Pacific coast
Calico bass (kelp bass)
Paralabrax clathratus
Southern California's kelp bass. Every boiler rock and kelp edge holds a few.
What they like
- 2–20 musual depth (they tolerate 1–45 m)
- 14–22 °Cwater temperature they feed in
- clear or coloured waterwater clarity
- rough bottom, drop-offs, the shorelinebottom they hunt, in order
- a moving tide (rising or falling)tide
- dawn and dusklight
Kelp beds, boiler rocks and breakwater edges; low light and a moving tide.
Season by region
Peak months, shaded. Outside them the species may still be around, just less reliably.
Bait and technique
Methods: spinning / casting, fly.
Bait and lures: Swimbaits, weedless plastics, live anchovies and sardines, baitfish flies.
Technique: Cast swimbaits to the edge of the kelp and the boiler rocks, slow-roll them back; heavy line for the kelp.
Rules
California: California: 14 in minimum, 5 per day combined bass. Verify with CDFW.
Seasons, sizes and bag limits change every year and differ by zone. Check the current regulations before you keep anything.
Preferences are expert estimates from the fisheries literature and angling practice, not measurements at your spot. The likelihoods on the maps are a planning aid, not a catch prediction.