chrome yo‑yo’d on deeper structure if the bass slide down.For **bait**, the boats are doing damage on:- **Live anchovy or sardine** fly‑lined or on a light slider for bass, bonito, and the occasional yellowtail.- **Strip squid** or **small chunks of shrimp** on dropper loops for sculpin, whitefish, sheephead, and general bottom grabbers.A couple of hot spots to circle for today:1. **Palos Verdes Peninsula / San Pedro–PV coast** That stretch has been a calico and sand bass factory, with Monte Carlo and other 22nd Street/LA Waterfront boats reporting strong surface bass counts, plus sheephead and whitefish on the deeper stones. Work the edges of the kelp, boiler rocks, and hard bottom in 40–80
