I believe the reason for the strict fishing rod restrictions basically has to do with pressure on the fisheries. There are 40 million people in California and a lot of them like to fish. Quite frankly, if CDFW had managed the fisheries better and put some reasonable restrictions in place a lot sooner, we likely wouldn’t have all these severe fishing regulations and closures.

Out on the water from Dana Wharf, Dana Point on the Clemente for a half day charter looking for sheepshead, sculpin, and bass. Boat limited out on just about everything using mostly shrimp as bait and fishing right on the bottom. Wishing everyone a Happy Holidays.

Last time I tried fishing right after a plant, I couldn’t get them to bite until I tried using a split-shot placed about an inch away from my small gold treble hook tied at the end of my line. I put salmon eggs on the treble. Plant trout are usually fed pellets and seemed to be attracted to the split-shot. Next day, cast masters were working.

Try renting a small skiff in Newport Harbor at Davey’s Locker and fish the docks and other structures around Newport Beach. My son and his friends have caught dozens and dozens of spotties like the one in your picture. Or, you can try the surf (from San Clemente to Huntington Beach) for mud marlins (large stingrays) using whole squid and heavy gear in the evening.

Might try a fly just as the sun is starting either rise or set and see if that works.

Agreed. The Pacifica is real nice boat for those 1.5 - 3 day trips. It’s always nice to land some tuna. I‘ve been on some long boat rides in my life where only a handful of tuna are caught for 25 - 30 anglers, so landing a dozen tuna is just awesome.

Not sure what info you are looking for, but check out the fish counts online for H&M Landing, Pt. Loma, and Seaforth. Local fishing is mainly calico bass. If you want dorados or tuna, you’ll most likely need to go on a longer trip.

Sand crabs, light line, and get your line out as far as you can. Hopefully, not too much lettuce in the surf.

If you go to H&M Landing’s fish count, you will see that the boats have been catching a lot (I mean a lot) of dorado. In addition, some bluefin, yellowfin, and yellowtail and assorted rockfish. The dorado count tells me that you are likely to go paddy hopping. Dorado and yellowtail will required 15lb - 30lb test line or top shot. I would use 50lb braid with a fluorocarbon top shot. You can change/swap out the top shots. If you can, I would also listen to the other folks a bring a heavier setup in case to get into the bluefin and yellowfin. My son, who is a deckhand and 2nd captain in SoCal said his boat was getting 20lb - 100lb tuna on their two day trips. But mostly in the smaller 20-40 range. He said change your bait about every 60 seconds unless it swims really strong. The dodos were hitting the bait that hit the water right in front of their nose. It not, the fish ignored it.

Nice catch. Lingcod are my favorite fish all time. I’ve seen blue ones, green ones, bluish-green ones, and most often brown. But they are always awesome!

Puddingstone Reservoir is a good place for that kind of fishing.

For Orange County, it’s really easy to go online and see the fish counts every day for Dana Wharf, Newport Landing, and Davey’s Locker. As others have also stated, Western Outdoor News is a good source but can be dated if checked only once a week. In addition, certain boats, like the Fury, have their own websites or webpages.

All of my friends who have had success at Prado for catfish use mackerel sometimes dipped in catfish attractants.

I have always had luck fly lining a one inch chunk of hotdog or mackerel and letting it sink to the bottom. Then just wait.