San Diego Trough / 43 Fathom Spot
33.20°N · 117.90°W
24-Hour Conditions
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Current regulations
In effect nowWhat you can keep at this spot today
- Daily limit
- 10 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Gear
- When angling, gear restricted to not more than two hooks and one line; descending device required per §27.20(b)(2).
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Sablefish (Black Cod) is a federal groundfish per CCR T14 §§1.91(a), 28.49. Open year-round in all depths except Groundfish Exclusion Areas. General bag limit applies: not more than 10 of any one species as part of 20-finfish combination per §28.49(b)(2). Fishing rules may be changed in-season.
Source: CDFW · synced today
Seasonality
52-week view · today highlightedWhen Sablefish is best at this spot
Nearby Spots
View all on map →Other productive spots within easy run
The San Diego Trough, also known as the 43 Fathom Spot, is an outer-exposed drop-off southwest of San Diego where a mixed bottom falls through roughly 180 to 300 feet of water. Rockfish hold along this structure year-round, while lingcod concentrate from October through February and ocean whitefish peak from March through October. Anglers work the rockfish with dropper loop rigs baited with squid, mackerel strips, or anchovies, and switch to vertical jigging with metal or slow pitch jigs when fish sit tight to the rocks. Lingcod respond to vertical jigging with heavy iron and swimbaits on lead heads, or a live bait dropper loop with live mackerel and sardines pinned to the drop-off edge. The depth and steep relief also bring sablefish within reach of deep dropping with squid and mackerel strips, alongside sharks that patrol the exposed water above the trough.
San Diego Trough / 43 Fathom Spot is one of the spots we track around San Diego. See every scored spot in California.
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