A silver missile, not the tropical great barracuda. Most fish you hook in the Bay are short pencils. The 28-inch rule is the whole game.
Last reviewed: October 2026
Nearshore bait schools, kelp edges, and pier ends when Pacific mackerel and anchovies stack up along the LA coast.
CDFW: 28 inches total length or 17 inches alternate length, ten-fish general-species cap. Surface irons, jigs, and fly-lined bait all work when a school shows at Redondo, Santa Monica, or Catalina. Measure on the ruler before the cooler.
California barracuda (Sphyraena argentea) are long, slender fish with a pointed head, a jutting lower jaw and fang-like teeth. The back is brownish to blue-grey and the sides silver, and the tail fin is yellowish. Their body shape makes them hard to confuse with anything else in local waters.
Barracuda are schooling, open-water predators. Off Los Angeles they are mostly caught from boats along kelp lines and around bait schools in Santa Monica Bay, off Palos Verdes and around Catalina. In warm years they also move within range of pier anglers at the ends of piers such as Santa Monica and Redondo.
Open year-round, with most fish caught in the warmer part of the year, from late spring into fall.
Barracuda flesh is soft and best eaten fresh. OEHHA's advisories for both LA coastal zones recommend that women 18–49 and children 1–17 not eat California barracuda, and that women 50+ and men eat no more than 1 serving a week.
The minimum size is 28 inches total length or 17 inches alternate length. Barracuda fall under the general ocean bag, so no more than 10 may be kept within the 20-finfish limit. Boat fillets must be at least 17 inches with a 1-inch patch of silver skin. Open all year.
Boat fillets must be at least 17 inches with a 1-inch silver-skin patch (T14 CCR §28.25).
CDFW ocean sport fishing — California barracuda →
Independent-site disclaimer: this summary is for orientation only and can change in-season. Confirm with CDFW before you keep a fish. Fish in LA is not affiliated with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
28 inches total length, or 17 inches alternate length.
OEHHA advises women 18–49 and children not to eat it, and women 50+ and men to limit it to 1 serving a week.
Up to 10, within the general 20-finfish daily bag.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Rules, stocking and access change; confirm with the agency linked above before you go.
