Solana Beach Surf Fishing: A Complete Guide
Solana Beach is a beach city in San Diego County featuring beautiful coastal bluffs and numerous local beaches. Solana Beach begins just north of Del mar Dog Beach on the north side of the San Dieguito Lagoon and ends where Table Tops meets Seaside beach (near Cardiff) in Encinitas. In this guide, I’ll be over-viewing everything you need to know about surf fishing in Solana Beach. We’ll talk tides, common species, access points, parking and much more.
| Parking Info | Free Lot and Street Parking – Relatively Easy |
| Ease of Access | Very Easy at Access Points – Del Mar Dog Beach, Ramp at Fletcher Cove, Stairs at Table Tops |
| Tides | Any Tide |
| Crowds | Less Crowded Than Most – But Still Very Crowded At Access Points |
| Terrain Type | Mostly Sandy with Intermittent Reef |
| No Fishing Areas | North at Swamis (Technically in Encinitas) |
| Recommended Gear and Tackle | Surf Fishing Gear and Tackle |
Overview of Surf Fishing in Solana Beach
As mentioned above, Solana beach begins just north of Del Mar Dog Beach. As we get further into North County San Diego, the individual beaches and breaks are more often referred to on their own as opposed to the overall beach of “Solana Beach” or “Encinitas Beach” for example.
Solana Beach includes (south to north) Seascape Sur Beach, Fletcher Cove, Tide Beach Park, and Table Tops.
You’ll find plenty of flat sandy areas at Solana and prior to 2024, it had only enough sand to withstand your typical 5 ft high tides and maybe sometimes a little higher. Either in the end of 2023 or beginning of 2024, Solana Beach was loaded up with sand, turning this beach into what I like to call an ‘any tide beach”. There are certainly pros and cons to the man-caused addition of sand here, but all that aside, surf fishing at Solana Beach can be extremely productive.
Parking and Access at Solana Beach
Within the parameters of “Solana Beach”, we have Fletcher Cove Beach, Tide Park Beach, Table Tops, and Seaside Beach (I consider this part of fletcher cove). As we get further north, some cities have many separate “beaches”. You’ll want to access Solana Beach by one of the following.
- Del mar Dog Beach
- Access/Parking via street parking on the PCH
- Fletcher Cove
- Access via ramp down to beach. Parking in lot or in neighborhood around lot.
- Table Tops
- Parking above stairs down to beach or access from Cardiff lot.
Solana Beach Surf Fishing YouTube Video
What Fish Can You Catch Surf Fishing at Del Mar Beach?
Solana beach surf fishing can yield you anything from your light tackle species of corbina, croaker, surfperch and more, to your lure species of calico, halibut and even white seabass. Additionally, sharking can be quite productive here too.
I wouldn’t quite call this your “typical” north county spot, but it’s got some interesting features. No matter the tide (high or low), you can target croaker, corbina, and surfperch using sand crabs, mussel meat, clams etc. The middle stretch at the bulk of Fletcher Cove is mostly sandy all the time so that’s where I’d do the light tackle method. If you were interested in lure fishing, head north to Table Tops and use a swimbait near the reefy areas here. For sharking, anywhere is good. See below for a comprehensive list of common species caught here.
| 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
From May through August, sand crabs should be your number one choice of bait for all the light tackle species (corbina, croaker etc.) 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.
For lures, I will use both jerkbaits and swimbaits here. If I’m fishing the central to north stretch of beach, I might use a jerkbait, but if I’m fishing the reef on the north end, I’ll use a weedless swimbait. See the drop-down below for my specific gear and tackle for each style.
Sharking here for me just depends on the time of year, time of day, tides and crowds. The south and central areas is easier when crowds are minimal because there’s more sand to work with and there’s less reef and typically kelp to snag on.
Where to Legally Fish in Solana Beach
Just north of Solana is Encinitas which can easily be wandered into if fishing Solana. the following MPA’s should be noted – San Elijo Lagoon SMCA (No-Take) and Swami’s SMCA and Swami’s SMCA (image).
Swamis’s SMCA begins near the San Elijo Lagoon inlet and ends near Moonlight State Beach. For exact coordinates, refer to this link (image). To my knowledge, you can fish the surf at Swami’s Beach and you can even keep your catch so long as it’s of legal size and limits. It has to be recreational and by hook and line, but you CANNOT use sand crabs as they are among the “prohibited take”.
Seems kind of weird to me that they’d be concerned about sand crabs as they’re literally everywhere but they’re within the crustaceans and invertebrates category so we cannot use sand crabs at Swami’s State Beach. Do your research before you fish this area as you do NOT want to get fined for illegal take of any sort. But, Spotfin, corbina, and other species are good here.
Tides For Solana Beach Surf Fishing
As mentioned earlier, Solana Beach was recently part of a program of sorts in which sand was dredged offshore and dumped on the shoreline of Solana Beach. Prior to this, most of this stretch supported no more than a 5 foot tide before the water would reach the bluffs. Now, There’s more than enough sand to handle any tide. But, at the moment, it’s now a shore break at high tide which is unfortunate in my opinion.
Any tide here would be good for corbina, croaker, surfperch and sharks. Low tide by the reef would be good for halibut,, calico, and white seabass.
Type of Structure at Solana Beach
The south side of Solana Beach has a bit of reef to be exposed at low tide. Most of the central stretch is sandy as far as shore anglers can reach but depending on the winter we have, some reef could be exposed intermittently. The bulk of the structure at Solana Beach is at Table Tops or Seaside reef. Otherwise, I’d call Solana a mostly sandy beach.
Looking for more guides on local beaches. follow the link in the image below! And if you’re interested in booking me as your guide, reach out to me here at my San Diego surf fishing guide page.
