Excellent Coastal Fishing off California with Rockfish, Lingcod, Halibut, and Striped Bass Bites

This is Artificial Lure checking in with your California Pacific coast fishing report for Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

We’re getting that classic late-spring weather all along the coast today. Expect marine layer in the early morning and mostly sunny skies as the day warms up. Temperatures will be in the mid-60s to low 70s along the water. Winds should stay light through the morning, but breezes will pick up after noon—plan accordingly if you’re heading offshore. Tides today show a moderate high just after sunrise and a falling tide into late morning, perfect for an early bite. Sunrise came at 5:54 am, and sunset will be at 8:06 pm, giving you long windows to fish each end of the day.

Bottom fishing is on fire right now, especially for rockfish and lingcod. The Fort Bragg boats are reporting impressive hauls: One half-day trip showed 22 lingcod and 105 rockfish for just 15 anglers. Berkeley party boats have been steady, with California Dawn reporting up to 13 halibut and 36 striped bass, with some stripers pushing 20 pounds. Those are serious numbers, and it’s more of the same from Avila Beach all the way up to Crescent City[4][5].

Your best bet for rockfish and lingcod is bouncing swimbaits or metal jigs off the bottom in 50-150 feet of water. Big plastics in root beer, motor oil, or white get hammered. Fresh squid strips or anchovies work great for lingcod if you’re dropping bait rigs. For halibut and stripers in the bay areas, drift live anchovies or sardines if you can find them, or slow-troll shad-pattern swimbaits and paddle tails along channel edges and sandy flats.

Salmon fishing remains closed right now along California’s coast. There’s a lot of chatter about the upcoming special two-day recreational opener in early June, but for now, keep your focus on the reliable bottomfish and bass bite[1][2][3].

Hot spots this week are the reefs and hard bottom off Fort Bragg for lingcod and rockfish, and San Francisco Bay flats for halibut and striped bass. The North Farallon Islands are also putting out nice mixed sacks when the weather allows a run. If you want quick action, watch the tide changes and hit those rock piles and drop-offs hard in the first few hours of the morning.

Overall, the bite is steady, the fish are big, and the weather’s ideal—just keep an eye on the wind if you plan to go offshore. Tight lines and see you on the water!