This is Southern California Specific:
Grok, Who has the best info for Fishing?
Dear Grok,
I fear that most solunar table web sites are geared to hunting or fishing on
the East Coast or midwest of USA. I need
to find the website or service or app that does the very best at fishing
predictions for West Coast and Southern California to help me pick my best
Fishing times for Los Angeles and the Southern California Bite. What sites are set up for that? What ones are
free? What one’s charge? Do you really get more for that fee? Review and list in a top ten type list. Thank you for helping me to make better use
of my fishing time.
Answer:
You’re right to be skeptical. A lot of “best fishing times” sites are generic solunar calendars built around moon overhead/underfoot, then slapped onto a ZIP code. That works better as a secondary overlay in Southern California than as the main decision tool.
For Los Angeles and the SoCal Bite, the hierarchy is usually:
- What’s actually biting (landing counts, local reports)
- Tides and current (especially piers, bays, surf, kelp, harbors, islands)
- Weather, wind, swell, barometer
- Water temp / color if you’re going islands or offshore
- Solunar periods when they line up with moving water and low light
A 2023 field study of commercial solunar ratings found no significant relationship between those scores and catch per hour. So don’t pay a lot of money for solunar-only tables. Pay (if at all) for better tides, local coverage, or offshore maps.
Below is a SoCal-first top 10.
Top 10 for Los Angeles / Southern California fishing times
( Go to the End for the full baker’s dozen )
1. Tides4Fishing — best everyday tide + solunar combo
Best for: Piers, bays, surf, kelp, nearshore, San Pedro/Long Beach/Newport/Dana Point/Oceanside/San Diego.
This is the site SoCal and San Diego writeups keep recommending because it pairs NOAA-style tides with solunar periods, moon phase, weather, and a “bite quality” style readout. Tide coefficient (spring vs neap strength) is more useful here than a 5-star moon rating.
- Free: Yes. Current tides, basic solunar, weather.
- Paid: About $9.99/year for fewer ads, longer forecast, extra weather/history.
- Worth the fee? Usually yes if you fish saltwater weekly. Ten dollars a year is cheap compared with burning a tank of gas on a dead slack-tide morning. The extra value is convenience and depth, not magic solunar accuracy. Reviews generally say tides are solid and solunar is mixed.
https://tides4fishing.com/us/california/el-segundo-santa-monica-bay
Review of… https://techspoto.com/tides4fishing-review/
2. Fish City — best “Southern California Bite” tool
Best for: Deciding whether to go and what to target from LA landings south.
This is not a classic solunar table. It is better for SoCal: live charter/landing fish counts, species trends, boats, and NOAA conditions tied to what actually came over the rail. For yellowtail, bonito, calicos, tuna, and rockfish, this beats any moon chart.
- Free: Site and app core features are free.
- Paid: Premium/alerts if offered; the free counts are the real product.
- Worth a fee? Only if you want push alerts. The free counts are the gold.
Also keep SoCal Fish Reports and the old 976-TUNA ecosystem bookmarked. Same idea: real boats, real fish.
https://www.socalfishreports.com/fish_reports/
The App - https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Fish+City&hl=en_US
3. ReelCaster — best West Coast–built forecast
Best for: California coast planning with one score instead of five apps.
Built for BC–Washington–Oregon–California, not Florida or the Midwest. It scores spots using tides, weather, water, pressure, and regs. That is closer to how SoCal actually fishes than a moon-only calendar.
- Free: Today’s score / limited browsing.
- Paid: Pro about $33/year.
- Worth the fee? Yes if you want 14-day hourly scores, saved spots, and alerts. Not worth it if you only need today’s tide.
https://www.reelcaster.com/explore?loc=santa-monica-ca
4. NOAA Tides + Tide Alert (or similar tide app)
Best for: Accurate water movement. This is the foundation.
Use official NOAA predictions for LA Harbor, Long Beach, Newport, Santa Monica, Oceanside, San Diego Bay, La Jolla, etc. Then overlay solunar if you want. Tide apps like Tide Alert make the same data readable on your phone.
- Free: NOAA is free. Tide Alert has a strong free tier.
- Paid: Optional subscriptions for longer graphics/alerts.
- Worth the fee? Optional. Official tides are already excellent.
