About Santa Monica Bay - Rocky Point (Malibu)

Rocky Point sits off Malibu in Santa Monica Bay, an outer, exposed kelp reef where rocky bottom rises through depths of 20 to 80 feet. The reef holds California Halibut and White Seabass through their spring-to-summer peak from March into July, while Calico Bass build through April to August and Yellowtail move in from May through October. Halibut come to drift fishing with live anchovies, sardines, or smelt across the sand-and-rock edges, and White Seabass respond to live squid, sardines, or mackerel worked near the kelp. Calico Bass hold tight to the rock and structure, where swimbaits, soft plastic grubs, and leadhead jigs draw strikes. As the season turns, Lingcod take over the reef from September into February, worked with metal jigs and leadhead jigs with swimbaits over the hard bottom.