The Yellowfin Croaker - a popular and abundant saltwater species found chiefly in Southern California - provides anglers with fun surf fishing sport and great eating qualities. Needless to say, yellowfin croaker fishing is a consistent favorite in our guiding service and tournament fishing for these reasons!
Whether you're an experienced beach angler or a novice looking to try your hand at surf fishing for croaker, this detailed guide will equip you with the knowledge and techniques to have a successful yellowfin croaker fishing trip from the beach, jetty or pier, and answer lots of common questions that we cover in guided sessions.
We'll cover various aspects of croaker fishing in depth, including the yellowfin croaker bag and size limit in California, how to catch them, the best bait, recommended rigs, setups, and valuable tips from a professional guide and tournament angler to enhance your chances of ending the day with a cooler full of these tasty edible fish.
Yellowfin Croaker Fishing Guide Page Index
Yellowfin Croaker Fishing Overview
The Yellowfin Croaker (Umbrina roncador) is a common small to medium-sized inshore and surf species of fish in the drum family, typically ranging from 6 to 22 inches in length, and up to about 4-5lb.
The California State Record for yellowfin croaker is 3lb 14oz and was caught in 2000 by Fred Oakley on Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles. The IGFA All-Tackle World Record yellowfin croaker weighed 5lb 8oz and was caught in East Cape, Mexico in 2001.
The catch below shows four typical Southern California yellowfin croaker caught surf fishing. The average yellowfin caught in California is around the 10-12" mark, and around the 1lb mark.
As the name suggests, and photo above illustrates, they often have distinct yellow fins and brassy, metallic colors on their upper body, plus the classic underslung croaker mouth equipped with small crushing pad-type teeth (they’re harmless) and a single small barble under their chin.
They croak by vibrating a muscle near their swim bladder to make a noise and vibration like a frog croaking. When you next catch one, gently hold it so you can feel the stomach area - you'll often feel them croaking if you can't hear them. Scientists have speculated that this croaking is a form of communication between individual fish.
Yellowfin croaker are commonly found in the coastal waters of Southern California, usually between the Bay Area and San Diego, down into Mexico, making them a favorite target for surf anglers along this varied stretch of coastline. They often live in small shoals and it’s common to catch them in flurries as the group feeds in your area.
Differences Between Yellowfin Croaker vs Spotfin Croaker vs Corbina
You can tell the difference between a spotfin croaker and a yellowfin croaker by the obvious black spot under the spotfin’s pectoral fin and the more elongated shaped head and body of the corbina.
The spotfin is far stockier and often larger than the more slender yellowfin croaker, too. The photos below the difference between a yellowfin (middle), spotfin (top) and corbina. They're all members of the croaker family but have distinctly different body shapes and coloration.
The only other species that might be confused with a yellowfin croaker is a white croaker. These are commonly caught on piers and in bays and harbours in Southern and Central California.
They look look like a cross between a spotfin and yellowfin but the difference is that they have multiple small barbels under their chin, whereas the yellowfin only has one. They also have a much smaller and more subtle black spot by the pectoral fin, and are generally smaller.
Yellowfin Croaker Size Limit in California
The good news is that there is no minimum size limit for yellowfin croaker in California, but there is a 20-fish bag limit per species for federally-managed groundfish, of which the yellowfin croaker is one.
It’s also important to know that, although you can have 20 individual fish as part of your overall bag, you can only possess ten examples of any one species in this bag limit.
So the bag limit for yellowfin croaker in California is 10 fish in total, with no size limit or minimum size for those 10 fish. You can take ten yellowfin croaker of any size home within a personal 20-fish limit.
Always check local regulations to ensure you're fishing within the legal guidelines as some local variations and closures may apply.
Are Yellowfin Croaker Good to Eat?
The yellowfin croaker is not only a popular target for surf anglers, they’re also delicious to eat. The firm, white flesh is known for its mild, sweet flavor and our guided clients love eating their catch for lunch after a morning surf fishing trip.
Yellowfin croaker are versatile and can be prepared for eating in various ways, such as grilling whole with your favorite seasoning, breading and frying individual fillets (our favorite), or salt baking whole (great for larger fish). This versatility makes them a favorite for fresh seafood enthusiasts and fish taco fans.
We recommend gutting, bleeding and cleaning them before putting them on ice as soon as possible after capture. Bring a cooler and ice to the beach if you’re croaker fishing for food.
