Warm Bight water keeps offshore bite firing near the Channel Islands

What's next

With water still holding in the mid-70s and a full moon overhead, expect the offshore push described by Western Outdoor News — Saltwater to keep working through the Bight for now; warm water and a strong tidal exchange around the full moon typically extend an active bite rather than shut it down early. Boats working the Channel Islands and San Diego grounds should keep finding fish as long as temperatures hold in this range.

On the beach, anglers following Surf Fishing in So Cal's advice on reading troughs and structure will have better luck than those fishing blind, especially with surf conditions this El Niño-influenced season staying less predictable than a typical fall. Watch for any cooling trend over the next few days, since a drop out of the mid-70s is usually the first sign the offshore action starts sliding south or deeper.

Context

Late September sits at the tail end of the Bight's warm-water season, when strong offshore pushes like the one described this week are typical before the seasonal cool-down sets in through October. A read in the mid-70s this late in the month is on the warm side of normal, consistent with the disrupted, El Niño-driven pattern Surf Fishing in So Cal has been documenting all year. Surf fishing in particular has been running behind its usual rhythm this season, while the open-water bite has stayed active later than a typical year.