Marina Del Rey trades distance for depth. Redondo Canyon drops past 2,000 feet less than a mile off the harbor mouth — close-in rockfish, lingcod, whitefish, and sablefish water that boats elsewhere on the coast spend hours running to reach. Above the canyon edge, Santa Monica Bay flats produce halibut, and the same bay system holds calico bass, sand bass, barracuda, sheephead, and seasonal yellowtail and white seabass.
The harbor
Marina Del Rey is a coastal unincorporated community on the west side of Los Angeles County, 12.5 miles west-southwest of Downtown L.A. and 4 miles north of LAX. The fishing fleet works out of Dock 52 on Fiji Way at the southeast end of the harbor.
Grounds
- Redondo Canyon — submarine canyon less than a mile off the harbor, bottoming beyond 2,000 feet. Rockfish, whitefish, lingcod, and sablefish on the deeper edges.
- Santa Monica Bay — sandy flats for halibut; structure for calico bass, sand bass, barracuda, sheephead. Yellowtail and white seabass move through seasonally.
Regulations
The big constraint sits to the north. The Point Dume State Marine Reserve covers 7.53 square miles and bans all take. The adjoining Point Dume State Marine Conservation Area covers another 15.92 square miles and prohibits all recreational take except spearfishing for a defined pelagic list — white seabass, bonito, yellowtail, tunas, dorado, and certain sharks. Both took effect January 1, 2012. Charter boats running hook-and-line out of Marina Del Rey fish outside both MPAs.
Getting there
State Route 90 — the three-mile Marina Freeway — connects directly to Interstate 405. Climate runs mild year-round: mean daily highs of 70.6°F, lows of 56.5°F, with 13.32 inches of annual precipitation.
