Where To Go Fishing In San Diego For Free

If you’ve found yourself in San Diego and you’re hoping to go fishing for free, this article is for you. There’s plenty of fishing to do in San Diego, but the offshore scene overshadows what I believe to be the best fishing in San Diego – surf fishing.

When it comes to fishing in San Diego, fishing from the beach is about as good as it gets. It’s free, the fish are plentiful and can get pretty darn big, and you can find your own little stretch of sand without the chatter of other anglers fighting for “rail space.”

Here’s What You Need

Technically, surf fishing isn’t completely free. You’ll need a fishing license which you can find on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website. If you’re only here for a couple days, you might consider getting a “1 day license” or a “2 day license”. Otherwise, the annual California fishing license offers the best bang for your buck. Make sure to purchase the ocean enhancement validation if you purchase the annual license.

Once you have your license, all you’ll need is your gear and tackle. The San Diego surf fishing scene offers a number of different options. So I’ll do my best to break this down quickly without getting lost in the details

Best Beaches for Surf Fishing in San Diego

So, the first answer to the question of “where to fish in San Diego” is simply put… the beach. You should fish from the beach (aka surf fishing).

The next part of the answer gets into the specifics of which beaches to fish in San Diego and how. Lucky for you, I’ve already written an entire article overviewing nearly every beach in San Diego regarding surf fishing: Best Beaches For Surf Fishing In San Diego

What Types of Fish Can You Catch Fishing From San Diego Beaches?

Side note, while this article is about where to fish for free in San Diego, I am a licensed Surf Fishing Guide in San Diego… reach out if you’re interested.

When surf fishing in San Diego, you can a wide variety of species. Take a look at the table below for a detailed breakdown of the common surf species in So Cal.

Species	Peak Season	General Season
California Corbina	Jun-Aug	May-Oct
Yellowfin Croaker	Jun-Aug	Apr-Oct
Spotfin Croaker	Jun-Aug	May-Oct
Barred Surf Perch	Nov-Apr	Year Round
Walleye Surf Perch	Nov-Apr	Year Round
Shovelnose Guitar Fish	Jun-Aug	May-Oct
Sting Ray	Jun-Aug	Year Round
Bat Ray	Jun-Aug	Year Round
Leopard Shark	May-Aug	Apr-Oct
California Halibut	Mar-Jun	Year Round
Soupfin Shark	Mar-Jul	Year Round
White Seabass	Mar-Jun	Feb-Sep
Calico Bass	Mar-Sep	Year Round

Light Tackle for Corbina, Croaker, Surfperch and More

Target fish like corbina, croaker and surfperch with a method called light tackle surf fishing. 

Where?

Fish sandy beaches and you’ll find these species as shallow as a few inches of water. No need to “cast past the breakers”. Often times, a 20-foot cast does the job but its best to read the surf and find the troughs and holes.

What Gear?

Use a 8 to 9 foot rod with medium (or moderate) to moderate-fast action, rated for anywhere between 1/4oz to 1oz. Power should be rated for medium or so. Below is a table of the exact specs of my rod for light tackle surf fishing with a Carolina rig. I use both the Okuma Celilo and Okuma SST.

Your reel should be a 3000 series or 4000 series spinning reel like the Penn Battle 3. Rig to use is as mentioned above… a Carolina rig.

Style of Fishing	Model #	Line Weight	Lure Weight	# of Guides	# of Pieces	Length	Power	Taper
C-rig	CE-S-862MA	8-17lbs	1/4 – 5/8oz	7+1	2-pcs	8’6″	M	MF

What Bait?

The best bait for light tackle surf fishing is sand crabs but gulp sandworms (artificial) and mussel meat work well too.

Finding sand crabs for surf fishing is free and easy during the months of May through September. Head over to my linked article for more info there.

Shark Fishing From The Beach in San Diego

You can catch leopard sharks, soupfin sharks, sevengill sharks, bat rays and big guitarfish all by using the “shark fishing method.

Where?

Sandy beaches are best for this, but having some nearby reef isn’t a bad thing if you want to lure in the sevengill and/or soupfin. Utilize google earth to find reef.

What Gear?

Use a 10-13 foot rod with moderate-fast to fast action. Heavy power and a lure rating of 4-8 oz and line rating of around 10-20lbs. See below for the specs on my shark surf fishing rod.

As for reels, use something like the Penn Battle 3 8000 series reel. As low as 6000 series will work, but I’ve been tested even on the 8000 with a handful of catches.

The rig I use can be purchased here: Shark Rigs with Wire Leaders

Style of Fishing	Model #	Line Weight	Lure Weight	# of Guides	# of Pieces	Length	Power	Taper
Sharks	MO-S1304	20-40	4-8oz	5+1	4-pcs	13’0″	H	MF

What Bait?

Cut bait is the way to go for shark fishing. Use freshly caught croaker, surfperch, or even frozen mackerel.

Surf Fishing with Jerkbaits for Halibut and Surfperch

I separate jerkbaits and swimbaits because if fished properly, you’ll be targeting different species sets. Here are the best jerkbaits for surf fishing.

Where?

For jerkbaits, you’ll want to fish sandy beaches with some intermittent hard structure (reefs and rocks etc.). You’ll mostly catch halibut and surfperch.

What Gear?

Use an 8-9 foot rod with specs similar to what’s shown below. I like the 8’6″ Okuma SST MHA.

Your reel should be a 3000 to 4000 series spinning reel. I like the Penn Spinfisher VI 3500 series for this style.

Style of Fishing	Model #	Line Weight	Lure Weight	# of Guides	# of Pieces	Length	Power	Taper
Jerkbaits	SST-S-862MHA	10-20	3/8 – 1.5oz	8+1	2-pcs	8’6″	MH	MF

Swimbait Fishing For Calico, Sand Bass, White Seabass and More

Fishing with swimbaits offers the ability to fish structure dense areas without snagging. With these, fish more reefy and rocky areas and you’ll catch calico bass, sand bass, white seabass and more.

Where?

As mentioned above, fish the more reefy beaches and rocky beaches (mostly north county).

What Gear?

Use an 8 to 9 foot rod with specs similar to what is shown below. As for the reel, same as what’s mentioned in the jerkbait section is what I use: Penn Spinfisher VI 3500

Style of Fishing	Model #	Line Weight	Lure Weight	# of Guides	# of Pieces	Length	Power	Taper
Jerkbaits	SST-S-902HA	10-30	1/2 – 2oz	8+1	2-pcs	9′	H	MF

If you’re curious what I’ve been catching lately, check me out on Instagram (@surf_fishing_in_so_cal) for my most recent posts.