San Diego recommendations

At dog beach where San Diego river meets the ocean i used to catch a bunch of small halibuts with chartreuse white clousers.
Agua Hedionda in Carlsbad have calico bass.
That’s what I know, other suggestions above are probably better choices :)
 
Going back to the OP...Fishing in San Diego is a big deal. They have the largest sport fishing fleet on the planet (H& M)... They have the biggest Large Mouth Bass on Earth. However fly fishing is not typically emphasized. The only three places I have seen people fly fish are the Liberty Station Channel, Beaches such as Torrey Pines, and the Mako charters. Salt water fly fishing seems to be catching on, but other gear tactics are almost always so much more effective.
 
For instance, I could go fish the false jetty at Dog Beach... look into the water until I see the Corbina coming in to knee deep water to feed on the sand crabs. Then toss out a live sand worm (six pound test on a spinning rod)...Catching several Cobina in the surf, with a fly rod in less than an hour would be epic. My method made it easy.
 
I am pretty sure I stayed at that Dana Hotel one time and had meetings in a bay view conference room. I watched dudes in belly boats catch quite a few fish. I worked it from the shore early morning and did OK myself, 7 wt + clousers.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. I'm gonna try to get on a boat for bass one day. Other than that I'm gonna try and take a morning to hit at least one of the spots mentioned. I contacted one guide but they are only doing shark trips in 2025.
 
Paige said:
Queue @alpinetrout he caught one of the largest Mako's ever landed on fly gear many moons ago down there.
Don't remember all the details exactly, but it was massive!
Click to expand...

IIRC, Brendan's fish was about 600#. Amazing feat on fly gear.

On the one SD trip I did, we we're hoping for multiple 5-6' fly rod fish, but only had a single shark show up. That fish was 10' and estimated 750#. Took 4 of us tag teaming a heavy bait outfit 2+ hours to get it to the boat. Can't imagine fighting that thing on any fly gear.
 
IMHO using fly fishing gear for Mako makes no sense, and I would think that it could dangerous. Fishing for large sharks is always dangerous. That being said I applaud those guys for developing a very interesting sport fishery.
 
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Lot's of "Cattle Boat" options. Half day ( Daily Double) ( Mission Belle) etc...... Shoulder to shoulder , tangles, small fish with heavy gear..... Most avid fisherman will find a trip (out to the kelp beds) interesting....but will likely look for better options. I would think about a kayak rental.....there are many places in both bays, or maybe a small John boat rental out of Coronado. Drag a Smelt or Anchovy clouser over the eel grass. Lot's of action... in some very nice places.... in America's Finest City.
 
I'd like to add...do not ever eat any fish that comes out of any bay in San Diego County! San Diego Bay ( once a paradise) is one of the most polluted bodies of water in our nation. They have signage warning of eating more than 4 ounces of fish per month and absolutely no fish for pregnant women. Our defense industry (Teledyne Ryan) and the U. S. Navy have polluted San Diego Bay with heavy metals..... and Mission Bay is full of sewage. The famous Hotel Del suggest not swimming at their beach....wading only..no water contact to any of your orifices. Sad that this is our "Finest City"... I like it up here in Anacortes
 
I have limited fishing experience in SD but I’d have to second the recommendation on visiting Stroud’s. It’s a really cool old school fly shop and the owner is great.
 
The cool thing about strouds? You go in, tell them that you want to ( for instance) fish the Liberty Station channel for Spotted Bay Bass. They pull out a tray of streamers...and tell you which ones will work the best. This is key in San Diego. Color is everything. A "Channel Islands Chovey" may very well get ten times the bites of a "Purple Chovey". Trust me, it's not like "match the hatch"...it's more like.... what particular color...... ( out of a hundred) is catching fish. Thats where Strouds come in...they will know what you want.
 
Dangerous how? The only time I've felt unsafe mako fishing was when one broke off and then free jumped 30 seconds later right next to the boat. That had nothing to do with the type of rod being used.
 
I'll respond alpineterout. These fish, as you know, are immensely powerful. When they are hooked on to any type of fishing line, this line becomes extremely dangerous ( fingers, ears, wrist, neck etc...) Controlling that line safely is often hard enough with conventional gear. Under ideal conditions this may be a moot point, but often times unforeseen circumstances happen, especially in inclement weather. Nothing about shark fishing is safe. NOTHING. That's why it is so much fun!
 
Another option would be the Bat Ray.... fondly referred to as the "Mud Marlin". Typically,, guys start a bonfire, late at night, drink beer and throw out bait with rods suitable for marlin. These Bat Rays get huge, and have a gnarly stinger. One time I hooked on to one with a spinning rod with eight pound test..I might as well have hooked on to a VW bug...These Bat Rays are not hard to catch..with the right fly fishing gear ( and maybe using some scent) It could be a fun thing to do while you're at a fire ring at night drinking beer.. But make no mistake this fish will hurt you, badly, those stingers are no joke.
 
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