About West Anacapa Island

West Anacapa Island sits off Ventura, California, an outer-exposed kelp reef built over rock structure with depths running from 20 to 80 feet. White Seabass move through from February to July and respond to live bait fishing with live squid, sardines, or mackerel, while California Halibut peak March through August and come to drift fishing over the sand and rock margins with live anchovies, smelt, or squid. Calico Bass and Kelp Bass hold tight to the kelp from spring into summer, worked with plastics like swimbaits and grubs or with live sardines and anchovies. In late summer and fall, Bocaccio Rockfish take dropper loop rigs baited with squid strips and cut mackerel dropped along the deeper rock, and California Sheephead feed near the reef from July through September on bait fishing setups with live shrimp, squid, or mussels. The exposed outer position and rock relief keep bait and predators concentrated across the full depth range.