Santa Catalina Island (Avalon)
Avalon, Santa Catalina Island · near Avalon · Los Angeles / SoCal
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- May–October (yellowtail/seabass peak summer)
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+); boats/landings sell 1-day licenses. Avalon's public pier is license-free; the kelp beds are fished by charter or shore.
What is here
- Features
- Clear kelp-bed water · Avalon shore casting off the rocks · Half-day to overnight charters · World-class visibility
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Fishing detail
- Water type
- ocean-boat
- Water
- salt
- Methods
- Live bait · Iron/jigging · Dropper-loop · Light shore casting
- Boat
- both
- Target species
- Calico (kelp) bass · Yellowtail · White seabass · California sheephead
- Intl tip
- You can shore-fish the Avalon rocks and public pier license-free, but for the kelp beds book a Catalina charter and buy a 1-day CA license at the landing before boarding.
The guide
Catalina is the marquee saltwater target of the LA bight — 22 miles offshore, ringed by kelp forests holding trophy calico bass…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Santa Catalina Island (Avalon) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.3428, -118.3273