How To Catch The Grunion Run In Belmont Shore

BELMONT SHORE, CA — Beach and bonfire season is finally here, and what better way to celebrate the wonder and awe of life in Southern California than sitting under the stars watching the waves glitter and sparkle with the grunion run?

The grunion, those silvery little fish emerge from the ocean to spawn, are running Thursday June 6th, and they’ll continue their run for a few nights each month through September. The best time to catch the little fish Thursday night is from roughly 11:55 p.m. – 1:55 a.m. A great place to catch the run is Belmont Shore Beach.

Anyone who misses Thursday’s run will have another chance mid month when they run again June 17th through the 20th. They are also expected to spawn July 2-5 and 16-19. On June 19, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium will host a late night educational evening teaching visitors all about the life of the grunion as the spawn.

The second hour of the run is usually better for catching a glimpse of the fish.
Grunion are among the few fish to spawn completely out of water. They do it by the thousands, and they do it only in Southern California. The ends of beaches, in sandy, flat spots, are often the best places to view grunion. Some of the beaches in southern California that are known to have runs are: Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice and Hermosa Beach, Seal Beach and Belmont Shore.

“It’s a pretty remarkable process,” said Melissa Studer, project director for Gunion.org, a Pepperdine University group of scientists, environmentalists and community members who monitor the grunion and educate the community about them previously told Patch. “They are pretty important culturally to us because this doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world, and it’s a very unique experience.”

The grunion spawn during the highest tide of the month from as early as March and as late as August, but April through June tends to be their most active period. When they spawn, the female fish will wash ashore on the high tide, wriggle a few inches into the sand, tail first, leaving her head exposed. She will lay about 3,000 eggs a few inches deep in the sand, and then the male fish will wrap around the female fish to fertilize the eggs. Roughly 10 to 14 days later, the eggs will hatch, allowing the next generation to swim off with the tide. The grunion spawn at age 1 and have a life span that ranges from two to four years.

It is impossible to predict exactly where and when they will spawn. Typically, the best day to see them is a few nights after the full or new moon.

There is a two-hour window after high tide to see the grunion run. To see them, be patient and look for the shorebirds—they always know where to find the grunion.

The grunion play a big role in the ocean’s food chain, and observers will sometimes catch glimpses of small sharks and other predators during a run.

Grunion Run Tips

• Legally, you can use only your hands to capture the grunion.
• People over the age of 16 must have a license to catch grunion.
• Grunion cannot be captured in April or May.
• Be sure to wait until after the fish have spawned before capturing them.
• Only catch what you will use.