Journal · California coast
9 posts
Tidepooling · Avila · Morro Bay · California coast · 7 min
This winter's king tides fall on November 24 to 26, December 23 to 25 and January 21 to 22. NOAA predicts 7.02 ft at Port San Luis on December 24, and with El Niño holding the coast well above the tide tables, they could top the gauge's record.
Surfing · Morro Bay · Avila · California coast · 5 min
Most East Pacific hurricanes never send us a wave: Baja is in the way. How hurricane swell reaches California when it does, how long it takes, what 12 years of buoy data show, and how to read our new storm tracker.
Surfing · Fishing · Tidepooling · Kayaking · Avila · Morro Bay · Cambria · California coast · 9 min
Rachel, a major hurricane last week, is expected to make landfall in northern Baja as a tropical storm tonight. The Central Coast is far from the center, but it gets high surf, tides running more than a foot above the tables, coastal flood advisories from Big Sur to Santa Barbara County, and light rain Sunday night into Monday.
Surfing · Fishing · Tidepooling · Wildlife · Avila · Morro Bay · California coast · 9 min
A very strong, possibly record El Niño is building into winter. Where the forecasts stand in October 2026, what's already showing up off the Central Coast (warm water, higher tides, southern fish), and how to plan surf, fishing and tidepool days around a stormy season.
Surfing · Fishing · Tidepooling · Avila · Morro Bay · California coast · 27 min
Updated October 28: NOAA gauges from La Jolla to San Francisco ran 12 to 17 inches above prediction in late October, and Port San Luis reached 7.68 ft on October 28, a fraction of an inch above its highest reading since 1980. What the Kelvin wave is, what the gauges show, and what it means for Central Coast king tides this winter.
Fishing · California coast · 2 min
Rod, reel, line and hook sizes for surf perch, rockfish and lingcod on the Central Coast, what each season brings, and the tide window for each fish.
Fishing · California coast · 4 min
Five surfperch, six rockfish and the lingcod: how to tell them apart, where each one holds on the Central Coast, and which tide each one likes.
California coast · 1 min
A short introduction to California's mixed tides with Port San Luis numbers: why one low each day is much lower than the other, and where to go next in Tide School.
Tidepooling · California coast · 2 min
Two Northern California tide pool reserves, Fitzgerald at Moss Beach and Natural Bridges at Santa Cruz, and how to find the daylight minus tide that opens them up.
