Newport...
It may not be one of the hotest places to fish compared to SD bay, but it's alot closer. It has boat docks, clam beds, eel grass areas, sandy areas and all this often within a few minutes paddle of eachother. All the different areas should be tried, as they all produce at different times. Eel grass beds can often pay off, but the trick is getting your lure to ride just over the top of the grass. This is where those who toss spinnerbaits with often excel. They will bounce off the top of the grass usually, and bass can't seem to resist them. A good plastics angler can do the same thing and clean up with the BLAM's using this method in particular.
Spotties, sandies, halibuts and other species call the harbor home, so you never know for sure what you'll bring up. For gear, I'll use matched setups in the 6-10 lb range, usually baitcasters or spinning for certain apps.
Some guys use spinnerbaits, and some others will use crankbaits or stickbaits such as those made by frenzy. For myself, I like grubs and other small plastics though. You can get the 3-4" Kalin brand grubs in chartreuse, white or pearl, rootbeer, clear w/red flake and junebug for night time duties. I'll use them on lighter heads usually round ones in the 3/16-1/4oz range.
Or I like to use the 4" AA curly tail grubs which have one flat side. I like the chartreuse w/gold belly, pink if you can find it, ghost shrimp, red tomato w/black flake and whatever else floats your boat. I'll use the same leadheads I use with the above setups.
After that, I'll carry some of the BLAM's in clear w/red flake, chartreuse, trout, green w/red firetail, and a brown bait one. I'll use 1/4-3/8oz heads for a bit deeper work.
If the plastics I'm using have no scent, I'll put a coat of Hot Sauce gel on them regularly. It helps my MoJo
You can also use the basic grubs listed in San Diego, Long Beach Area, Dana Point Harbor and others. The list of what I take may look sparse, but they should be enough to get you started. TC&TL,
Perry