So Cal Water Temps Drop 10 Degrees: What to Know
What’s up with the water temperature at our Southern California Beaches? Over the last week, water temps have dropped from a consistent 70-71 degrees Fahrenheit down to 60-63 degrees in many places. Let’s talk about why water temps drop in So Cal and what it might mean for the bite.
Drop in Local Water Temps Caused by Upwelling
If you were following this blog last year at this time, you might already know why the water temp dropped so quickly. Even though the air temp has remained relatively hot, the wind has caused some offshore and nearshore upwelling. Upwelling, by definition, is the process of deeper water rising to the surface. The deeper water tends to be cooler while the surface water (although having been warmer), is pushed offshore. This results in a cooler shoreline surface temperature.
In reading a quick little article by the NOAA on the topic of upwelling, I came across an interesting idea. Is upwelling good or bad for fishing? The article mentions a factor that hadn’t crossed my mind until last year. In 2020, Southern California experienced numerous water temperature drops and rises, and well… the fishing was fantastic!
So Cal Water Temps Drop: Good for Fishing?
Something to consider is the fact that upwelling can occur both on the shoreline and in the open sea. I would be more inclined to believe that upwelling and the water temp fluctuation has a more positive impact on the fishing in the open waters in comparison to the coastline; at least in terms of surf fishing.
I say this because it’s a widely accepted theory that surf species prefer the warmer waters, hence, “the summertime bite”. There’s a reason why surf fishing is better in the summertime. And, the most likely “root” for that reason is the warmer water temps. You might think, “well, what about spawning season being the root?”. Good question, but spawning is actually driven by water temps, therefore, water temps are the likely root cause.
I Think It’s Better than Worse
Keep in mind that while I fish a lot, and I do a lot of digging and reading, this is only “my opinion”.
I would be inclined to believe that upwelling, as suggested by the NOAA, is good for fishing in general. When it comes to surf fishing, I think a few different factors play a role. The act of bringing in nutrient-rich water to the shallow-feeding surf species like corbina and croaker should be a good thing. The water temp, on the other hand, is another story.
My main concern is that the water temp might stay too cool for too long. If that occurs, the bite could die. But, as we experienced in 2020, the water should rebound in the next 10-14 days. Given that the bite has been relatively slow this summer, maybe an upwelling event like this means good things for the bite. Maybe it’s exactly what we need.
As always, if it’s time for you to restock on terminal tackle or purchase a rod and reel, I encourage you to do so through the links below as I earn a commission from Amazon. Thanks for your support and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.
My Light Tackle Set-Up:
- Reel: Penn Battle 4000 (II or III) or Daiwa BG 4000.
- Rod: Okuma Celilo Salmon/Steelhead | The St. Croix Salmon/Steelhead rod is very comparable.
- Other Recommended Rods and Reels
- Terminal Tackle
- 15 lb monofilament (mainline)
- 1-ounce sliding egg weight
- Protective beads– I actually just use store-bought craft beads most of the time as they have a wider hole.
- Barrel Swivel (size 7)
- 15 lb fluorocarbon line (leader line)
- size #2 mosquito hooks or size #4 mosquito hooks
- Lucky Craft Lures – for halibut, big perch, and other predators (not used with C rig).
Surf Fishing Report and Forecast and Logs
This past week provided one of the more consistent bites I’ve had all summer but before we talk about that I want to mention Jon from castandspear.com. I had the pleasure of being on the Cast and Spear podcast this last week and if you’re interested in listening to me ramble on about surf fishing, you can check it out here. There will be a couple more episodes coming out in the next few days so stay tuned on that.
Despite the drop in water temps here in San Diego, this week offered one of the better bites we’ve had all summer. Corbina, spotfin croaker, yellowfin croaker, barred surfperch, guitarfish, soupfin sharks and more were among the common species during my three outings this past week. One odd thing (aside from the water temp drop) is that the sunset bite has not been as reliable lately so hopefully, that picks up.
