This is Artificial Lure with your Pacific Ocean, California fishing report for Thursday, October 30, 2025, coming to you from the water’s edge with what you need to know for the day.

Sunrise hit at 7:30am and you’re looking at a sunset around 6:08pm. Tides today are running a bit slack: low tide at 5:04am, high at 10:43am, then dropping again for another low at 4:47pm, with the midnight high coming up at 11:18pm, all courtesy of tide-forecast.com. That means you’ll want to hit the water as the morning high tide starts pushing in—the inshore bite usually perks up when the water’s moving.

The weather is textbook SoCal fall—mild, crisp mornings with some patchy fog along the coast, clearing to sunny skies and light winds by midday. Water temps are holding in the low 60s off the Central Coast, a shade warmer into San Diego waters. Wind predictions for the offshore grounds are light, less than 10 knots, and we’re looking at a small mixed swell with nothing that should keep you off the water.

Now, let’s dig into what’s biting. It’s prime time for **rockfish** and **lingcod** all up and down the coast. Monterey boats are deck loading with counts like 1 lingcod and 70 rockfish on the Caroline according to NorCal Fish Reports. Out of Sausalito, the New Rayann reported a full boat limit—28 lingcod, some scaling up to 17 pounds, and 140 rockfish on a recent trip. That pattern holds across Southern California, with big bags coming from San Pedro’s 22nd Street Landing and San Diego’s Fisherman’s Landing— we’re seeing trip counts of over 144 rockfish and regular limits of **bluefin tuna** on overnight boats as per sportfishingreport.com.

Bluefin remains the star offshore, and boats like the Pacific Queen and Tomahawk have been scoring steady on these bruisers, with tally sheets pushing over 100 bluefin per trip earlier this week. Yellowtail, calico bass, and whitefish are reliably showing up in mixed loads—Freedom out of San Pedro just brought back 64 bluefin, 40 whitefish, plus calico and bonito. That’s fall transition fishing at its best.

For lures, inshore champions remain **soft plastics** on lead-heads for kelp bass and rockfish, especially green pumpkin or watermelon tones if the water’s clear. Deep water rockfish chew on squid strips and sardine dropper loops, but don’t overlook artificial options like the classic Yakima Rooster Tail spinner for a wide appeal, especially when the bite gets finicky. Offshore, Bomber Saltwater Grade Long Shot minnows in regionally-tuned colors are pulling bites on the troll for tuna and bonito.

On the bass front, especially if you’re poking around the California Delta or running up inside the bays, ChatterBaits, spinnerbaits, and punch rigs are getting done in the grass and around tules, with watermelon/red Zoom Trick Worms and green pumpkin Brush Hogs working on local largemouth. Early mornings offer a brief topwater window, so keep a frog ready for boils and busts.

Hot spots today include:
- **Monterey Bay**: Great numbers on rockfish and lingcod—try the kelp edges and deeper reefs for your limit.
- **Catalina Island**: Yellowtail, calico bass, and whitefish are biting well with light pressure during midweek.
- **Outer banks off San Diego**: Still lights-out for bluefin if you’re heading out overnight; knife jigs and trolled minnows are the ticket.

Bait recommendations? Squid strips and sardines will always put fish in the bag for the bottom dwellers. For game species, live mackerel or fresh dead will draw strikes from tuna and bigger yellowtail.

If you’re chasing halibut or sandbass inside, drift live smelt or try slow-rolling a swimbait like the MachShad. Best action? Fish moving tide windows, especially as morning high turns and the evening push starts ramping up.

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