Grunion Run Fishing: Unlock The Secrets To Success

What is a Grunion Run

A grunion run is a phenomenon unique to Southern California in which small sardine-like fish wash [rather swim] ashore to spawn in the middle of the night. Grunion runs occur for a 4-night window coinciding with each full and new moon in the Spring and Summer seasons. In this article, I’ll be breaking down how to fish in grunion runs and everything related to grunion run fishing.

For more information on how grunion spawn and to check the the 2024 predicted grunion run schedule, follow the link.

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How Do Grunion Runs Affect Shore Fishing?

You’d be a fool to think that grunion runs don’t have any affect on surf fishing. Of course they do! When grunion spawn, they all huddle up on a small stretch of sand extremely close to the shoreline.

This draws predators like halibut, white seabass, calico bass, corvina, and even barracuda closer into shore and allows surf anglers the opportunity to catch that “once in a lifetime fish”.

That said, grunion runs don’t just affect surf fishing when and where they run. Grunion runs affect surf fishing everywhere along the Southern California shoreline before, during and after the small bait fish spawn.

Fishing For Sharks and Rays in Grunion Runs

If you’re looking to fish for sharks and rays from the beach, the best time to target them would be during the grunion run. Surf fishing for sharks and rays during grunion runs makes perfect sense as surf fishing at night is already a natural time for shark fishing.

The crowds are gone, the sharks are out, and you don’t need to see the water much. Also, your bait (being cut bait) stands out to your target species while a whirlwind of grunion are swimming above.

For whatever reason, the elusive soupfin and even sevengill shark are more frequently caught on nights in which the grunion run.

Gear and Tackle for Shark Fishing

The gear and tackle I use for shark fishing (whether during grunion runs or not is shown below. This set up is good for leopard sharks, soupfin sharks and sevengill sharks. I use 7/0 and 8/0 circle hooks with 90lb wire leader.

• Rod: Fiblink Moonsniper (12 or 13 feet)
• Reel: Penn Battle 8000 (II or III)
• Main Line: 50-pound braid
• Topshot: 100-pound nylon coated mono
• Leaders: Shark Leaders
• Weights: 8-ounce pyramid or 6-ounce sputnik

Bait For Shark Fishing During Grunion Runs

Whether the grunion are running or not, when fishing for sharks from the beach, you should be using cut bait. You can use things like grunion or squid, but you’ll most likely catch something smaller before you catch a shark. For more on surf fishing for sharks, head on over to the linked article.

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Surf Fishing For White Seabass, Halibut, Barracuda and More During Grunion Runs

Surf fishing during a grunion run for predators like white seabass, calico bass, halibut and even barracuda is potentially the most challenging style of surf fishing in San Diego.

These species are tricky enough to figure out as it is. Now, add pitch black conditions with floating kelp and all sorts of unforeseen challenges throughout your evening… literally – it’s tough.

On top of that, no one knows for certain if and where the grunion will run, so you have to have a lot of skill, a little bit of luck to figure out how to surf fish through a grunion run for these types of fish. Add to that countless hours and trials of failure until success.

I commonly use two methods of surf fishing for these species during grunion runs.

Depending on where you’re fishing, either jerkbaits or swimbaits will be your best bet.

With all of these styles, surf fishing during grunion runs isn’t as much about finding the structure as it is about finding the grunion. If you can find the grunion running, your goal is to simply have your bait in the water – live, dead, or lure.

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Fishing During a Grunion Run vs Fishing the Morning After a Grunion Run

There are a number of things to account for when comparing fishing during a grunion run vs fishing after a grunion run.

Surf Fishing During a Grunion Run

During the run (if they run), you have a unique opportunity where large predatory fish could be hanging out very close to shore. You also have the opportunity to surf fish with live bait! But, the challenges that come along with it are low visibility, a high tide potentially bringing in rough surf, heavy seaweed, and often times an unpredictable current.

Surf Fishing The Morning After a Grunion Run

Surf fishing the morning after a grunion run presents a unique opportunity as well. An extremely low tide around grey light is halibut and seabass heaven. This along with residual bait that might be keeping predators close to shore is an awesome opportunity to catch big fish.

You also have the advantage of your vision. In this case, your best bet is to surf fish with lures. See relevant articles below to help

last year, I wrote an entire article about surf fishing during and after grunion runs and the pros and cons to both. It provides a deeper dive on which species are best to target when.

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What Rigs To Use Surf Fishing in Grunion Runs

The answer to the this question was already answered if you’ve read everything above. Here’s the breakdown.

Shark Fishing

Use a 3 way with 90lb wire leader a 6 oz sputnik weight and a 7/0 circle hook. You can purchase or view the shark rigs I make here.

Lure Fishing

If you’re using a jerkbait, no rig. If you’re using a swimbaits, Texas Rig or a weedless jighead (no rig).

Live Grunion

The best rig for using live grunion as bait is a Carolina rig with a 2/0 to 4/0 live bait hook and a one ounce wait is best for using live grunion for bait.

Check out the 6 Best Surf Fishing Rigs here.

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Best Night To Fish a Grunion Run

I won’t speak much on this topic much in this article. Generally speaking, the second and third night of the grunion run are deemed to be the best night. But, if you’re interested in fishing theories, I developed a theory which I think makes 100% sense to predict which night of a grunion run has the highest percentage chance of them running.

It takes into account tidal inversion and the fact that grunion should wait for either the highest of the high tides in the 4-day period or the day after the highest of the high tide. Check out my theory on predicting which night of a grunion run is the best.

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Best Time to Fish a Grunion Run

In my experience, the grunion don’t typically show up until 45 minutes into the predicted run. Plain and simple, that’s what I tend to see. It sort of makes sense if you read my article on the theory of predicting which night of a grunion run is best. If grunion are intelligent animals, they should wait until after the high tide to run. That way their eggs aren’t immediately swept to sea.

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Best Beaches for Grunion Run Fishing

There isn’t any great way of “predicting” where the grunion will run on any given night. Rather, it’s important to know and understand the logistics of grunion runs. Considering that these fish are spawning, they aren’t looking to spend much time on the beach.

The females are looking to get on the sand, lay their eggs and get back into the water. The males are looking to do just about the same (fertilizing rather than laying). Keeping this in mind, along with the fact that they too are wild (not domestic) animals, they will prefer quiet beaches with few people, few lights and minimal noise.

These factors leave us with the following five characteristics in finding the perfect beach for a grunion run. Beaches that are quiet with minimal foot-traffic, have minimal artificial light, are sandy rather than rocky, are relatively flat (with a gradual slope rather than steep), and long and wide. Let’s take a look at each factor with more detail.

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5 Key Features Any Good Grunion Run Beach Should Have

If you want to figure out how to see a grunion run, you’ll need to know what types of beaches to look for. Below are the 5 features a beach should have to be a good beach for grunion runs…continue reading here.