Brad Jacobson

I love filming big, barreling waves and that's what I got on Thursday November 6, 2025.

El Porto, a staple for Los Angeles surfers living in the South Bay, almost never looks like this in the late afternoon.

This wasn’t the biggest day ever in the South Bay of Los Angeles, but it was heavy. A significant swell hit El Porto and a few surfers caught great waves.

A flash flood hit the beach, and I debated whether filming was the right call. I wasn't going to chance getting my normal camera equipment wet, so

Some days, the waves are perfect. Clean lines. Predictable barrels. Easy to film. This wasn't one of those days.

I made a last-minute decision to film Huntington Beach, California to catch a short-lived swell. I'm glad I did because the surfers were absolutely ripping.

There's nothing in surfing like barrels. And even closeout barrels are fun to watch. Here's nine minutes of barrels that don't stay open in the South Bay.

After spending the previous day filming closeout barrels at El Porto, I woke up to a completely different scene at Newport Beach. It was firing.

For the past week, Southern California has been lit up by one of the best runs of south swell we've seen in a long time. Enjoy the footage.

Huntington Beach is surfing's preeminent event site. That's why it can sometimes be forgotten during a pulse of wave energy. But HB is a south swell magnet.