Can't speak to Santa Monica, but Malibu is fun to fish. Mind your launch and watch for protected zones near Point Dume and Zuma. There's been some good posts about Malibu in the past too.
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...ght=point+dume
Here's the protected zone:
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.a...95&inline=true