Tackle Shops in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara's two tackle shops sit at opposite ends of the angling spectrum. Hook Line & Sinker, at 2259 Las Positas Rd a couple of miles inland from the harbor, calls itself Santa Barbara's only full-service tackle shop and has run since 1976; it carries gear spanning long-range offshore trips through surf and pier fishing, builds custom rods, and handles rod-and-reel repair and line spooling. It is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays. Down on the water, Stearns Wharf Bait & Tackle is the pier bait shop on Santa Barbara's historic wharf — it carries live bait, rents rods (a cup of bait included) and crab nets, and is open seven days a week, roughly 9 AM to 5 PM. No fishing license is needed to fish off Stearns Wharf, a public pier, which makes it an easy first stop for families and visitors.

Santa Barbara faces the Santa Barbara Channel and the northern Channel Islands — Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Anacapa to the southeast. Rockfish and lingcod hold over the island reefs year-round, subject to seasonal groundfish closures. As the water warms from spring through fall, the pelagic season builds: calico bass on the kelp, California halibut on the flats, white seabass and yellowtail at the islands, and barracuda and bonito closer in. Albacore and the occasional bluefin tuna show offshore in warm years. Off Stearns Wharf, pier anglers pick up mackerel, surfperch, jacksmelt, and bonito. The region's sportfishing fleet runs from Santa Barbara Harbor — Sea Landing and Stardust — a separate operation from the two tackle shops here.

Select a shop or scroll the map to find the one closest to where you'll fish.

Shops in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara on the map