Surf Fishing in Encinitas: A Complete Guide

Encinitas is a beach town in north county San Diego that is known for its numerous quaint beaches below the bluffs. It begins at Cardiff Beach or Seaside Reef at the end of Solana Beach and Table Tops, and it ends where Grandview Beach meets South Pontos in Carlsbad. In this article, I’ll be over-viewing everything you need to know about surf fishing in Encinitas and all the individual beaches that make up “Encinitas Beach”. We’ll talk tides, common species, access points, parking and much more.

Overview of Surf Fishing at Encinitas Beaches

Parking Info	See Individual Beach Sections
Ease of Access	Usually Steep Staircases Down To Sand
Tides	Below a 4-5-foot High Tide
Crowds	Less Crowded Than Most
Terrain Type	Intermixed Sand/Reef/Pebbles
No Fishing Areas	Swami’s – Read Below
Recommended Gear and Tackle	Surf Fishing Gear and Tackle

As mentioned in my article on surf fishing Solana beach, north county beaches tend to be smaller, more specific stretches of sand that have been given names. So you typically don’t hear them referred to as “Solana Beach” or “Encinitas Beach”..

The beaches that make up Encinitas include (south to north) Seaside Reef, Cardiff State Beach, Cardiff Reef, San Elijo State Beach, Pipes Beach, Swamis Beach, D Street Beach, Moonlight State Beach, Stonesteps Beach, Leucadia State Beach (Beacons), and Grandview Beach.

I know that’s a lot of beaches, but don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’ve got all the info you need for surf fishing Encinitas and all the little beaches that make it such.

Parking and Access for Encinitas Beaches

Beach	Parking	Access
Seaside Reef, Cardiff State Beach	South lot here and street parking.	Easy Access
Cardiff Reef	North lot here and street parking.	Easy Access
San Elijo State Beach, Pipes Beach	Pak on the PCH above the bluffs in front of the campgrounds.	Stairway
Swamis Beach	There is a lot located here. Additionally, there’s a good amount of parking on the PCH.	Stairway
D Street Beach, Moonlight Beach	Street parking near here.	Easy Access
Stonesteps Beach	Street parking near here.	Stairway
Leucadia State Beach, Beacons	Lot and street parking here.	Short Pathway
Grandview Beach	Lot here.	Stairway

Surf Fishing Encinitas: YouTube Video

What Fish Can You Catch Surf Fishing in Encinitas

When surf fishing in Encinitas, you can target anything from corbina, croaker and surfperch on the light tackle style, halibut and bass on the swimbaits and jerkbaits, sharks and rays on the shark setup, and even sheephead and bass on shrimp or similar bait.

Since all of Encinitas is intermittent reef and sand, you’ll have to rely on knowledge of species and which habitats each prefers. For instance, the sandier the beach, you should target corbina, surfperch, croaker etc. along with sharks. The more reef there is, you can throw swimbaits for halibut and bass etc. See below for the common species you’ll catch in So Cal and click on them to learn more about catching them.

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.) at the sandy stretched of Encinitas, 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, both jerkbaits and swimbaits work well. As mentioned in similar articles, the denser the reef and structure, the more likely I am to choose swimbaits over jerkbaits.

Sharking here for me just depends on the time of year, time of day, tides and crowds. The south portion at Cardiff has more sand which allows for fishing at higher tides and less snags. Some of the north sections can be really good, however. You just have to go through some trial and error regarding snags. See below for my sharking gear and bait recommendations.

Where to Legally Fish in Encinitas

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 Fishing Encinitas Beaches

Any tide is good for corbina, surfperch, and croaker as well as for sharking. For lures, you typically want a low enough tide to expose some structure. The chart below shows the max tides at which you can fish these beaches due to water levels reaching the bluffs. If you’re looking to learn more about how tides affect surf fishing, refer to the two articles below.

• How Tides Affect Surf Fishing
• Best Times and Tides For Surf Fishing

Beach	Max Tide Height To Fish
Seaside Reef, Cardiff State Beach	5 ft
Cardiff Reef	5 ft
San Elijo State Beach, Pipes Beach	2.5 ft
Swamis Beach	3.5 ft
D Street Beach, Moonlight Beach	4 ft
Stonesteps Beach	3.5
Leucadia State Beach, Beacons	3.5
Grandview Beach	3.5

Type of Beach Structure in Encinitas

All of Encinitas is intermittent reef with sand. Cardiff has the most sand while the inlet at Cardiff reef, San Elijo, Swamis, Beacons, and Grandview can all have lots of reef depending on the time of year. Sometimes sand covers all of them, other times, there’s a lot of reef exposed. For this, you’ll have to check it out on your own.

If you’ve read some of my past articles, you’d know that every winter, some seasonal sand loss occurs. How much and where depends on the storms and swell directions we had. Typically late winter and early spring provide the most amount of exposed reef in San Diego where summertime features most of that sand coming back and covering our shoreline reefs.

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.