Redondo Beach / King Harbor Fishing Guide: Species & Rules

What you'll find here

Kelp beds plus a sportfishing landing. Pier and breakwater have their own pages.

Overview

King Harbor in Redondo Beach combines a harbor, nearby kelp beds and a sportfishing landing. The Redondo Beach Pier and the King Harbor breakwater are both CDFW public piers and have their own pages.

License rules

A license is required for boat, kayak and shore fishing outside the public piers. Boat anglers fishing for groundfish must carry a descending device. As of October 2026, boat anglers may not keep nearshore rockfish, and shelf rockfish and lingcod only seaward of 50 fathoms.

What you can catch

Calico bass, halibut, bonito and mackerel are common in and around the harbor. Barracuda and sheephead show near kelp. Scorpionfish are caught on reefs.

Tips

Bonito often school in the harbor in summer and fall.
Fish the kelp edges for calico with swimbaits.
Check boat-based sheephead rules (open March 1–December 31, 2026).

The Redondo Beach Sportfishing landing

Redondo Beach Sportfishing says it has run trips from the Redondo Beach pier area since 1955. It sails from 140 International Boardwalk with half-day, full-day, overnight, multi-day and private charter trips. The landing rents rods and sells tackle and one-day fishing licenses. Its fleet includes the Redondo Special, the Pescador and the Navegante. Daily counts are posted to SportfishingReport.com as the boats come in.

What the 2026 counts show

The landing's season totals on SportfishingReport.com, as of October 18, 2026, list 13,775 rockfish, 9,409 ocean whitefish, 4,009 kelp bass, 1,813 Pacific bonito, 1,306 halfmoon, 748 yellowtail, 665 California scorpionfish and 619 sheephead. The 2025 column lists 1,599 kelp bass, 255 bonito and 3 yellowtail. By those numbers, 2026 has been a much stronger warm-water year out of Redondo than 2025.

For the week of October 12–18, 2026, the landing reported 100 calico bass, 34 bonito, 16 sheephead and 6 yellowtail on its regular trips, plus 48 spiny lobster on a lobster trip. Fish in LA's weekly LA fishing report breaks these counts down every week.

Seasons and limits for the fish here

Kelp Bass (Calico Bass): Year-round, best late spring–fall. Limits: 14 inches total length (10 inches alternate length); 5 kelp/barred/spotted sand bass in combination; no more than 4 barred sand bass. Tip: Cast to the kelp edge, sink, then hop the bait up.
California Halibut: Year-round. Limits: 22 inches total length; 5 fish south of Point Sur (Monterey County); LA County is in this zone. Tip: Drift the sand-to-kelp transition, bouncing just off bottom.
Pacific Bonito: Summer–fall schools. Limits: 24 inches fork length or 5 pounds, except 5 smaller fish may be taken; 10 fish. Tip: Troll feathers at 4–6 knots around bait.
Pacific Mackerel: Year-round on piers. Limits: No minimum; No bag limit (Pacific and jack mackerel are listed as no-limit species under T14 CCR §27.60(b)). Tip: Jig a Sabiki near pilings and bait receivers.
California Sheephead: Shore/dive year-round; boats Mar–Dec 2026. Limits: 12 inches total length; 2 fish. Tip: Drop to the rocks, not into the sand.
California Barracuda: Warm water, late spring–fall. Limits: 28 inches total length or 17 inches alternate length; 10 fish (general finfish cap of 10 of one species). Tip: Burn a long iron through a bait school.
California Scorpionfish (Sculpin): Year-round, all depths (2026 SoCal summary). Limits: No minimum; 5 fish. Tip: Fish the bottom and stay there.

Limits summarize CDFW rules as of October 2026; each species page links the official source.

Eating your catch

For fish caught here, OEHHA's Santa Monica Beach south of the Santa Monica Pier to Seal Beach Pier advisory lists servings per week (women 18–49 and children 1–17, then women 50+ and men) as: kelp (calico) bass 1 and 1; California halibut 1 and 2; Pacific chub mackerel 2 and 4; barracuda 0 and 1; scorpionfish 1 and 1. Bonito, sheephead are not named in this advisory. OEHHA also recommends eating skinless fillets and trimming fat.

Frequently asked questions

What can you catch at King Harbor?

Calico bass, halibut, bonito, mackerel, barracuda, sheephead and scorpionfish.

Do you need a license in King Harbor?

Yes, except on the Redondo Beach Pier and King Harbor breakwater public piers.

Are rockfish open from boats near Redondo in October 2026?

Only shelf species seaward of 50 fathoms; nearshore rockfish are closed to boats through December 31.

Where do Redondo Beach fishing boats leave from?

Redondo Beach Sportfishing, at 140 International Boardwalk in King Harbor.

What were Redondo boats catching in October 2026?

For October 12–18, 2026, Redondo Beach Sportfishing reported calico bass, bonito, sheephead, halfmoon, ocean whitefish and a few yellowtail, plus spiny lobster on a lobster trip.

Fish species at Redondo Beach / King Harbor

Map

View larger map

Regulations reminder

Size limits, bag limits, seasons, and MPA rules are set by CDFW and can change in-season. Public-pier license exceptions (CCR 1.88) apply only on qualifying structures — not on the beach next to them. This is an independent site and is not affiliated with CDFW.

wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing →

Nearby waters

Redondo Beach Pier — about under 1 mi away (straight line)
King Harbor Breakwater — about under 1 mi away (straight line)
Hermosa Beach Pier — about 1 mi away (straight line)
Manhattan Beach Pier — about 3 mi away (straight line)
Dockweiler State Beach — about 6 mi away (straight line)
Palos Verdes Kelp Beds — about 7 mi away (straight line)
Alondra Park Lake (freshwater) — about 5 mi away
Machado Lake (Ken Malloy Harbor Park) (freshwater) — about 7 mi away

Sources & official links

Last reviewed: October 2026. Rules, stocking and access change; confirm with the agency linked above before you go.

Redondo Beach / King Harbor