Are Yellowfin Croaker Safe to Eat?
Yes, yellowfin croaker are one of the safest fish to eat in Southern California and adults can consume multiple servings a week with no issues.
The two Statewide Advisory notices below detailing species that are safe to eat sets out safe portion sizes and weekly intake levels for yellowfin croaker. As you can see, it's recommended to consume between two and four portions a week depending on your age and gender.
How to Catch Yellowfin Croaker
The good news is that yellowfin croaker are amongst the easiest of the surf species to catch with only simple tactics and tackle needed. They’re not line shy like a corbina, or as rare as a spotfin. They’re usually just hungry and keen to meet your cooler.
The main thing you need to know to catch lots of YFC (surf anglers code for the YellowFin Croaker) is that they like calmer conditions and an easier life than, say, a surf perch. You’ll rarely catch them in the foaming whitewater close in on the beach or in very shallow water.
Instead, they almost always sit just behind the surf zone in the first pockets of deeper water - often behind a sandbar in a gully or hole around where the first waves want to break. Look for darker water and calm patches where the waves aren't breaking. You should target this area specifically and gear up to cast and position a bait there.
Another factor to consider in consistently catching YFCs is the presence of sand crabs or a food source. If you find large beds of sand crabs in the warmer months in Southern California, and some calm conditions such as small waves in the 1-2ft range and a mellow current, the croaker will be nearby.
Water temperature is also important with the croaker becoming far more abundant with higher water temperatures - ideally well above 63-degrees Fahrenheit and into the upper 60s.
Sure you’ll catch them in winter, but the real red letter days come in the summer when the warm water brings lots of bait close to shore on a sandy beach with a little bit of current and swell, and the big shoals of yellowfin follow.
In summary, the main things to consider first when targeting a solid haul of yellowfin croaker is to find an open sandy beach with lots of bait (usually sand crabs), some calm conditions, water as warm as possible and some fish-holding structure such as a deep hole, channel or gully close to shore.
Best Yellowfin Croaker Bait
We’ve had the chance to experiment with lots of different offerings bait-wise over the years, and have arrived at the following top five best baits for yellowfin croaker fishing in the surf.
1 Sand Crab: Preferably a soft shell sand crab, but any olive-size sand crab is awesome bait for YFCs and is our go-to offering when we can find them
2 FishBites E-Z Flea: We’re consistently impressed with how the croaker find and eat FishBites baits in the surf, even at night. It feels like cheating, to be honest, but who cares when that rod tip keeps rattling! A fingernail-size piece of E-Z Flea is always on one hook of a Croaker Rig or Double Dropper Loop whenever we’re yellowfin fishing
3 Gulp! Sandworm: A bait-and-wait or Carolina Rig-fished artificial sandworm is a reliable year-round bait when the sand crabs are thin on the ground. Use the 2in version of the camou neris color on a small size 1,2 or 4 J hook
4 Mussel meat: Free when you can forage it legally and safely from rocks and pilings, yellowfin love fresh mussel meat on a Single Dropper Loop rig, especially on the rockier beaches. Use bait elastic to secure the soft flesh on the hook
5 Squid: Yellowfin show a real liking for small strips of squid, with this being a great winter bait, easily purchased in a slab from the local tackle shop, and one you can keep in the freezer for an impromptu surf trip
Best Yellowfin Croaker Lures
Yellowfin croaker are predatory and will eat small baitfish - you'll often catch them on small hard baits (Krokodiles, KastMasters and spoons in the 1/2-1oz size) and soft plastic baitfish-imitating lures in the surf and in bays or harbors. This isn't the best or most effective way of catching them but it can be fun sport on light tackle.
For surf surfing for a mix of species, including YFCs, we use small artificial baits like the curlytail grub pictured below, set up on a light Carolina Rig with a 3/4oz sinker. This is more of a winter or cold water tactic when the sand crabs have disappeared and the croaker are in hunting / foraging mode.
Best Yellowfin Croaker Rigs
The three best rigs for yellowfin croaker are a Carolina Rig on a light surf fishing outfit - and a Single Dropper Loop or a Croaker Rig on a heavier bait-and-wait combo.
The Carolina Rig setup is identical to a basic Southern California surf perch or corbina setup and is best suited to baits like a small sand crab, curlytail grub lure or sandworm. The photo below shows a typical all-round light line Carolina Rig for yellowfin croaker with a medium-size sand crab for bait.
