Surf Fishing Silver Strand State Beach: How-To Guide
Silver Strand State Beach is a popular spot among our local surf angling community. It’s easy to access, remains crowd free, and the fishing is great. Below, we’ll cover all the little things you might want to know about surf fishing at Silver Strand.
Overview of Surf Fishing at Silver Strand State Beach
| Parking Info | Free and Paid – Free is typically easy to find. |
| Ease of Access | Very Easy |
| Tides | Any Tide is Good |
| Crowds | Less Crowded Than Most |
| Terrain Type | Mostly Sandy |
| No Fishing Areas | None |
| Recommended Gear and Tackle | Surf Fishing Gear and Tackle |
The Strand is a state beach that connects Coronado to Imperial Beach. If you’re looking for an easy access beach with minimal crowds, it doesn’t get much better than Silver Strand State Beach. Before I get into the location, it’s a flat sandy beach that houses plenty of corbina, croaker, perch, guitarfish and all the other usual suspects.
What Fish Will You Catch?
Any and all of the species shown in the table below can be caught here. However, surfperch are the most common catch here. Corbina, spotfin croaker, yellowfin croaker, sting rays, guitarfish and all the other sand crab species should also be expected catches.
As for the lure fishing, halibut and surfperch will be your most likely catches on lures. Given the terrain here, jerkbaits will do just fine but weeds can get bad in which case a swimbait would do better.
| 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
Depending on your target species, you bait, gear and tackle will be altered. For light tackle, when sand crabs are present (in the months of May – September), use sand crabs to catch species like surfperch, corbina, croaker and more. In colder months, use mussel meat or grubs.
For species like halibut, use either jerkbaits or swimbaits. For sharks, use cutbait and see the dropdowns below to view the right gear and tackle to use for each species.
Light Tackle Gear
- Rod: Okuma Celilo (8’6″ MA) or the Okuma SST (8’6″ MA)
- Reel: Penn Battle II or III 4000 series
- Mainline: 15-pound monofilament
- For Bait: Carolina Rig:
- Leader Line: 15-pound fluorocarbon
- Swivels: 15-19mm barrel swivels
- Hooks: size #2 or #4 owner mosquito hooks
- Weights: 1-oz egg weight
- Beads: 8mm fishing beads
Swim Bait Gear
- Rod: Okuma SST-S-902HA – 1/2-2oz | 10-30lb | 9ft | H | MF
- Reel: Penn Spinfisher VI (3500 or 4500)
- Main Line: 30-pound braid
- Leader Line: 30-pound mono
- Lure Options:
Jerk Bait Gear
- Rod: Okuma SST (8’6″ MHA)
- Reel: Penn Battle II or III 4000 series
- Main Line:
- Leader Line: 15-pound fluorocarbon
- Lures: Lucky Craft FM 110 and Shimano WM 115 SP
Sharks & Rays Gear
- 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
Parking at Silver Strand State Beach
The state beach offers paid-parking, but if you’re looking for free parking at Silver Strand State Beach, the Coronado Cays Boulevard and the residential streets around there are your best bet. There are also showers on either end of the beach. For current information, check their website.
Video of Surf Fishing at Silver Strand
Where to Legally Fish at Silver Strand Beach:
No Marine Protected Areas to my knowledge.
Tides for Fishing at Silver Strand beach
Silver Strand is what I like to call an “any tide beach”. You can fish it at low tide and you can fish it at high tide. It can take as high a tide as it gets and you’ll be able to find the structure by learning how to read the surf.
Type of Structure
At Silver Strand, the structure you’ll be reading will typically be made of sandy indents (troughs, rips, scallops, and deep pockets). But, just because there’s no permanent structure, doesn’t mean it’s a bad spot. I’ve caught plenty of monsters at beaches that are pure sand.
More Info
Its location offers one popular con and one suspected pro in my mind. The con, Silver Strand is located near the Mexican border and sewage run off is a regular occurrence over there. Typically, when I fish here, I practice 100% catch and release unless the water quality looks really good. For you’re reference, you can always check the water quality of your local beach by visiting this website.
The pro? With the exception of IB, it’s about as close as you can get to Mexico, north of the border. So, the con is the pro and the pro is the con, sounds weird right? Well, you’ve probably heard that the fishing in Mexico is insane, and from what I know about it, Mexico’s surf is under-fished in comparison to our surf over here. I know of anglers who have landed 28+ inch spotfin croaker just south of the border so if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get one from the strand.
Good luck out there and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out or comment below! If you found this helpful and would like to learn more about all of the best beaches for surf fishing in San Diego, follow the link. Tight lines, Everyone!
Hey Nick, the con you mention is a really “big con” this year for me and most of my fishing buds. I fished there in ’23 when conditions were not quite as bad but Stay Out Of The Water beach signs were posted even back then. I agree its a good fishing beach but I personally would not be comfortable for health reasons fishing there this year unless in full waders. And who wants to do that with the warm water temps. Let’s hope the situation improves for next year.
Yup it’s been a mess and I’ve heard a lot of the politics lately with the TJ river etc. Still the fishing is not bad and for some it’s their home base. Hoping we can always keep SD clean. Tight lines man🤙
My go to site when visiting SD…though I haven’t had great luck there. No real structure here, but plenty of room to walk up and down looking for rips and troughs.
Yes the warning signs are off-putting. Not likely I’d eat fish caught here.
Appreciate the support, Bob! Yah pros and cons for sure and not my first pick for that reason too. Going through all the beaches in San Diego over the next few weeks so stay tuned🤙
Another great informative piece. Thanks.
Thanks for the support!
I like the long walks at Silver Strand to find the fish! My best days getting over 20 fish have been there, my PB perch is from there. But only with cooler water so I ware my waders
( even though your breathing in the mist.) Haven’t been there this summer cause it’s more comfortable in shorts. I have a state parking pass but if I want to get there super early I’ll park for free and walk. Be back there this fall!
Awesome stuff, Larry🤙