Artificial Lure here with your Los Angeles fishing report for Saturday, April 19, 2025. Spring has definitely found its groove in SoCal, and the bite is looking up just in time for the weekend. Light winds and favorable tides should have anglers eager to hit the water, whether you’re heading out from the piers or taking the boat offshore. Expect mostly clear skies, with temps rising into the mid to upper 70s by midday. Sunrise was at 6:17 AM with sunset coming at 7:32 PM, giving us a nice long window for all types of fishing action today[5][1].

Tidal action is solid this morning, with an early high tide rolling in just after sunup. We’ll see a slow drop through the late morning, which should keep the inshore waters active and the bait moving. That’s prime time for surf fishing and for hitting the local harbors.

Let’s talk fish. Inshore, the focus is on calico and sand bass, with some nice halibut reported both in the bays and along sandy stretches from Dockweiler down to Long Beach. Kelp bed edges and structure around Palos Verdes have been the ticket for quality bass, and the halibut bite is picking up closer to the beaches, especially on the outgoing tide[1][5].

On the bait front, anchovy and sardine have been the go-to, especially for drift rigs and drop-shotting. If you’re working artificials, swimbaits in sardine patterns and 4-inch plastics in motor oil or watermelon colors have been productive for both bass and halibut. For the surf crowd, Carolina rigs with sand crabs or cut squid are getting spotted bay bass and the odd corbina.

There’s been some chatter about early-season barracuda showing closer to shore, particularly around the Redondo Harbor wall and below the PV cliffs, so keep a chrome or white jerkbait handy. For the pier folks, mackerel are cruising in good numbers, and soaking a chunk of cut bait or tossing small metal jigs should keep you busy.

If freshwater is more your style, local lakes like Castaic and Pyramid have been recently stocked with trout and are also producing some solid largemouth action on soft plastics[4]. Lake Casitas and Lake Jennings are also holding trout and panfish close to the banks.

Hot spots for today: try the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier for a mix of bass, halibut, and mackerel, or make the run to King Harbor in Redondo for a little bit of everything. For a quieter scene, the back bays near Cabrillo or the mouth of Ballona Creek are sleeper picks, especially for flatfish.

That’s the bite for today in LA. Keep an eye on those tides, switch up your baits if things slow down, and enjoy a beautiful day on the water. Tight lines!