Offshore Fishing Heats Up on California's Pacific Coast

Artificial Lure reporting here with your Sunday, May 11, 2025, fishing report for California's Pacific Coast. We’ve got a classic coastal morning with mild temps and patchy fog expected to burn off by late morning. Sunrise came at 5:54 AM, and you’ll get lines wet until sunset at 8:01 PM. Winds are forecast to pick up west at 8-12 knots, backing off toward evening, making the outgoing tide from midmorning through early afternoon prime for action.

Offshore action in Northern California has been hot, especially around the Bay Area. Party boats out of Berkeley and Emeryville had solid hauls just yesterday: the Right Hook pulled in 12 halibut and 12 striped bass for 6 anglers on a half-day trip, and the New Huck Finn reported 8 halibut—some up to 19 pounds—and 22 striped bass for 11 anglers. If you’re after rockfish and lingcod, the Sea Wolf out of Emeryville boated 23 lingcod and a whopping 180 rockfish for 18 anglers, so bottom fishing is on fire right now[1][4].

Down the Central Coast, Morro Bay and Monterey boats are reporting full sacks of rockfish and lingcod. The Endeavor out of Morro Bay loaded up with 70 bocaccio, a handful of copper rockfish, 7 lingcod, and 28 red rockfish for their 14 anglers, while the Flying Fish out of Avila Beach brought in 123 rockcod on a half-day run. Monterey’s Check Mate logged 6 lingcod and 80 rockfish for just 8 anglers, so there’s no shortage of action if you’re working jigs deep[4].

Southern California anglers, offshore the bite is building for spring. Reports out of Dana Point say the bass and barracuda bite is excellent, and folks are seeing bonito and small yellowtail around kelp paddies. The bluefin tuna bite is starting to heat up, especially west of San Diego, with boats on the hunt for foamers and working poppers and flat-falls during early evening hours[2][3].

Best bait and lures this week: For halibut and bass in NorCal, live anchovies or sardines are your ticket, but swimbaits in chartreuse or white, and hair jigs, are getting hammered too. For bottom fishing, standard dropper loops with squid strips or fresh anchovy are reliable. Lingcod can’t pass up a big white grub or metal jig bounced near rocky spots. In SoCal, surface irons and plastics in blue and green for barracuda and bass, and deep-diving jigs for yellowtail around kelp.

Top hot spots: San Francisco Bay—especially around Alcatraz and the Berkeley flats—for halibut and bass. Try Emeryville or Berkeley Marina for party boats. Central Coast rockfish are biting hard around Morro Bay and Monterey reefs. In Southern Cal, try out of Dana Point or hit the kelp lines near La Jolla for calico bass and the chance at spring yellowtail.

That’s the word for today. Tight lines out there!