Artificial Lure here with your Los Angeles waters update for Friday, August 15th, 2025.
Sunrise hit the horizon at 6:15 this morning and sunset will light your way until 7:38 tonight, so there’s a fat window for line-wetting. Weather’s typical SoCal stew: expect calm early, mid-70s by midday, and a light breeze picking up after lunch—just enough to keep it pleasant but not enough to blow your hat off.
Tidal-wise, you’re looking at a nice pair of moderate-to-strong swings, which is prime for stirring up the bite. High tides peak at 2:24 AM (3.3 feet) and again near 2:30 PM (5.5 feet), with lows around 7:30 AM (2 feet) and a skinny 0.9 footer at 10:14 PM according to Tide-Forecast.com. That afternoon flood brings current and action, so plan to fish structure from late morning until just after that high sets in.
Catch reports from yesterday are strong—these fish aren’t on vacation. Marina Del Rey boats saw 165 sand bass, 80 calicos, a handful of halibut, and even a sheephead or two, plus whitefish and the occasional barracuda. Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach is still hot for sculpin, whitefish, calico, sand bass, and barracuda. 22nd Street boats out of San Pedro brought in solid numbers of calico bass, whitefish, sheephead, and a showing of yellowtail, blue perch, and halibut. Dana Wharf to the south remains a sheephead factory, plus tons of calico, sand bass, and a few yellowtail and bonito, with catch-and-release numbers off the charts. These stats come straight from the Sportfishing Report dock totals.
Catalina is still delivering, especially for calico and yellowtail if you make the jaunt. The inner bays and harbor mouths are running steady for sand bass and calico—if you can find the bait balls, you’ll find the fish.
As for lure and bait advice: bright swimbaits, especially in sardine or anchovy patterns, are killing it for bass on plastics. Dropper loop with squid or cut sardine is king for whitefish, sculpin, and sheephead. For yellowtail in the deeper lanes or on the islands, iron jigs in scrambled egg or blue/white patterns are getting bit. If you’re Southern-bound or fishing from the surf, Carolina-rig sand crabs early or late for perch and croaker, and heavier Krocodile spoons for halibut on the move.
Hot spots this morning:
- The breakwall at Angel’s Gate near San Pedro—bass, barracuda, and the odd yellowtail.
- Horseshoe Kelp, just offshore from Long Beach, especially on the incoming tide midday.
- Marina Del Rey harbor mouth is paid dividends for sand bass and halibut, especially just before that afternoon high.
Remember, with strong afternoon currents, focus around rocky structure, kelp lines, and transition zones. Fish get active when the water moves—don't be afraid to work those edges.
Thanks for tuning in to your LA fishing fix. Don’t forget to subscribe and keep those lines tight—this has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out quietplease dot ai.
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