California deep sea fishing: long range tuna to the salmon coast

What you fish in California, and when

California’s fishing changes as you run up the coast, but rockfish and lingcod are the constant. Groundfish is the year round backbone everywhere, on a California Fish and Wildlife season that closes in the winter, roughly January through March, and carries depth and area limits that vary up the coast, at a 10 rockfish and 2 lingcod limit with a descending device required. What sits on top of the bottom fishing is what changes by latitude.

In the south, out of San Diego, Los Angeles, and Newport Beach, it is an offshore tuna story. Bluefin tuna now show from late spring into fall, yellowfin and dorado (mahi mahi) push up on the kelp paddies and the banks in summer, and yellowtail run the islands from spring, all over a base of calico bass, sand bass, barracuda, and bonito close to shore. San Diego is the home of the long range fleet, the 8 to 23 day expeditions that run to Guadalupe Island and the distant banks for cow tuna and wahoo, a fishery no other US port has.

Up the coast the story turns to salmon. King salmon is back in 2026 after a three year closure, on limited, quota-managed ocean seasons off the Central Coast and the Bay Area that can close in season, so it shares the calendar with the rockfish at Morro Bay and, around San Francisco, the Dungeness crab combo trips of late fall and winter. Confirm the current seasons and limits with California Fish and Wildlife before you book around any one fish.

The California ports compared

Five ports carry the state, and they split by latitude and by what they fish. San Diego is the West Coast anchor and the home of long range tuna, from half day party boats off Point Loma to multi day expeditions to the Mexican banks. Los Angeles runs open party landings from San Pedro to Long Beach and private six packs out of Marina del Rey, with the summer bluefin run offshore. Newport Beach is a historic Orange County party boat and six pack port, the cheapest seats in the south at around $50 for a half day. Morro Bay on the Central Coast is a rockfish and lingcod port under the Rock, with king salmon back for 2026. San Francisco fishes the Farallon Islands and the bay from Fisherman’s Wharf, Emeryville, and Sausalito for rockfish, king salmon, and Dungeness crab. Each port carries its own ranked fleet, scored on the same national standard.

Getting around the California coast

California’s coast is long, more than 500 miles from San Diego to San Francisco, so the ports group into three regions and the trip usually follows the airport. The Southern California ports cluster around San Diego and Los Angeles: San Diego’s landings sit on Point Loma and Mission Bay, minutes from the airport, Los Angeles spreads across San Pedro, Long Beach, Marina del Rey, and Redondo, and Newport Beach is on the Orange County coast between them. Morro Bay sits alone on the Central Coast, on Highway 1 about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco and 15 miles west of San Luis Obispo. San Francisco’s fleet leaves from four corners of the bay: Fisherman’s Wharf in the city, Emeryville and Berkeley across the Bay Bridge, and Sausalito over the Golden Gate.

California sits in our Pacific Coast region. North of the state line the vernacular shifts to salmon and bottom fishing in Oregon and Washington, where the charters run for salmon, rockfish, and albacore. The cost guide lays out the per seat and per boat math before you book.