How To Catch This Weekend's Grunion Run In Laguna Beach

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Thousands will pile onto the beaches this summer, sharing the space without thought of social distancing or contagious disease. These carefree Southern California natives are grunions — tiny fish whose spawning is a spectator event for beachgoers every year.

The challenge is knowing when to look for the spectacle, and this weekend will be one of the last best chances to catch the grunion run, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. According to the department's schedule of expected grunion runs — the next one starts this Saturday and goes from 10 p.m. to midnight. The spawning period usually lasts 4 nights, starting on the night of a full or new moon. The last run of the year starts in late August.

The grunion is a small, silver fish, about 5 to 7 inches long. From March to August, thousands of female grunions come onto the beaches at high tide to spawn. They embed themselves into the sand to lay eggs — around 3,000 at a time — then wait as male grunions fertilize them. The eggs will hatch approximately 10 to 14 days later, the new fish swimming away with the tide.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife's grunion schedule reflects a predicted two-hour window during which spawning may occur. Usually, the second hour of the window and the second and third nights of the four-night period are better for seeing grunion, according to the fish and wildlife department.

It’s impossible to predict exactly where and when grunion will show up, but they’re more likely to appear on Southern Californian beaches, and usually on flat, undisturbed portions of the beach with less light and activity.

"As we say, only the fish know where they'll show up on any given predicted spawning night," Grunion expert Dr. Karen Martin, Biologist and Executive Director at Pepperdine University's Grunion Greeters Project, told Patch at the start of the grunion season. "However, they do prefer flat, sandy beaches and areas without a lot of flashing light, noise and activity.

"Conditions at each beach are constantly changing, so we cannot recommend a specific beach in your area," she added.

At beaches up and down the region, the timing of the grunion run will vary. Call the state and county beach lifeguards to confirm whether spawning has occurred.

The department gives a few guidelines for catching grunion, which is allowed from June to the end of March each year.

• Only use your hands to catch grunion. Digging holes in the beach or using equipment to catch the grunion is not allowed.
• Must be 16 years old or older to catch grunion.
• Must have a valid California sport fishing license to catch grunion, even if you plan to release them.
• Only take what you can use, as wasting fish is illegal.