Fishing Outside of NewPort Harbor - Tips On How To Do It

[jruiz]

Originally Posted by OCPhisher

With no fishfinder that's a sound strategy. Just head out past the buoy (100 yds or more) drop a line and drift. If no nibbles then reset your drift but go out 50 yds further (deeper).

I'd make sure to have up to 8 or 10 oz sinkers with you too just in case current is ripping. But I'm typically using 4 to 8 oz.

I seem to get more bites south of the harbor opening too.

I've never used live bait (mostly gulp mullets and squid strips for bottomfishing) but last year I know some folks were catching nice sized lings on live bait. I've tried pinning a lizard fish (bycatch) on a hook and sending down but haven't caught anything exciting yet.

You can also troll live bait inside the harbor. I know of some decent sized halibut caught doing that. But you'll have to contend with the sea lions.

Good luck!

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If you go far enough you'll be fishing >360ft for rockfish. I hear the deeper the tastier.

If you don't have a fishfinder, at least be familiar with the area you are fishing. You can be in the canyon less than a mile from the mouth of the harbor and be illegally fishing for rockfish.