A lot of the "regulars" down there do the human nature thing, and go to where the highest traffic and most-upscale spots are. Makes sense afterall, right? But .... it has the odd-effect of simply meaning that .... doh ... those spots also get the most detecting traffic!
I know an expert beach hunter down there, who actually prefers the beach closest to his home (He's near LAX area). EVEN though those beaches closest to his home are not actually the touristy beaches. Ie.: they're just residentials abutting the shoreline there, and more of a "Locals" feel to the clientele. Contrast to the hotel and glamor beaches (Malibu, Santa Monica, etc...) where it's more of your upscale tourists/traveller type arrivals (and higher #'s of crowds too, I suppose). So I asked him one time why he's not going to those beaches further north than him, which are older, more crowds, etc... His answer was that whenever he'd gone there, after erosion, or after crowds leave, so too were other md'rs all vying for the targets. Contrast to his "newer" residentials type beaches, where he'd almost always be the only one hunting. So if it were good, he'd have it all to himself.
Also: It's practically a given that ALL the beaches in So. CA are covered with people (yes, some more-than-others), so really, you don't need to dismiss the potential of any of them. The LA basin has millions of people, so on hot days, ALL of them get traffic. Some people avoid the famous namesake ones, and purposefully go to the "residential" feel ones, just to avoid paying the parking meters, for instance.
