Fresh Southern California Fishing Reports

Left the harbor at 7:30 AM. stop to get bait then offshore 5 miles and trolled for Mako Shark. Caught 2 and kept one gor dinner. Then off to fish for Bass by 9:30 AM Caught and released 67 Bass plus kept 9 for dinner. Great Day

Left the harbor at 7:30 AM. stop to get bait then offshore 5 miles and trolled for Mako Shark. Caught 2 and kept one gor dinner. Then off to fish for Bass by 9:30 AM Caught and released 67 Bass plus kept 9 for dinner. Great Day

Left the harbor at 7:30 AM. stop to get bait then offshore 5 miles and trolled for Mako Shark. Caught 2 and kept one gor dinner. Then off to fish for Bass by 9:30 AM Caught and released 67 Bass plus kept 9 for dinner. Great Day

Bluefin tuna fishing is at an all time high, with every trip recently getting good grade fish from 80-220lbs

Had about a 45 minute wide open Calico and Barracuda bite today- wide open. We got live bait today. Since the tsunami last week that busted the bait barge they have not had live bait 2 different days so we use the same other stuff we always use anyways-when that happens- commercial grade chum buckets, frozen squid, makeral we catch, lures and jigs -they all work great. If you are reading reports to go out in the next few days the bait barge may not have live bait. We do not know what you are going to catch because fish schools migrate, water temps and currents change and fishing turns on and off like a light switch. I can tell you that we are in peak season and fishing has been great for the most part. We have some bad days where fish will not cooperate and no matter what you do to try and catch fish they just will not bite. If you can't go into a fishing charter with the attitude that you have lived long enough to know that a bad day fishing can't get in the way of a great day then RockenReel is not for you. We can not guarantee fish. We can guarantee safe vessels with knowledgeable Captains that will not ever try to take advantage of you on purpose. If the fish are biting we got you covered! If they are not, we do the very best we can with what we have to work with. Today all charters were stoked weather they caught fish or not and we thank everyone for being good sports and wish you the best fishing luck ever.

This morning I launched from Riviera Marina at 5:45 AM with one mission—scouting new water by trolling to cover ground efficiently. Conditions were typical for this time of year: water temps between 81–83°F, air temps ranging from 90–101°F, and sunrise at 5:50 AM. Winds started out light at 6–8 mph but steadily built to 15 mph with gusts out of the south by late morning. I headed south to Pilot Rock and began trolling in 40–50 feet of water using a custom-painted lipless crankbait (shoutout to @spellmancustoms on Instagram) and an Alabama rig. Just two minutes in, I hooked into a solid striper weighing just over 2 pounds—a nice change from the recent run of dinks. Continuing south toward Steamboat Cove, I marked bait balls across from Black Meadow Landing and some scattered schools of smaller striper, but the bite slowed and only produced more small fish. I swapped the A-rig for a smaller deep-diving Rapala and managed one more hook-up while trolling. South of Steamboat, I found heavy bait activity and busting schoolies. I tied on a jig and had fun picking off a handful before wrapping up the morning. Overall, it was a productive trip with several new spots logged for future trips. I won’t be on the water tomorrow unless a charter books, but I’ll be heading back out Thursday to continue exploring regardless.