To continue reading the surf fishing report and forecast and to take a look at my detailed logs, click here. If you haven’t already signed up, the first whole month is actually free and you can cancel at any time so try it out and if you like what you see, stick with it. If not, no worries at all. If you click the “join now” button after you select the above link, and then click “select”, you can then view last week’s logs and forecast as an example.
Nick, Just shout out to report a really good evening bite last Thursday night during one of those very high tides. I believe it was a 6.8 high at around 8 PM. Fished it with Brian and we had a wide open bit from some above average yellow fin croaker. Got a chance to fish in the after noon incoming tide and picked up 3 corbina about 1 hour the tide turned off the high. Biggest corbina went 18+ inches. Tight lines Jeff C
Awesome report, Jeff. Waita kill it out there!
Nick, interesting article. How does one know what is the water temperature in the ocean on a given day? Thanks.
Surfline.com and magicseaweed.com are food sources but you can also check with the local lifeguards
Nick, you’re right about the bite going off last week. I hope you’re right about water temps getting back to normal summertime in 1-2 weeks but I’m somewhat pessimistic about the bite picking back up that soon. You will recall last summer’s upwelling & cold water temps occurred just about this exact same time period. That event killed the entire month of August. Fishing improved in September but it was not as good as June & July and IMO, the Fall bite did not really produce like past year’s.
Bite has picked up for me in the three sessions I’ve had since the drop.
The temps have dropped 5 degrees here in the LA area and coincidentally or not, we had some hot bean and YFC bites over the weekend. Thanks for the article, Nick!
Bites hot as we speak!
the cold temp. seems to have made the surf perch come alive in carlsbad. cant get through ’em to find any corbina.
I’m experiencing the same and big Corbina too for me
Since I surf and fish, my go-to source for Sea Surface Temps is http://cdip.ucsd.edu/m/stn_table/
Is there anyway to estimate the amount of kelp in local waters? Friday eve bite was wide open, no salad, Sat morning was slow, Sun eve was no fishing possible due to super heavy kelp. Forexample, South facing beaches see kelp during NW swells? Or something like that. Thanks! Love the updates!
I’ve been trying to figure that out for a while now and I’ve had zero luck. Seaweed and current (strength) are just too unpredictable and have the potential to ruin a session any day of the week.
Thanks for the article Nick, I like that just too unpredictable, that’s kind of like the way I used to be…lol
But Ruth and I are taking a road trip in 2 weeks up the coast, going to start at Morro Bay and Take 5 days and fish the surf in Morro Bay and Monterey and maybe some in between… get to venture some new Waters.
Take care and have a peaceful week my friend ✌
That sounds like a trip that I’m trying to plan either this summer or next. Good luck!
Make it happen…👍
Good read on the water temps. I’m just getting my feet wet (so to speak) surf fishing. I was wondering how the temperature drop would affect the bite. Thanks!
Having surfed So Cal for the last 56 yrs I know that usually this upwelling mostly starts some time in July and lasts usually about 2 weeks and can get as low as 59 degrees as being reported in some areas. Since this is a wintertime water temperature what species is catchable in the winter? I’m sure I could google it but wondered if you would offer an opinion. Thanks again for your insightful information!
So perch are the main wintertime species but the summertime species aren’t going anywhere. So far, I’ve fished 4 times now since the temp dropped below 64 and 3 of which were below 62F and the bite has been at its best it’s been all year long. Corbina, Spotfin and all. Also I’ve been catching more perch as well and even soupfin shark as they like the colder water. I don’t think this water temp dip is going to be bad. So far it’s been very good.
A little different experience here at HB. Bites way down for my usually productive spots since the temps went down. Sting rays and guitar fish catches only. The week before the cooler waters, I had a pretty good session with yellow fins and a pretty chunky spotfin.
Thanks for the intel. Always interesting how different locations react differently.