California fishing reports
588 reports for California — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Warm Bight water keeps offshore bite firing near the Channel Islands
Water in the Southern California Bight is running warm this week, with NOAA's San Diego station reading 76.3°F and the La Jolla gauge close behind at 73.6°F. That warmth lines up with what Western Outdoor News — Saltwater is describing offshore: a strong push of big gamefish moving through the Bight and around the Northern Channel Islands, with San Diego-based boats reporting some of the best trophy-class action in recent memory. Surf anglers are getting a different story. Surf Fishing in So Cal has been chronicling an unusually rough 2026 season tied to El Niño conditions, a reminder that warm water offshore doesn't always translate to easy beach fishing.
Shoreline stripers show near Santa Cruz as Central Coast tide builds
Water off Monterey Bay held at 61.2°F this morning, while the Port San Luis station further south on the Central Coast read warmer at 64.4°F. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports shoreline striped bass showing up around Santa Cruz this week, with strong nearshore action across Monterey Bay. The same outlet notes similar striper activity further south in the SoCal Bight, suggesting fish are working a broad stretch of the California coastline right now.
Surf stripers hold as Northern California water cools
Northern California's two NOAA CO-OPS stations show a real split this week: 58.6°F at one gauge versus 53.2°F at the other, roughly a five-degree gap that reflects how much colder the open coast runs than sheltered bay water this time of year. That split lines up with what Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reported out of the Santa Cruz area, where striped bass are holding tight to the beach and anglers are working the surf line behind diving birds and bait pushed shoreward. It's a shoreline pattern rather than a boat bite right now, with the birds doing most of the locating work for anglers walking the beach.
Shoreline stripers surface near Santa Cruz as fall tides build
Central Coast water eased into the low-to-mid 60s this weekend, with Monterey Harbor reading 62.8°F and Port San Luis at 64.8°F as of Saturday night. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports a striped bass taken along the surf near Santa Cruz this week, with local angler Malakai Armenta working the beach by following diving birds and bait schools pinned tight to shore.
Striped bass push through the SoCal Bight toward the Channel Islands
NOAA CO-OPS station 9410170 is reading 76°F this morning, while station 9410230 nearby runs noticeably cooler at 69°F, a real thermocline split across the Bight this week. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports striped bass activity swarming throughout the SoCal Bight, with fish showing as far out as the Northern Channel Islands. That's the headline for anglers working the surf line and nearshore structure right now: stripers are moving, and the warmer pocket is likely concentrating bait and predators tighter than usual this week. Anglers working the beach should lean on the trough-and-rip structure identification tactics Surf Fishing in So Cal has been detailing this season, especially with the surf running rougher than usual most of this year.
Sacramento-Delta shifts into fall mode under a full moon
Late September marks the seasonal turn in the Sacramento-Delta, as freshwater fish respond to cooling water and shortening days heading into fall. The full moon overhead this week tends to concentrate feeding activity around the dawn and dusk hours, and anglers who time trips around those low-light windows typically see the most consistent action in Delta backwaters and channels this time of year.
Striped bass push holds along the Northern California coast
Water temperatures at our two Northern California reference stations read 54.9°F and 55.8°F this week, a typical mid-50s mark for late September as the coast eases from summer into fall. Along the coast to the south, Western Outdoor News — Saltwater's Allen Bushnell reports a strong shoreline striped bass bite out of the Santa Cruz-Monterey Bay stretch, with fish showing tight to the beach as they track bait.
Shoreline stripers keep working the surf near Santa Cruz
Striped bass are still showing along the surf near Santa Cruz, per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, with anglers working the beaches behind moving birds and bait pods rather than blind-casting open water. Water temperatures across the Central Coast are holding in the low-to-mid 60s, 61.9°F at one station and 64.8°F at the other, both normal for late September. Tonight's full moon is stacking up bigger-than-average tidal swings, with a high tide near 10:48am and a low around 4:34pm working through the region today. The window right around those tide changes is where the shoreline bite has reportedly been strongest.
Shoreline stripers keep biting as full moon swings Bay Area tides
San Francisco Bay-area water is running close to 58°F this week, while the reading near Bodega comes in cooler at 54.1°F, a spread consistent with active upwelling pushing along the outer coast. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports shoreline striped bass activity down the coast around Santa Cruz, with anglers working the beach behind diving birds and moving bait, a pattern that typically tracks north with the bait migration this time of year. It's the clearest species signal available this week, and it points to stripers holding tight to structure and bait pods rather than roaming open water.
Stripers Swarm the SoCal Bight in Late-Season Push
NOAA CO-OPS station 9410170 off Los Angeles reads 76.6°F this week, with the Santa Monica station (9410230) running slightly cooler at 73.6°F, both still solidly in the late-summer range for the LA Bight and Channel Islands. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports striped bass swarming throughout the SoCal Bight, a strong showing for the species this late in September. The full moon has tides swinging harder than usual: at the Los Angeles station, the next high lands near 9:29am with the following low around 3:42pm.
Eastern Sierra trout settle into fall transition under a full moon
Eastern Sierra waters are moving into their fall transition this week, with high-elevation lakes and streams cooling as days shorten and summer patterns give way to autumn ones. This week's full moon adds a strong low-light bite window, and cooler mornings typically push feeding activity earlier and later in the day for Brown Trout and Brook Trout holding in these waters.
Shoreline stripers turn on along the Santa Cruz coast
Water along the Central Coast is holding in the low 60s — 62.8°F at Monterey (NOAA CO-OPS station 9413450) and 63.9°F at Port San Luis (NOAA CO-OPS station 9412110). Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports shoreline striper action working the surf and nearshore water around Santa Cruz this week, with bait pushing through Monterey Bay. Tonight's full moon is stacking bigger tidal swings on top of that pattern, which is worth building a trip around rather than fishing on a fixed schedule.