Newport Harbor East Jetty (Corona del Mar / The Wedge)
Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, California
Fishing conditions
Loading…
National Weather Service (api.weather.gov)
Loading…
NOAA CO-OPS predictions, station 9410580
- Sunrise—
- Sunset—
Dawn/dusk and a moving tide (the hour around a high or low) typically bring the most active bite — worth timing a trip around whichever falls closest to first/last light.
Loading…
Loading buoy telemetry…
NOAA National Data Buoy Center
Rock breakwater forming the east side of Newport Harbor's entrance at Corona del Mar State Beach. The City identifies a red-flashing light on this jetty. USACE completed a 2021 repair with concrete repair and 4,500 tons of stone placed along the walkway to raise the revetment and reduce fall/wave-force hazards. This remains uneven, wet rock beside an active entrance channel—not a level, maintained pier deck.
Species & regulations
A local Corona del Mar jetty report documents bass. Work a small swimbait or bait close to the rock edge, but keep moving line clear of cracks and never compromise footing to retrieve a snag.
⚠ OEHHA excludes Newport Bay from its general coastal advisory because the bay has its own advisory context. No species-specific east-jetty serving recommendation was verified in this review; consult OEHHA's current advisory lookup before eating fish from the harbor entrance.
A local Corona del Mar jetty report documents perch. Use small hooks with natural bait near the beach-side rock/sand transition and stay out of the swimming area.
⚠ No species-specific east-jetty serving recommendation was verified in this review; check OEHHA's current advisory lookup before consuming catch from the harbor entrance.
A 2022 Corona del Mar jetty report documents bonito. Cast only from a secure position and keep all casts outside the marked entrance channel; moving water and vessel traffic can end a session immediately.
⚠ No species-specific east-jetty serving recommendation was verified in this review; check OEHHA's current advisory lookup before consuming catch from the harbor entrance.
Bag/size limits sourced from CDFW's ocean sport fishing regulations — always double-check the current CDFW regs before keeping fish, as rules change.
Moon tracker
Recommended spots
- Ocean-facing mid-jetty rock edge
Exposed rock structureContinuous riprap gives bass and perch-oriented anglers documented hard structure; the local report records bass and perch from this jetty. The rating reflects structure, not comfort—wave run-up and slippery footing can make it unsuitable.
- Harbor-facing mid-jetty edgeChannel-side rock edge
The harbor-side edge has the same rock structure with comparatively sheltered water, but it directly borders an active entrance channel. Fish only outside navigation traffic and never cast across the channel.
- Outer light / entrance edgeEntrance-current edge / highest exposure
A local report documents bonito from the Corona del Mar jetty, and the outer end is closest to moving entrance water. The rating is deliberately reduced for red-light navigation proximity, vessel traffic, and wave/fall risk; leave rather than fish when conditions deteriorate.
- Beach-side base rocksShallow rock / beach transition
Closest to the State Beach access and the shallow rock-to-sand transition. A local Corona del Mar jetty report includes perch, but beach users and wave wash make this a cautious, short-cast option rather than a high-rated destination.
Landmarks
- Corona del Mar State Beach / Iris Street access
accessState Parks identifies the beach as the Corona del Mar access area beside the east-entrance jetty; it is reached from the access road near Iris Street and Ocean Boulevard. Confirm current beach and jetty access before proceeding onto rocks.
- East Jetty repaired rock revetment
structureUSACE's 2021 repair placed stone along the walkway and repaired concrete to raise the revetment. The repair improves the structure but does not make slippery, uneven rock safe in swell.
- Newport Bay East Jetty Light 4structure
Mapped lateral beacon at the outer end. The City describes the east-jetty entrance light as red flashing; keep clear of the marked navigation channel.
- Corona del Mar State Beach amenities
amenityState Parks lists parking, restrooms, outdoor showers, drinking water, picnic areas, fishing, and swimming at Corona del Mar State Beach. Amenities are at the beach, not on the jetty.
- Newport Harbor entrance channel / vessel traffic
hazardNewport Beach warns that the entrance has heavy vessel traffic, especially April–November when a bait barge may be anchored close inside the east jetty. Do not cast into or obstruct the channel.
- Wave run-up, wet rock, and fall hazardhazard
USACE specifically cited wave force, rough conditions, swells, high tides, and fall hazards as reasons for the 2021 stone and concrete repair. Avoid the rocks in adverse conditions and retain an exit route.
Rock + depth formation assessment
CDFW lists Newport Harbor South Jetty as a public fishing jetty, so the public-pier license exemption may apply on the listed jetty. CDFW warns that individual jetties can be closed and that adjacent rock walls touching land may require a license. This does not waive size, bag, season, MPA, or local access rules; check posted conditions before fishing.
This is a short rubble-rock entrance arm with open-ocean water on the east/left flank and Newport Harbor's entrance channel on the west/right flank. NOAA ENC Direct chart data was checked for the harbor entrance, but chart soundings nearby are not a jetty-toe survey. Therefore the categories convey only broad structure character and deliberately do not assign unsupported numeric depths.
A jetty's rock pile is the structure — there's no deck, just boulders stacked out into the water. Snags happen when your line or hook drops into a gap between rocks instead of open water. Rock sitting shallow, close to the surface, is the easiest to hang up on, and gets worse as the tide drops and exposes more of it. Rock that gives way to deeper water has less exposed structure to catch on, but a hook that does snag there is harder to pull free. Sandy gaps between rock sections are the clearest, lowest-snag water on a jetty.
The shallowest rock at Newport Harbor East Jetty (Corona del Mar / The Wedge) sits on the ocean-facing flank near the base — that's the highest snag risk here, and it gets worse as the tide drops and exposes more of it.
- Ocean-facing flank · shallow bouldershallow rock, highest snag risk — worse as the tide drops
Corona del Mar State Beach meets the base rock pile. This describes the visible beach/rock transition, not a measured water depth.
- Ocean-facing flank · mixed droprock into a slope, moderate snag riskWave run-up
Seaward riprap edge with exposure to swell. Nearby ENC chart information supports treating this as an entrance-side slope, but no exact rock-edge depth is claimed.
- Channel-facing flank · mixed droprock into a slope, moderate snag riskVessel traffic
Harbor-side rock edge near shore; boat and bait-barge activity, when present, is a more immediate operational constraint than a depth estimate.
- Channel-facing flank · mixed droprock into a slope, moderate snag risk
Adjacent to the marked entrance channel. Do not translate this broad channel-edge category into a claim of a safe or fishable drop-off.
- Outer tip · mixed droprock into a slope, moderate snag riskWave run-up
Planning grid outside the red light. Active navigation and wave exposure override any fishing value of deeper moving entrance water.
Reference sources
- OpenStreetMap — east jetty breakwater way 368975799
- California State Parks — Corona del Mar State Beach
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Newport Bay Harbor east-jetty repairs (2021)
- City of Newport Beach — visiting vessels / harbor entrance
- NOAA ENC Direct — Harbor.Sounding_point chart layer
- NOAA CO-OPS — Newport Beach, Newport Bay Entrance station 9410580
- CDFW — California beach fishing / public fishing jetties
- CDFW — 2026 California Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations
- OEHHA — statewide coastal advisory (notes Newport Bay exclusion)
- Angler to Angler Fishing — Corona del Mar jetty report (bonito, bass, perch)
- Newport Harbor history — 1934–36 east-jetty extension context