About Huntington Beach Artificial Reef

The Huntington Beach Artificial Reef sits in 40 to 80 feet of water off Huntington Beach, California, where deployed structure concentrates fish across a sandy-bottom shelf. Pacific halibut move through the reef edges from February to May and respond to drifting live bait such as live anchovies, sardines, or smelt, while calico bass hold tight to the structure from April to August and take swimbaits, soft plastic grubs, and leadhead jigs worked through the rocks. Rockfish stay catchable year-round on a dropper loop baited with squid, cut mackerel, or shrimp flies, with California sheephead adding to the mix from April to September on live shrimp, squid, or crab fished along the bottom. As water cools, lingcod arrive from September to February and take metal jigs and leadhead jigs with swimbaits worked vertically over the structure, alongside cabezon from September to April. Drifting live bait across the reef margins and jigging directly over the structure both produce well at these depths.