Late Summer Slam: LA Anglers Score Big on Rockfish, Bass, and More

Artificial Lure here with your Saturday, August 16th fishing report for Los Angeles. Right now, local anglers are seeing textbook late-summer conditions: the weather’s mild, skies are mostly clear, and the bite has been steady. Water temps are warm and the clarity is good, so fish are active up and down the coast. Sunrise this morning is at 6:16AM and sunset’s at 7:37PM—plenty of daylight for long sessions on the water.

Tides today shape up like this: high tide rolls through at 4:46AM around LA Outer Harbor with a modest 2.9 feet, dipping to low at 8:15AM at 2.56 feet. The big push hits mid-afternoon—high tide peaks at 3:37PM with a hefty 5.59 feet, which typically sparks good action near jetties and kelp beds. Look for slack water windows midday and after sunset to target stubborn bottom species.

Recent catch data coming out of all the major landings continues to show hot bites on rockfish, whitefish, and bass. 22nd Street Landing boats are putting up big numbers—178 sculpin, 164 whitefish, 44 blue perch, 42 sand bass, 42 calico bass, 27 barracuda, and 19 bonito. Yellowtail are still in the mix, with 18 boated yesterday. Sheephead counts are solid, and cabezon are showing up if you’re working rocky bottoms. The Long Beach fleet hammered it yesterday as well, with 170 whitefish, 139 rockfish, and over 100 calico bass brought in. Redondo Beach charters found 80 whitefish, 24 calico bass, 17 rockfish, and a handful of sheephead[Dock Totals].

Sand bass and calicos are thick in the shallows, biting best at first light and late afternoon. The deeper reefs continue to produce lingcod and vermillion rockfish. Halibut are around, but remain a grind—typical for late summer, so cover lots of ground if you’re after flatties, and work those sandy drop-offs with flashy spoons or big swimbaits.

Anchovies and squid have been the winning baits for bottom critters. If you’re fishing shallower zones or off piers, fresh ghost shrimp or market shrimp will tempt bigger perch and sheephead. For surface species like bonito, yellowtail, and barracuda, toss out chrome irons, blue and green mackerel-patterned hardbaits, or the classic Krocodile spoon. Bass guys, grab some plastic jerkbaits and tube jigs in motor oil or watermelon red; that’s been money for both calico and sand bass working structure. Monte Carlo’s report confirms anchovies made the difference yesterday in boating limits of reds, chuckleheads, salmon groupers, and a mixed rockfish bag.

Two hot spots you don’t want to miss today:

- **San Pedro Breakwater:** Rockfish, sculpin, and bass are stacked up on the deeper rocks, and yellowtail have been pushing through on the tide swings.
- **Santa Monica Bay around Marina del Rey:** Early-morning sand bass bite is on fire, with calico and a few surprise barracuda cruising the kelp and eelgrass lines.

If you’re boatless, hit the Venice Pier at high tide for perch, croaker, and the occasional halibut. Evening sessions around Cabrillo Beach jetty could yield a mixed bag as the sun drops and the tide falls.

Weather’s looking great for anglers today: light winds in the AM, picking up gently from the southwest late afternoon, with a mellow SW swell and clear skies. No chop issues unless winds kick up late—so it’s a go for boats, kayaks, and surf casters alike.

Stay safe out there, good luck, and tight lines! Thanks for tuning in to your daily Los Angeles fishing intel. Subscribe for fresh updates every morning. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Artificial war. Here with your Saturday, August sixteenth fishing report
for Los Angeles. Right now, local anglers are seeing textbook
late summer conditions. The weather's mild, skies are mostly clear
and the bite has been study. Water tamps are warm
and the clarity is good, so fish are active up
and down the coast. Sunrise this morning is at six

(00:20):
sixteen am and sunsets at seven thirty seven pm, plenty
of daylight for long sessions on the water. Tides today
shape up like this. High tide rolls through at four
forty six am around La Outer Harbor with a modest
two point nine feet, dipping to low at eight fifteen
am at two point five six feet. The big push

(00:41):
had a big push hits mid afternoon. High tide peaks
at three thirty seven PM with a hefty five point
five to nine feet, which typically sparks good action near
jetties and kelp beds. Look for slackwater windows midday and
after sunset to target stubborn bottom species. Recent catch data
coming out of all the main landings continues to show

(01:01):
hot bites on rockfish, whitefish, and bass. Twenty second street
landing boats are putting up big numbers one hundred and
seventy eight sculpin, one hundred and sixty four whitefish, forty
four blue perch, forty two, sand bass, forty two calico bass,
twenty seven barracuda and nineteen benito yellowtail are still in

(01:22):
the mix, with eighteen boted yesterday. Cheaphead counts, a solid
and cabazon are showing up if you're working rocky bottoms.
The Long Beach Fleet hammered it yesterday as well, with
one hundred and seventy whitefish, one hundred and thirty nine rockfish,
and over one hundred calico bass brought in. Redondo Beach
Charters found eighty whitefish, twenty four calico bass, seventeen rockfish,

(01:44):
and a handful of sheephead. Doc totals, Sand bass and
calicoes are thick in the shallows, fighting best at first
light and late afternoon. The deeper reefs continue to produce
lin cod and vermlin rockfish. Halibit are around, but remain
agrind typical for late summer, so cover lots of ground
if you're after flatties and workdose sandy drop offs with

(02:06):
flashy spoons or big swim baits ancovies and squid. Ancovies
and squid have been the winning baits for bottom critters.
If you're fishing shallower zones or off piers, fresh goat
shrimp or market shrimp will tempt bigger perch and sheep head.
See doctor Bridge for surface species like benito, yellowtail and barracuda.

(02:27):
Toss out chrome irons, blue and green mackerel patterned hard
baits or the classic crocodile spoon. Bass guys grab some
plastic jerk baits and tube jigs in motor oil or
watermelon red. That's been money for both calico and sand bass.
Working structure. Monte Carlo's report confirms anchovies made the difference

(02:47):
yesterday in boating limits of reds, chuckleheads, salmon groupers, and
a mixed rockfish bag. Two hot spots you don't want
to miss today, San Pedro breakwater, rockfish, sculpin and bass
are stacked up on the deeper rocks and yellowtail have
been pushing through on the tide swings Santa Monica Bay
around Marina del Rey. Early morning, sandbas bite is on

(03:11):
fire with calico and a few surprise barracooter cruising the
kelp and eel grass lines. If you're boatless, hit the
Venice Pier at high tide for perch croaker and the
occasional halibate evening sessions around Kagrill Beach Jetty could yield
a mixed bag as the sun drops in the tide falls.
Weather's looking great for anglers today, light winds in the am,

(03:31):
picking up gently from the southwest late afternoon with a
mellow southwest swell and clear skies. No chop issues unless
winds kick up late, so it's a gopher boats, kayaks,
and surfcasters alike. Stay safe out there, good luck and
tight lines. Thanks for tuning in to your daily Los
Angeles Fishing Intel. Subscribe for fresh updates every morning. This

(03:53):
has been a quiet please production. For more check out
quiet please dot ai