Palos Verdes Coast Fishing Charters

Leave the harbor and turn up the coast, and the bottom changes: the Palos Verdes peninsula runs kelp lines over rocky structure, just up the coast from San Pedro. The Palos Verdes kelp beds — and Point Vicente, out toward the peninsula's tip — are named among LA Harbor's famous fishing spots, and the half-day boats out of San Pedro work this coast alongside the harbor grounds.

What bites off Palos Verdes

Kelp and rock hold the home-water cast. Calico and sand bass sit tight to the kelp lines, halibut work the sand at the structure's edge, barracuda arrive with the warm water in late spring and push through all summer, and rockfish hold over the rocky bottom in season. In the cold months, white seabass build up along the kelp lines ahead of their spring peak.

When to fish it

Spring warms the kelp up: bass feeding ahead of the spawn, the halibut run along the coast, and rockfish season opening April 1. Summer is the coast at its best — bass spawned up on the kelp, barracuda on the surface. Fall cools into excellent rockfish fishing, and winter half-day trips still find sand bass, sculpin, and sheephead along the coast.

Trips that fish the Palos Verdes coast

• Half-Day Local Fishing: the local grounds run — harbor, Horseshoe Kelp, and the Palos Verdes coast.
• Three-Quarter Day — Coastal: more time on the coastal kelp and structure.
• Private charters: build the day around the coast with your own group and captain.

Meet the fish first in the Species Explorer — start with calico bass and white seabass.

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