Hermosa Beach, CA Fishing: Peaceful Fishing on South Bay

As one of South Bay’s three beach cities, Hermosa Beach enjoys a reputation as a stunning Southern California destination with classic beach-town vibes. Its name, Hermosa, literally means ‘beautiful’ in Spanish, so the name itself tells you what to expect from this lovely beach city. It is situated right in between its two sister cities, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach, making it a fantastic gateway if you plan on devoting a week hopping from one beach city to the next. Hermosa Beach itself is gifted with more than a mile of ocean access and more than 90 acres of public beach. Running down the middle of the city is the scenic Pacific Coast Highway, a legendary All-American Road that connects the South Bay beach cities to California’s major cities.

Before it was developed, Hermosa Beach was simply one stretch of rolling hills, dotted with fields of barley and the occasional sheep herd. Today, the beach city gets plenty more action as a popular weekend destination for swimmers, surfers, sunbathers, and beach volleyball enthusiasts. The beautiful white sandy beach that it shares with its neighboring beach cities is worth the trip alone, but there’s a lot more to Hermosa Beach if you dare to venture off the sand. There’s The Strand, 20 miles of paved road along the SoCal coast where you can jog, bike, or skate; and there are all these lovely parks and trails with views of the ocean and the beach.

Because of its location on the Pacific Ocean, Hermosa Beach, along with the South Bay Region, enjoys pretty mild summertime temperature and even less smog due to the westerly sea breezes. Another lucky offshoot of its great location? All the fishing opportunities anglers can enjoy both inshore and offshore. 

Hermosa Beach Fishing

Hermosa Beach is the least populated city in the South Bay region, giving it a more laid-back vibe compared to its neighbors. This means fewer crowds, less competition, and overall a more peaceful fishing experience.

This is very much evident when you step onto the Hermosa Beach Pier. This beach pier is small compared to other piers on Santa Monica Bay, only about 1,140 feet long and 20 feet wide. It is open for fishing from 6 am to 10 pm. Unlike many beach piers, it has no stores or restaurants on the structure itself — just a plain pier jutting out into the ocean. Its bottom is mostly sand, with kelp and seaweed that appear by late summer. At the end of the pier, anglers will also find an artificial rock reef that attracts a lot more species, especially trophy-sized ones.

When fishing on a pier, don’t just head straight to the end. Be sure to explore each part so you won’t miss out on the different catch each section has to offer. The same principle applies to fishing in Hermosa Beach Pier, though it is quite small. Close to the beach inshore, anglers can catch barred surfperch, corbina, spotfin croaker, and yellowfin croaker. Occasionally, you might find some round stingray or shovelnose guitarfish.

The middle section of the pier is best if you’re looking for even more variety. Here you’ll find white croaker, jacksmelt, walleye surfperch, pile perch, black seaperch, silver surfperch, herring, and halibut. You might even spot some zebraperch, though they are quite uncommon and can only be seen during spring.

The end section of the pier, as expected, is filled with trophy fish and even more diverse species. Here you can target bonito, white seabass, and California halibut. If you cast out over the reef, you might also hope to catch rockfish, sheepshead, bass, and kelpfish. 

As with most SoCal piers, there’s always the possibility of catching sharks and rays in the piers. The most common in this part of Santa Monica Bay are thornback ray, bat ray, and shovelnose guitarfish. Thresher shark may be seen in late summer and fall. Other species you might find in this part of the bay are blue shark, spiny dogfish, and angel shark. For smaller fish, the most commonly caught are sculpin, Pacific mackerel, Pacific sardine, Pacific butterfish, black seaperch, and Catalina blue perch. 

For boat fishing in this part of Southern California, you can book one of the fishing charters launching out of Hermosa Beach and its sister cities, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach. If you don’t want to venture too far into the sea, book charters specializing in nearshore fishing trips. Nearshore fishing trips can target species such as calico bass, lingcod, rockfish, halibut, sheepshead, and white seabass. If you want to see what else the ocean has to offer, book deep-sea fishing trips that will take you to the fishing grounds at Santa Barbara, Catalina, and San Clemente Islands. There you can target prized catch such as common dolphinfish or mahi-mahi, yellowfin tuna, blue marlin, and different shark species.

Do note that pier and shore anglers in the LA and Orange County regions are cautioned against consuming some of the fish species normally caught in the bay. Educate yourself on the region’s  ‘Do Not Consume’ list before fishing so you don’t accidentally eat fish that are possibly highly contaminated with toxins such as dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). 

Top 10 Fish Species in Hermosa Beach, CA

The top 10 fish species to target in Hermosa Beach, CA are barred surfperch, corbina, spotfin croaker, bonito, California halibut, lingcod, calico bass, rockfish, Pacific mackerel, and shovelnose guitarfish.

Seasonal Fishing

Fishing in Hermosa Beach and the rest of the South Bay in SoCal is lively all year round, with fish biting almost all year round. For inshore fishing, the best seasons are winter to early spring, particularly if you’re aiming for big barred surfperch, and summer to fall for croaker species. California halibut is best targeted during late spring to summer. Offshore catch such as tuna, common dolphinfish, and blue marlin are summer catches that are most active starting May and well into August, before winding down as autumn approaches. Fall and winter are your seasons if you want to fish for white seabass, calico bass, halibut, rockfish, and lingcod nearshore.

Enjoy a Peaceful SoCal Getaway in Hermosa Beach

As a South Bay beach city, Hermosa Beach is popular among tourists but still retains a peaceful vibe that you can enjoy with the entire family.

1. Book a Fishing Charter

Find a local fishing charter that will guide you through the best fishing in the area, so that you can enjoy a safer and more comfortable fishing experience in Hermosa Beach.

2. Learn Surfing and Beach Volleyball

The waves at Hermosa Beach may not satisfy pro surfers looking but they’re perfect for beginners. If you’re one, or if you’re looking to introduce your child to surfing, enroll at surf schools such as Wavehuggers right on Hermosa Beach.

If you’d like to level up on your beach volleyball game, join a class at VolleyCamp Hermosa by Better at Beach. They offer private and public lessons as well as beach volley camps.

3. Go Art-Spotting

Go public art-hopping all over Hermosa Beach and find the nine murals from the Hermosa Beach Murals Project. At the foot of the Hermosa Beach Pier, you will find the iconic bronze sculpture of local surfer, Tim Kelly.