What's in the Tanks
Current load by receiver. Bait turns over through the day as boats unload, so this is a starting point — the phone is still your best friend before a long run.
Loads pulled from the Everingham Bros receiver report. Bait turns over fast — what's in the tank when you pull up is what counts.
Match the Bait to the Bite
Same three baits show up on the report all season, but they fish nothing alike. What's loaded should shape where you point the bow.
Sardine
the money bait
When the tanks have lively dines, you've got options on everything that swims out here. A nose-hooked sardine on a fly-line is the bread-and-butter presentation for bluefin, yellowfin, yellows, and the bigger grade of calico. Size is the tell: a 6–8" "horse" is what you want when you're hunting big bluefin on the 425 or the Coronados, while a 3–5" dine fishes lighter line for everything closer in.
Anchovy
the finesse play
Chovies are what you reach for when fish get their PhD — line-shy tuna boiling on small bait, calicos that won't commit, a flat-calm afternoon where a sardine looks like a beach ball. Drop to lighter fluoro and a smaller hook, fly-line a chovy, and you'll get bit when the guy next to you throwing a horse dine is getting skunked. They bruise fast, so keep them cool and don't crowd the tank.
Mackerel
big bait, big fish
When bluefin lock onto macks, nothing else gets bit — slow-troll a greenback or sink one on a sinker rig and hang on. A 'mack is also a top-shelf white seabass and big-yellow bait around island structure and the hard bottom. Bridle or sinker-rig a big one; nose-hook a smaller Spanish mack if you want to cast it. If the report shows macks running, that's a green light to think bigger.
The Receivers
Numbers, hours, and where each barge sets you up. Call ahead — a 4 AM bait call has changed plenty of my run plans from "fish local" to "trailer south."
Dana Point Barge
My home barge. If I'm running the local zone or pointing at Catalina off the wharf, this is the stop — and a quick call here usually tells me what size dines came in overnight.
- Hours
- 24/7
- Coords
- 33.4629°N, 117.6986°W
- Sets up
- Dana Point, San Clemente, Catalina, the 267 / 277
Mission Bay Barge
The launch-and-go for La Jolla and the Hidden Bank crowd. Mackerel show up here when they're running, which is worth knowing before a seabass plan.
- Hours
- 24/7
- Coords
- 32.7660°N, 117.2500°W
- Sets up
- Mission Bay, La Jolla, Upper Hidden Bank
San Diego Bay Barge
The big one — the largest bait operation on the coast, and the best odds of a full, mixed load when everywhere else is rationing. This is the dock for the Point Loma and Fisherman's Landing fleets.
- Hours
- 24/7
- Coords
- 32.7070°N, 117.2240°W
- Sets up
- Point Loma, H&M, Fisherman's Landing, Seaforth fleets
Oceanside Receiver
North County's option, independent and hit-or-miss. Don't assume — call before you launch, because availability swings hard with the season and the load.
- Hours
- Vary — call first
- Coords
- 33.1950°N, 117.3870°W
- Sets up
- Oceanside, North County, the 209 / 182
Long Beach Bait Co — "Nacho's"
The LA/Long Beach harbor option, independent from the San Diego barges. Nacho posts current bait to his blog and Facebook, monitors VHF Ch 11, and runs nominally 24/7 — but hail or call before a pre-dawn run, the early hours can be hit-or-miss.
- Hours
- ~24/7 — hail Ch 11 first early AM
- Where
- Inside the east end of the LB breakwall
- Current bait
- Bait report blog
- Sets up
- Long Beach, San Pedro, Huntington, Catalina crossing
Call (562) 455-9928 · VHF Ch 11
San Pedro Bait Co
LA Harbor's other independent, running the Cabrillo (San Pedro) barge and the Newport Harbor barge. Skip their stale website — they keep a 24-hour recorded bait line that's the fastest way to know what's loaded before you run.
- Hours
- 24/7 spring–fall (late-night minimum)
- Current bait
- (310) 217-7552 — 24hr recording · VHF Ch 11
- Cabrillo barge
- (310) 365-2516
- Newport barge
- (310) 461-5370
- Sets up
- San Pedro, LA Harbor, Newport Harbor
Pair It With Conditions
Bait's half the picture. What's biting, where the fleet's working, and where the warm water sits is the other half — and it's all live on the site.