Huntington Beach Artificial Reef
33.70°N · 118.08°W
24-Hour Conditions
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Current regulations
In effect nowWhat you can keep at this spot today
- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- 2 in possession
- Size
- Minimum 12"
- Gear
- Boat-based anglers only.
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Boat-based anglers may retain California sheephead from March 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. Divers and shore-based anglers are open year-round. Minimum size 12 inches total length.
- Season
- Mar 1 to Dec 31
Source: CDFW · synced today
Seasonality
52-week view · today highlightedWhen California Sheephead is best at this spot
Nearby Spots
View all on map →Other productive spots within easy run
The Huntington Beach Artificial Reef sits in 40 to 80 feet of water off Santa Monica, 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.
Huntington Beach Artificial Reef is one of the spots we track around Huntington Beach. See every scored spot in California.
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