If you're an avid diver looking for your next vacation destination, you'll love San Diego. The waters in this part of SoCal feature everything a spearo wants – reefs, kelp forests, ledges, and dropoffs. Just hook up with one of the many San Diego spearfishing charters, and you'll be set to experience an underwater adventure of a lifetime.
The diving grounds off the coast of San Diego offer something for everyone. If you're a novice, you can head to La Jolla or Sunset Cliffs and work on your skills in calm, inshore waters. There, you'll find species such as Halibut, Calico and Sand Bass, as well as California Sheephead. These will all make for tasty meals to bring home, and you can target them year-round.
However, if you're comfortable with diving in some more challenging environments, there are several kelp paddies found further from shore that are teeming with sea life. Besides the species we already mentioned, you'll also find Yellowtail and White Seabass in the kelps. These two fish are also found around islands such as Coronado or San Clemente, and they're extremely fun to catch.
Of course, there's also even bigger game to hunt! If you visit between spring and fall, you could get your chance to spearfish for mighty Bluefin Tuna. Or, you can try your luck against their cousins, Yellowfin and Albacore Tuna, and other pelagics such as Mahi Mahi. It just boils down to what you feel ready to tackle and how far offshore you'd like to fish.
You'll find charter captains offering spearfishing trips in different marinas throughout San Diego. Half day trips will usually give you enough time to explore the inshore waters. However, if you plan on heading offshore or even visiting one of the islands, you'll need to spend 8 hours or more on the water.
