SoCal & San Diego chlorophyll chart
Satellite data from
The Southern California Bight, from Point Conception and Santa Barbara down past Los Angeles and San Diego to the Coronado Islands just south of the border, and out past the Channel Islands to Tanner and Cortes Banks.
Today’s read
| Station | Water | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Monica Basin (46025) | 72.3°F | |
| Santa Monica Bay, CA (46221) | 72.5°F | |
| San Pedro, CA (46222) | 72.7°F | |
| Santa Cruz Basin, CA (46251) | 72.1°F | |
| San Pedro South, CA (46253) | 71.2°F |
On this chart: San Diego, Catalina, San Clemente Island, the Coronado Islands, Tanner Bank, Cortes Bank, the 9 Mile Bank, the Channel Islands, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Point Conception.
How to read today’s Southern California chart
Work the colour line. Green water is productive and blue water is clean; bait stacks on the seam between them, and gamefish hunt that seam. The contours above trace the productivity edges so the line is something you can put a waypoint on.
The highest-percentage water offshore is where a chlorophyll edge lines up with a temperature break. Check this against the Southern California SST chart and start where they overlap.
What usually sets up in Southern California
All of these sit inside this chart: the 9 Mile Bank and the 43, 182 and 302 spots off San Diego; the Coronado Islands just south of the border; Catalina and San Clemente Island; and Tanner and Cortes Banks southwest of San Clemente Island. Find yours on the chart and you are reading today's satellite water temperature right over it, and how far it sits from the nearest break.
The Bight is a temperature-break factory. Cold water sweeps down the outside of the Channel Islands while warmer water pushes up the inside, so the seam between them often sets up somewhere between San Nicolas, Santa Barbara Island and Catalina — and it moves daily.
Watch where the break crosses structure. The offshore banks and the island ridges force water up, and a temperature line that bends around one of them concentrates bait far more reliably than the same line sitting over open water.
In late summer and fall the warm push comes up from the south, so the whole gradient tilts: the warm side stacks against the lower island chain while the water west of the islands stays cold and blue.
Pair it with temperature
Chlorophyll shows you the food. Temperature shows you whether the conditions suit the fish you are after. See today’s Southern California SST chart →
Frequently asked
How often does the Southern California chlorophyll chart update?
The image is regenerated twice a day from the latest satellite chlorophyll data in the Catalysst app, rendered on a log scale and clipped to the coastline. The date shown is the date of the satellite data, which moves forward about once a day.
What area does the Southern California chlorophyll chart cover?
From 32.0°N to 34.6°N and 121.0°W to 117.0°W. Ports and landmarks on it include San Diego, Catalina, San Clemente Island, the Coronado Islands, Tanner Bank, Cortes Bank, the 9 Mile Bank, the Channel Islands, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Point Conception.
Do you fish the green water or the blue water?
Neither — you fish the edge between them. Bait gets pushed against the clean-water line and predators hunt that seam. The highest-percentage water is where a chlorophyll edge stacks on top of a temperature break.
Why does chlorophyll matter if I already have SST?
Temperature tells you where conditions suit the predator; chlorophyll tells you where the food is. A break with no bait on it is just a line in the water.
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