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.html?gid=1393 ( California options )
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions.html?id=9410777 ( El Segundo )
5. Fishnotify — best free “is it even worth leaving the house?” score
Best for: Beaches, piers, jetties, nearshore. They explicitly optimize for saltwater coastal fishing and show CA locations.
It blends tides, wind, swell, temp, and fish-activity logic into one score. That is more useful on the LA coast than a standalone major/minor table.
- Free: Yes.
- Paid: Not required.
- Worth a fee? N/A. Use it as a first filter.
6. FishingReminder — convenient LA-area solunar + tide pages
Best for: Quick local pages for Santa Ana, Carlsbad, San Diego, Oceanside, etc.
It puts solunar clock, moon, sunrise/sunset, nearby tide chart, and a daily rating on one screen. Good bookmark if you like the classic “major/minor period” layout but still want tides.
- Free: Yes, with signup/ads.
- Paid: Optional “fewer ads / saved spots.”
- Worth the fee? Only for convenience.
https://www.fishingreminder.com/fishing-spots/us/california/santa-monica-bay-5393214
7. SolunarClock / TideTime Los Angeles pages
Best for: People who still want a traditional solunar table calculated for a SoCal city.
Examples exist for Los Angeles and Carlsbad, and some include nearby tide stations. Better than a generic East Coast table because times are local. Still treat the star rating as a suggestion, not a guarantee.
- Free: Yes.
- Paid: Usually no.
- Worth a fee? No. These should stay free.
https://www.tidetime.org/north-america/united-states/los-angeles-solunar.htm
8. SatFish — best paid tool if you run offshore or to the islands
Best for: Bluefin, yellowfin, dorado, marlin, kelp paddies, Tanner/Cortez, Catalina, San Clemente.
This is where East Coast solunar sites completely miss SoCal. Offshore Bite planning is SST breaks + chlorophyll/bait + bathymetry + wind, not moon overhead at 2:14 p.m. SatFish has a dedicated Southern California Bight chart.
- Free: 30-day trial.
- Paid: About $129/year, all regions.
- Worth the fee? Yes if you burn fuel looking for tuna water. No if you only fish the local jetty. Alternatives: Terrafin (~$109–119/yr), RipCharts, FishTrack. Newer SoCal-focused options like Catalysst add fleet AIS.
https://fishare.app/vs/sst-charts/ or https://fishare.app/regulations/ca/
https://www.satfish.com/regions/southern-california-fishing-maps/
9. SeaLegs AI — best “tell me where and when” interpreter
Best for: Anglers who don’t want to read raw SST charts.
It combines SST, chlorophyll, marine forecast, solunar and tide windows, and writes a plain-language go/caution plan. Good complement to landing reports.
- Free: Trial / limited.
- Paid: Low monthly or pay-per-report (pricing moves; check current plans).
- Worth the fee? Yes if you want interpretation. No if you already read Windy/SatFish well.
https://www.sealegs.ai/blog/best-fishing-weather-apps
10. CastConditions / Tackle App solunar tools — best free zip/spot calendars
Best for: Fast major/minor times for a pinned LA or San Diego spot.
Tackle’s tool even lists San Diego as a quick spot. CastConditions adds barometer and a 1–5 score by ZIP. Use them to pick hours, not to decide if the Bite is on.
- Free: Yes.
- Paid: Not needed.
- Worth a fee? No.
https://tackleapp.ai/tools/solunar-tables
Free vs paid: what you actually get
|
Need |
Free is enough? |
Pay if… |
|
Moon major/minor times |
Yes |
Never pay much for this alone |
|
Accurate LA/SD tides |
Yes (NOAA / Tides4Fishing free) |
You want cleaner app + 7–14 day view |
|
“Is the SoCal Bite on?” |
Yes (Fish City, landing reports) |
You want alerts |
|
West Coast daily score |
Partial |
ReelCaster Pro ~$33/yr |
|
Offshore tuna/yellowtail water |
No, not really |
SatFish / Terrafin / similar |
You do not get 2x more fish from a $10 solunar upgrade. You can save
wasted trips by paying for:
- better tide presentation
- West Coast scoring
- SST/chlorophyll maps
- live fleet/catch intel ( See Fish Dope info below )
Practical SoCal setup (what I’d actually use)
Bay / pier / surf / harbor around LA
- Tides4Fishing or NOAA tide
- Fishnotify or ReelCaster for a daily score
- Wind/swell on Windy
- Local reports if targeting a specific species
Kelp, calicos, yellowtail nearshore Same as above, plus landing counts. Best windows are often moving tide + first/last light. If a major solunar period hits that same window on a spring tide, even better.
