Should I go fishing today?
Live conditions, tides and tactics — in one place.
Tide — today
7-day outlook
What’s biting.
Yesterday’s counts — boats, anglers and species, every SoCal landing.
Dock totals
Fish counts from every Southern California landing, updated through the day.
Counts published by Friedman Adventures.
Knots & tactics.
The basics, in the order a beginner actually needs them.
Essential knots
SoCal target species
Before you go.
The questions we get asked most about fishing Southern California.
How do I know if today is a good day to fish in Southern California?
Four things decide it, and this page scores all four for the day you pick: how much the tide is moving, how hard the wind is blowing, how big and how choppy the swell is, and how close you are to dawn or dusk. Moving water matters most. A slack tide on a windy afternoon is the slowest water of the day; a strong incoming tide at first light is the fastest.
What is the best time of day to go fishing?
The hour either side of sunrise and sunset, especially when it lines up with a moving tide. This page works out the best window for each of the next seven days and shows it with the daily score, so you can pick a morning rather than guess.
Which fishing knot should a beginner learn first?
The Palomar. It is two steps, it is very hard to tie wrong, and it holds close to the full strength of braided line. Learn the San Diego Jam next for mono and fluorocarbon, and the Uni or Double Uni for joining a braid mainline to a fluorocarbon leader.
Where does the wind, swell and tide data come from?
Tides are NOAA CO-OPS predictions for the nearest station to each spot. Wind, air and water temperature and swell come from Open-Meteo. Both are loaded live in your browser each time you open the page, so the numbers are current rather than cached.
Does Blacktail Fishing book trips?
No. We are a fishing hook manufacturer, not a booking agent. We list the sportfishing landings along the coast and link straight to each one so you can book with them directly. You pay the landing, not us.
Conditions data: NOAA CO-OPS (tides) · Open-Meteo (weather, swell), loaded live in your browser. Estimates only — always check NWS marine forecasts and USCG advisories before going out on the water.