Surf Fishing Report May 2025 – Summertime Bite Arrives

Last time I published a surf fishing report the bite was pretty dead. I’m happy to share that this time it’s much different. The summertime bit seems to have arrived and all things are headed in the right direction. In this surf fishing report, I’ll talk about how the fishing has been, what’s being caught right now, general conditions and availability of sand crabs, seaweed, and what to expect going forward.

What’s Being Caught In The Surf Right Now?

After a slow start to the year, the corbina, yellowfin croaker and even spotfin croaker appear to have made their way back to the San Diego shoreline and they’re hungry!

My last light tackle outing resulted in about 12-14 fish in a little under two hours of fishing. The perch nibbles have largely been replaced by confident and decisive yellowfin croaker takes and corbina and spotfin croaker have worked their way into the mix.

I still haven’t done much lure fishing lately but from the reports I’ve been receiving… let’s just say it’s looking really good out there for halibut. Calico and seabass are around to be caught as well but halibut are in full feeding mode right now.

The sharking has also picked up. Leopard sharks have clearly shown up and my expectation (if it’s anything like last year) is that the next two months should be 75%+ success rate when targeting leopards in decent conditions.

Some Recent Catches

Sand Crab Status

Sand crabs are here and they’re here to stay. As of my last couple outings, I’ve found plenty of sand crabs and plenty of decent size. They’re still on the smaller side, but if you’ve followed me long enough, you’d know I have no problem throwing 4 smaller crabs on a #2 mosquito hook and catching nice spotfin or corbina with those.

Conditions Report

Water temps have crept up to the 62-63F range as of 5-4-2025 and I expect that to continue as we’re set to experience a warm week ahead. Surf has been beautifully mellow for the past week and a half although this weekend had some strong swell roll through. The forecast doesn’t look too bad for swell going forward, so we should be good on that front. Seaweed has been more than manageable as so far we’ve been fortunate.

Surf Fishing Forecast: What To Expect Going Forward

As we get deeper into spring and the weather warms up, we should see water temps rise even more and the bite get more consistent. A couple things to keep an eye on, however, will still be if the seaweed starts to roll in with the warming temps and if we get a bad red tide this spring.

Last report, I mentioned… “Given the activity level of spotfin croaker I’ve seen thus far, I’ll be looking/hoping for an early start to the spotfin croaker fishing – similar to what we saw in 2021. Spotfin croaker typically show up in numbers in July shortly after corbina do, but we’ve had a couple years where they almost have two minor peaks in their peak season – the first being in April and the second coming later in July. The latter is what I’m expecting this year but it’s more of a hunch than anything.”

So far, this has held true with more spotfin croaker action than usual.

Last report, I mentioned… “Statistically, the next fish to begin biting really well will be the yellowfin croaker and the leopard shark. Yellowfin croaker are usually the first summertime species to show up in numbers and their usually one of the most frequently caught fish for most anglers in a given year. Leopard sharks and other shark species usually become productive in San Diego a month or so prior to the light tackle bite really getting hot. So, I’m expecting April and especially May to produce some really good shark fishing.”

This too has held true.

Looking forward…

Yellowfin croaker are making for some very good bites with much fewer down time before bites and far fewer “nibbles” which has been a pleasant change. Additionally, leopard sharks are showing up in size and numbers. Cut bait is the ideal bait selection.

The summertime bite seems to have arrived. If all goes well, look for much of the same to continue. Sand crabs will be increasingly easier to find in numbers and size. If you have trouble finding them try a different beach or try around a high tide and/or the hours just before or during a sunset.

I don’t expect much to change in terms of what species are now biting given that they all seem to be biting. I only expect the “bite” to become more and more consistent at least through early July.

Comment Below

If you have any questions about the bite so far this season or if you’ve experienced a different start to your season or you just want to share something, feel free to drop a comment below!