Proven Waters

Deciding whether to fish tomorrow in Southern California usually turns into a small research project. One tab for the marine forecast, one for the tide, a few more for what each landing's boats caught yesterday, and another to see which trips still have room. By the time you've pieced it together, you've lost the will to set an alarm.

Proven Waters puts those answers on one free site. It covers conditions, fish counts, open trips and a water map for four stretches of coast, from San Diego up through Orange County and Los Angeles to Ventura. You don't need an account to use it.

What sets it apart is how it treats its sources. Conditions come from NOAA and National Weather Service feeds. Fish counts come from 13 official landing sources, and each landing's latest report is included for up to 36 hours. When a source hasn't reported, the space stays blank. In the site's own words, it "does not fill gaps with assumed totals." When checked on November 12, 2026, the counts page showed that day's official report with 4 of 13 landings in.

The fish counts page is the one to bookmark. It ranks species by fish kept, shows fish per angler with a trend label, and filters by coast and trip length. Open trips are listed from the landings' schedules, and the booking itself finishes on the landing's own site. There's also a field guide to 20 species tied to CDFW and NOAA records, plus push alerts for marine warnings, count changes and matching trips. The alerts stay quiet when a source is stale, which is a nice touch.

Accounts are optional. They exist to sync your preferences, a private fishing log and saved water. According to the privacy policy, updated November 12, 2026, records sit on Cloudflare infrastructure, campaign measurement is first-party and cookie-free, and the site doesn't sell personal information. It gives no fixed retention period beyond keeping records as long as a feature needs them.

Anglers will care most about the location rules. Community reports ask for a general area only, and exact spots stay private. On-water mode says your movement isn't saved unless you save a waypoint or add it to a log entry.

The policy names BuzzFam! as the operator, with a contact email for privacy requests. Nothing on the site costs money.

Keep the terms in mind too. Proven Waters says it's not a navigation chart or a source of fishing regulations, and that it never replaces official warnings or your own judgment. Coverage stops at Southern California.

If you fish out of a SoCal landing, pull up the counts page tonight and see whether it matches what the dock is saying.