Blacks Beach Surf Fishing: More Than You Need To Know

Thinking about surf fishing blacks beach? There’s a lot to learn before you go. Black’s Beach is one of the most beautiful and secluded beaches in all of San Diego. The crowds tend to be minimal except during holidays and very sunny or hot days. The reason for its minimal crowds as well as stunning beauty, can be linked to the fact that it isn’t the easiest beach to access… and one other thing.

Another “interesting aspect about Black’s Beach is well… it’s a nude beach, and the majority of these nudists tend to be old men with no shame. Nonetheless, Blacks beach makes the list of best beaches for surf fishing in San Diego simply because of its seclusion and pure beauty.

Overview of Surf Fishing at Blacks Beach

Parking Info	Free – relatively Easy at the Glider port
Ease of Access	Difficult
Tides	Any Tide is Good
Crowds	Less Crowded Than Most
Terrain Type	Mostly Sandy
No Fishing Areas	South at Box Canyon – Read Above
Recommended Gear and Tackle	Surf Fishing Gear and Tackle

While the fishing is good, the scenery is simply gorgeous. But, if you plan to trek down to blacks, please be careful. Every year, the terrain changes so hike at your own risk.

If you come down the gliderport trail, you’ll have about 200 yards to the south that you can legally fish (more on that later). If you walk further south, you’ll eventually run into the La Jolla tide pools and eventually La Jolla Shores. To the north, you’ve got at least a mile or so until you run into Flat Rock which is the most commonly understood land mark known to delineate Blacks beach from Torrey Pines State Beach (although the actual lines are different).

Parking at Blacks Beach and How to Access the Sand of Blacks Beach

There are a few ways to get down to Blacks Beach and where you decide to access the sand might affect where you park or vice versa. The main access point is via the Torrey Pines Glider Port. When you drive in to the dirt/gravel lot, you’ll take an immediate left turn and find parking where you can, the trailhead is immediately ahead at that point.

If you miss the initial turn, there is a north Blacks Beach trail. It’ll be at the very end of the dirt lot (some 600 yards down) and it’s a bit more sketchy so be careful. Otherwise, you can go down Ho Chi Minh Trail but I’ve never actually done that so don’t ask me about it.

There’s also a fire escape road (south of box canyon) that the lifeguards use along with some of the more affluent locals of La Jolla (or so I’ve heard) that is accessible to the public only by foot. The access to this trail can be reached by parking at the cross streets of Blackgold and La Jolla Farms. It’s a more gradual climb, but it takes a lot longer. In my opinion, the gliderport trail is the quickest and easiest of the routes to blacks.

On low tides, you can actually access Blacks Beach from La Jolla Shores and even from Torrey Pines State Beach, but time your trek right or else you’ll get stuck, or worse… you won’t make it.

What Fish Can You Catch While Surf Fishing Blacks Beach?

The most prominent fish at Blacks beach tends to be yellowfin croaker and barred surfperch depending on the season and year. Some other species you can expect to catch hear include the highly sought after California corbina and the spotfin croaker, as well as guitarfish, stingrays and much more if using sand crabs for bait. Lures can also yield you halibut here.

You can expect to catch any of the species listed in the table below, including corbina, spotfin croaker, yellowfin croaker, stingrays, guitarfish, and various other light tackle species. Continue reading the “Bait and Gear& Tackle” section below for some more info on this and other species.

As for surf fishing blacks beach with lures, your best bet will be a jerkbait like the ones mentioned below. There isn’t much hard structure like rock or reef at blacks beach so your likely target with lures is halibut.

Common Species	Peak Season	General Season
California Corbina	Jun-Aug	May-Oct
Spotfin Croaker	Jun-Aug	May-Oct
Yellowfin Croaker	May-Aug	May-Oct
Barred Surfperch	Nov-Apr	Year-Round
Walleye Surfperch	Nov-Apr	Year-Round
Shovelnose Guitarfish	Jun-Aug	May-Oct
Sting Ray (Round Ray)	Jun-Aug	Year-Round
Bat Ray	Jun-Aug	Year-Round
Leopard Shark	May-Aug	Apr-Oct
California Halibut	Jan-May	Year-Round
Soupfin Shark	Mar-Jul	Year-Round

Bait and Gear & Tackle

During the months of May through August, I can almost guarantee that sand crabs will be readily available for you to use for bait. If they’re available, I’m using sand crabs every time while surf fishing at blacks beach. If they aren’t store bought clams or mussel meat works well. See the drop-down below for my exact gear and tackle for light tackle surf fishing.

For lures, I’d recommend jerkbaits here. As mentioned above, there isn’t much hard structure like rocks or reef at blacks beach, so swimbaits won’t likely be necesarry. They’ll still work, but your target will simply be halibut in the open sand as you search for holes via reading the surf. I like the Shimano WM and the Lucky Craft FM 110. See the drop-down below for my exact setups for both styles of lure fishing.

YouTube Video On Surf Fishing Blacks Beach

Where To Legally Fish Blacks Beach

Like La Jolla, there are legal restrictions that need to be noted when fishing Blacks. As illustrated in the photo below, there’s an SMCA that effectively disallows surf fishing for the general public in that section of the beach. Be sure to take a look at the exact location in which the boundary ends if you plan on fishing Blacks.

Tides for Fishing Blacks Beach

Blacks Beach is yet another “any tide beach” for the most part. Every winter/spring, we lose some sand, and it gets tight against the bluffs at those higher than 6-foot high tides, but usually by summer, the sand is plentiful enough to take even a 7-foot high tide. Be careful for the bluffs though as the cliffs are known to collapse a few times a year.

Type of Structure at Blacks Beach

I’ve mentioned it a lot in this article, but for my skim readers out there, here’s a quick section on the structure at blacks beach. Blacks beach is a mostly sandy beach. While there’s some reef south and north of blacks, there isn’t much directly at blacks.

One notable feature however is the underwater offshore canyon that directs swell just south of box canyon. This is what causes blacks beach to have some of the biggest surf in San Diego during certain times of the year. However, don’t let that scare you if you’re an angler looking for small surf. The portion of beach that is legally fishable usually has smaller surf and since it’s a gradual shoreline break, the wash zone is most often fishable.

Blacks Beach… It’s a Nude Beach

For those of you looking to learn a little bit more about the type of beach blacks beach is. I’ve written an article on what it’s like to fish at the nude beach that is blacks beach. It’s an interesting experience. I don’t quite understand the type of person it takes to frequently inhabit a beach like this (that is in the nudist fashion), but so be it – It’s a beautiful beach and the fishing can be good.