Horseshoe Kelp Fishing Charters

The Horseshoe Kelp is LA Harbor's home ground — named among the harbor's famous fishing spots alongside the Palos Verdes kelp beds and Point Vicente, and a short run from the dock in San Pedro. When the half-day boats leave the harbor, this is the water they work: a working kelp bed close enough for a morning trip, rich enough to build a fishery on.

What bites on the Horseshoe

The kelp does the work — it holds bait, and the bait holds bass. Calico and sand bass are the bread and butter: kelp-bed fish that feed ahead of the spawn in spring and spawn on the coast through the summer. Halibut lie on the sandy flats at the kelp's edge. In the warm months barracuda schools push through on the surface, and over the rocky bottom rockfish fill out the bag in season. When the water warms, yellowtail and white seabass can move through the local grounds too.

When to fish it

The Horseshoe fishes all year, but the menu changes. Spring brings the halibut run and bass warming up, and rockfish season typically opens April 1 — it is closed in January and February, so check current rules before you go. Summer is the peak: bass on the spawn, barracuda on top. Fall keeps rockfish and calico willing, and winter half-day trips still produce sand bass, sculpin, and sheephead.

Trips that fish the Horseshoe Kelp

• Half-Day Local Fishing: the short run to the local grounds — a great first charter, or a quick after-work session in summer.
• Full-Day — Local Fishing: a full day on the harbor and coastal grounds.
• Private charters: your group, your captain, your day on the water.

Meet the fish first in the Species Explorer — start with calico bass and California halibut.

Ready to get on the water? Plan your trip — we match you with the best boat and captain for it.