Published November 9, 2026
NEWPORT BEACH | SURF & COAST | NOVEMBER 9, 2026
After dark this fall, look out past the jetties and you’ll see headlamps bobbing around. Some are guys on the rocks. Some are on little skiffs. Some are on boats big enough to have a name and a mortgage. They’re all after the same thing: California spiny lobster, a.k.a. bugs.
Recreational season opened Oct. 2 and runs through March 17, 2027. Here’s what you need to know before you drop a net.
Paperwork first. Everybody who fishes for lobster needs a Spiny Lobster Report Card, kids included. Anyone 16 or older also needs a California fishing license, unless they’re fishing from a public pier.
Net limits. Off a pier, a jetty or other shore structure, it’s two hoop nets per person. On a boat, it’s up to five per person, but never more than 10 on one boat, no matter how many friends you packed.
Check your nets. Pull them up at least every two hours. A net left longer than that counts as abandoned.
Size and limit. Seven lobsters per person per day. Each one needs a carapace of at least 3¼ inches, measured from the back of the eye socket to the back of the body shell. Bring a gauge and measure as soon as the net comes up. Shorts go back right away.
Hoop nets or hands only. No traps, no spears, no hook and line.
Know where not to go. Upper Newport Bay is a marine protected area. No lobster there. Down the coast, the Crystal Cove protected area does allow recreational lobster, but leave the tide pools alone.
Turn in your card. Report cards are due April 30, even if you got skunked.
The water’s still warm, the nights are long and the bugs are out there. Just don’t let a game warden be the one who measures your catch.
Sources
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Recreational Lobster Fishing
- CDFW: Ocean invertebrate fishing regulations
- CDFW: California Spiny Lobster brochure
- New Santa Ana: Lobster season opens as Fish and Wildlife warns anglers to know the rules
- California State Parks: Marine protected areas near Corona del Mar State Beach
Help us out, Newport.
Read next
Surf & CoastNewport’s Big Harbor Dredge Isn’t the Whole Story. The Mud Under Your Dock Is Still Yours.The Lower Bay dredge is its own project. Small dredging under private docks runs on a city permit called RGP-54, and it's headed back to committee.Read story →Suggestion 1 of 5
Surf & CoastWest Newport Is Getting $1.5 Million in Trucked-In Sand. The 62nd Street Groin Is Still a 1974 IOU.City Hall voted 5-0 to haul river sand into West Newport. The groin it planned at 62nd Street back in 1974 is still missing.Read story →Suggestion 2 of 5
Surf & CoastWest Newport’s Beach Is a River. City Hall’s Paying $1.5 Million to Truck It Back.Sand used to ride down the Santa Ana River for free. Now Newport’s paying $1.5 million to truck it into West Newport.Read story →Suggestion 3 of 5
Around NewportNewport-Mesa High School Students Can Take College Classes for Free This SpringHere's something Newport families might actually want to get ahead of: local high school students can take college classes this spring without paying tuition.Read story →Suggestion 4 of 5
Surf & CoastWhat’s Going Up at 10th Street Beach on the Balboa Peninsula? Locals See Seawall Work, City Records Are ThinCrews are working beside the seawall at 10th Street Beach after Bay Street flooding. Here’s what the video shows—and what city records don’t yet explain.Read story →Suggestion 5 of 5