The ideal C-Rig for yellowfin consists of a small high quality J hook in the size 6 to 2 bracket (size 6 and 4 for sand crabs, 2 for worm and squid baits) 25-35” of 4-8lb fluorocarbon or mono leader, a small stainless steel barrel swivel, a 4mm clear bead, a ¾ to 1oz egg sinker and a 4ft, 10lb clear mono or fluorocarbon topshot before the main line starts.
The bait-and-wait rigs are a little heavier and designed for casting further into the deeper water with a sputnik surf sinker. For the ultimate yellowfin rig, look no further than the Croaker Rig.
Specifically designed for catching lots of yellowfin, this is the rig we use in our guiding service for targeting big hauls of croaker. The sand crab - FishBites bait below is set up on a Croaker Rig and is something we've had a lot of success with.
The two hooks are both Mutsu circle hooks - ideal for using our favorite combination of a small sand crab and a strip of FishBites. This rig is simply our number one yellowfin croaker-catcher of all time.
The Single Dropper Loop is a similar rig but with one strand of line and hook instead of two, and a J style of hook instead of a circle. It’s the best choice for worm and mussel meat baits and fishing a little closer to shore. It’s also one of our top spotfin croaker catchers.
The most critical part of using a Dropper Loop or Croaker Rig is the choice of sinker. Your weight must be heavy enough to cast where the croaker are feeding, and it must stay there until the fish finds it and you get a bite.
In most cases, the best choice of weight for surf fishing for yellowfin croaker is a sputnik sinker in 2, 3 or 4oz. This is because the wired design of the sputnik sinker will hold the bait in place for longer than a pyramid sinker. You’ll also be able to use a smaller sinker to hold bottom.
You can see the sputnik sinker in the background of the photo below, which shows a mussel meat bait that's great for catching YFC near the rockier beaches.
Using this style of wired sinker means you can opt for a Medium-rated setup to cast a 2 or 3oz sputnik sinker to say in the desired zone, rather than a Medium Heavy setup required to launch a 4, 5 or 6oz pyramid sinker to perform the same job. We strongly recommend the use of wired surf sinkers like this for croaker fishing.
Best Yellowfin Croaker Setups and Tackle
To match the go-to rigs above, we use the following combos for yellowfin croaker fishing when guiding clients in California:
Rod and Reel Combo for Yellowfin Croaker Fishing with Bait and Dropper Loop Rigs
Rod and Reel Combo for Yellowfin Croaker Fishing with Light Tackle and Carolina Rigs (C-Rig)
Best Tides and Times for Yellowfin Croaker Fishing
Yellowfin love a significant amount of tidal movement coinciding with dawn or dusk. Pick a day with a medium-to-large-size high tide an hour or two before dusk, or just before dawn, and you’ll have a great chance of finding a stack of hungry YFC sat just off the surf waiting for an easy meal.
The tide chart below shows a good summertime evening tide for yellowfin croaker fishing. As the sundown approaches, the outgoing (ebbing) tide will trigger the fish to move and feed, making them highly catchable close to shore. A similar tide at dawn would also be great for croaker fishing
Yellowfin Croaker Fishing Tips
Yellowfin croaker are highly visual feeders and love small, bright items in the surf. For example, a red bead about a sandworm grub or curlytail lure produces noticeably more interest on the light tackle setups
If conditions on open beaches are a little rough when the swell picks up, yellowfin are happy to reside in harbors and bays. Although somewhat rare in the truly enclosed waterways of SoCal around the big harbor systems, they love any sort of larger bay or jetty-enclosed area where the water is warm and bait easy to find
They also make excellent shark bait - large leopard and soupfin sharks, in particular, are frequently caught on decent chunks and head sections of a small to medium-size YFC rigged on a Pulley Rig, usually around where the baitfish are present as the sun goes down with a strong tidal movement.
The leopard shark below was caught on a fresh yellowfin croaker bait.
Thank you for reading this article on yellowfin croaker fishing - hopefully it's helped you work out some of the methods and tactics that'll work for you next time you hit the surf!
If you'd like to learn more about yellowfin croaker fishing, and surf fishing in general, we run in-depth tuition and coaching sessions in Southern California.
We'd love to help you so get in touch via ben@americanseafishing.com to book a surf fishing lesson or surf fishing trip.
