Huntington Beach : Grunion Due to Start Their Run Friday Night

Thousands of grunion, tiny smelt-like fish that spawn in the sand, should be running up on Huntington Beach and other Orange County beaches beginning late Friday night.

But the greatest amounts of grunion are expected late Saturday and Sunday nights, said Mary Jane DeLong, a dispatcher with the California Department of Fish and Game. Historically, the most fish appear on the second and third days of a run, she said.

The grunion are expected to run only a few more times before April and May, when it is illegal to catch them, DeLong said.

They come ashore on dark, sandy beaches, and can be caught easily. Although there is no limit, the grunion can only be caught by hand and by those with sportfishing licenses, DeLong said. It is illegal to dig holes in the sand to help catch the fish.

During the run, the grunion should be found “anywhere there’s a long stretch of beach, such as Huntington, Bolsa Chica, Sunset,” DeLong said. “When you get down toward Laguna the beach is too rocky.”

The grunion are expected to arrive at 10:24 p.m. Friday, 11:02 p.m. Saturday, 11:45 p.m. Sunday and 12:32 a.m. Monday, DeLong said. The runs generally last two hours and are dictated by high tides.

Usually, the silvery fish start running ashore about half an hour after the tide has reached its peak, but sometimes do not start for another hour or more.

April and May, the heaviest grunion spawning period, are the “look but don’t take season,” DeLong said. Otherwise, the fish are fair game from June 1 through March 31, she said.

The next run is predicted for March 23-25.