Oxnard Shores

The beach at Oxnard Shores facing north.

Channel Islands Harbor - Great For Fishing Too!

Channels Islands Harbor is one of the most scenic views in the county. It is home to many boating enthusiasts and is frequently visited from other boaters from Santa Barbara to the north and Los Angeles Harbor and Marina Del Ray from the south. This particular location is also a known fishing spot. It's close proximity to the water from the parking lot makes it very easy to access. You can literally back in your car, open your trunk and your just a few feet away from casting into the harbor. If you run out of bait there is a store close by that sells salted anchovies. Occasionally seagulls dive after your bait on the cast or a wondering sea lion may try to snag your catch from you. I've had that happen a few times. Typically fishing from this spot is surface fishing. My friends and I like casting our lines without a weight so that once the bait hits the water it slowly floats down, this drives the fish nuts and you will get multiple hits if you are using a Filipino Jig (5-7 hooks on one line). You can do some bottom fishing here as well for halibut. The largest fish I've seen caught here was a halibut about 4 feet in length. Most of the fish caught here are mackerel and jack smelts, sometimes sea bass all about 1-3 pounds. If you have a crab net you can toss that in and you may be lucky enough to catch yourself a nice sized spider crab. Be sure you have your fishing license the game warden drops in once in a while to check on violators, fine is around $800.