Islands / banks / tuna Fish City + SatFish (or Terrafin/Windy SST) first. Solunar last. And Fish Dope
Rule of thumb for the Bight:
A ripping incoming or outgoing tide at dawn beats a “excellent” solunar day
with slack water and a howling west wind.
Followup Q: Bonus
# 11
Why did FishDope not make the list?
Answer:
It should have been on a SoCal-specific list. It missed because of category, not quality.
The original ask was for solunar / best-time tables. FishDope is not that. It is a Southern California Bite intel service: daily local reports, hot-bite pins with GPS, SST and chlorophyll charts, bathymetry, buoys/wind, and a spotter plane in offshore season. Coverage is Point Conception to San Quintin, including LA, Catalina, San Clemente, Dana Point, Oceanside, San Diego, and the Coronados.
That is closer to what actually matters in the So-Cal Bight than a moon calendar.
What it is
- Built for SoCal private boaters: “catch more fish, burn less fuel.”
- Combines human reports (captains, commercials, private boats, VHF) with satellite water maps.
- Spotter plane roughly weekly, July–October, weather permitting.
- Offline-ready app once you cache charts at the dock.
- Membership is required. Current advertised price is about $199/year. No month-to-month.
Why it didn’t fit the first top 10?
- It does not sell major/minor solunar windows as the product.
- It is a paid service and fairly expensive next to free tide/solunar sites.
- It helps most if you have a boat and burn fuel. Far less essential for you if your fishing is the pier, kayak, local-in-the-harbor, or “which ¾-day should I book?”
- Local opinion is split: many private boaters call it a must; others say reports can lag a day, inshore writeups get stale, and a good code group beats any subscription.
- Marina
Del Rey Anglers can be your code group. Come to the meetings and make friends
who fish and can help you learn. Look
for #MDRAnglers ( in social media) for the hottest fish reports and news. FaceBook or Instagram or X.
www.MDRAnglers.com
or
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MDRAnglers
Does the fee buy you more info?
For a trailer-boat or six-pack guy chasing yellowtail, bluefin, or island
bites: often yes. One saved tank or one
avoided skunk trip can cover $199. For timing a jetty session in Long Beach: no. Use
tides + free landing counts instead.
Where I’d rank it now If we recast the list as “best tools for the Southern California Bite,” FishDope belongs near the top for private-boater going to the islands or any offshore trip planning, alongside Fish City (free landing counts) and SatFish/Terrafin (raw SST). It still would not replace Tides4Fishing for picking the hour on a moving tide.
Short version: it missed the solunar list on purpose. For your LA/SoCal Bite question, it was a gap, and it is one of the few services actually built for this coast.
Your Saltwater Guide Bonus # 12
Extra… Do not miss out on this resource!
https://yoursaltwaterguide.com/authors/captain-dave-hansen
There is a big So Cal fishing resource to learn from here as well. with Dave Hanson's weekly SoCal fishing game plans, He also explores the local fishing hot spots and GPS video guides, and builds up your skills with 400+ saltwater fishing lessons.
Dave’s style is not for everyone. He is brash and in your face. But a thick skin is needed if you are going out on the Party Boats in Southern California. Start here and pay attention and you will not be a “newbie” on those boats for long.
J D’s Bonus # 13
No better salwater tackle shop on the west coast if you are
into Big Game. OMG the amount of fishing
knowledge and talent that has walked into that shop on Balboa Island, CA, and
shared all the intimate details of What, Where, and How is an amazing thing to
contemplate. Make the pilgrimage to
visit the shop someday. JD’s Big Game
Fishing Tackle - 406 S Bay Front, Newport Beach, CA 92662. Near the Balboa Island Ferry.
AND they publish what they know at: https://www.jdsbiggame.com/fish-report
And his links page is the best.
So there you have it… the full bakers dozen. Where to get your Fish Info. on the web.
Good Luck.
Tight Lines.
Keith L. with MDRA
#MDRAnglers
