San Onofre Beach Surf Fishing: Complete Guide

Surf fishing at new spots and beaches is always fun, but it can certainly be challenging and a bit intimidating. In this guide, I’ll be over viewing everything you need to know about San Onofre State Beach surf fishing. Surf fishing at San Onofre State Beach can be great, but some things you’ll want to think about before going include the tides, your target species, the right bait, time of year, parking and more.

Overview of San Onofre State Beach Surf Fishing

Parking Info	Free and Paid – See Below Per Beach
Ease of Access	Very Easy to Fairly Difficult (Varies Per Beach)
Tides	Varies Per Beach (See Below)
Crowds	Varies
Terrain Type	Pebbles and reef to the south / Sand and some pebbles (little bit of reef) to the north
No Fishing Areas	None
Recommended Gear and Tackle	Surf Fishing Gear and Tackle

Parking at San Onofre Beaches

Below is a quick breakdown of the beaches at San Onofre State Beach, along with parking recommendations for each. Keep in mind that this information may change over time.

San Onofre Surf Beach: This popular surfing area, with spots like Old Man’s, The Point, and Dogpatch, has parking along a dirt road that parallels the beach. Due to its popularity, especially in the summer and on weekends, it does fill up early in the day. Many visitors report arriving by 8:00 AM to secure a spot, as rangers limit entry once it’s full​

San Onofre Bluffs: This area has six designated bluff-top parking lots with stairways leading down to the beach. Each lot corresponds to a numbered access trail, offering a variety of scenic views. There is a daily fee for parking, and the lots often reach capacity during peak season, making early arrival a good idea​

Trestles Beach: Known for its prime surfing, Trestles Beach does not offer direct beach parking. Visitors use the lot at the San Mateo Campground trailhead and then walk about a mile to reach the beach. This secluded spot is appreciated by surfers willing to make the hike​

Trails Beach: Situated south of the Bluffs, Trails Beach is less crowded and has a more rustic feel. Similar to Bluffs, it has trailhead parking for each beach entrance, with beach access via a short walk from these lots​

San Mateo Campground: While not adjacent to the beach, the campground provides parking for registered campers, with a trail that leads to Trestles Beach. This trail is a common access route for surfers

Surf Fishing Guided Session

San Onofre State Beach Surf Fishing YouTube Video

What Fish Can You Catch Surf Fishing in San Onofre State Beach

San Onofre holds every type of species we ca;; “common” to the shores of San Diego. Given the variance in terrain, there’s a beach to target each species in San Onofre. Species like corbina, spotfin croaker, barred and walleye surf perch, yellowfin croaker, guitarfish and more can be caught while surf fishing San Onofre at the more sandy beaches. You can also find halibut, calico bass, sand bass, white seabass and even corvina in the more reefy areas (for instance bluffs beach).

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 For Each Species

Corbina/Croaker/Perch

From May through August, sand crabs should be your number one choice of bait for all the light tackle species (corbina, croaker etc.). As mentioned above, target these species where its sandy which is just about everywhere in Oceanside. If sand crabs aren’t available (usually from October-April), opt for clams or mussel meat. See the drop-down below for my exact gear and tackle for light tackle surf fishing.

Lure Species (Halibut/Basses)

For lures, swimbaits are probably the best choice when surf fishing San Onofre. The northern beaches can be fished with a jerkbait, but I’d lean toward swimbaits in general when for San Onofre surf fishing. As mentioned in similar articles, the denser the reef and structure, the more likely I am to choose swimbaits over jerkbaits. See the drop-down below for my exact gear and tackle for lure surf fishing.

Sharks

When sharking at San Onofre, I’m looking for the more sandy beaches. I’m especially looking for where I can pin a sand spike into a nice sandy shoreline. Bluffs trail one usually has some good sand for this and many areas near Trestles and San Mateo are great for sharking.

Where to Legally Fish in San Onofre

There are no illegal areas to worry about when surf fishing San Onofre State Beach. Surf fishing is legal for the whole stretch of sand. You’re good to fish with no worries of MLPAs or any other added restrictions.

Tides for Fishing Oceanside Beaches

For the most part, if you’re lure fishing, I recommend going at a lower than 1 foot tide at any of these beaches (although they can hold more as you will often need to stand on pebbles). Specifically near the bluffs and trails beaches the lure fishing can be productive, but as I said, the higher the tide gets, the more pebbles you’ll need to stand on. Bait and wait of any sort can be done at any and all tides at the southern beaches as they have more sand.

Beach	Max Tide Height To Fish
Surf Beach	Any Tide
Bluffs Beach	3 ft
Trestles Beach	Any Tide
Trails Beach	3 ft
San Mateo Beach	Any Tide