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Striped bassRetention openCape · California
Cape Vizcaino
39.73°N · 123.83°W · Cape · Coastal waters from Cape Mendocino to Pt. Arena CA out 10 nm
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 PM · Striped bass
- Now
- 5711 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing4.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cape Vizcaino scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
45Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
64Wind: 3 kt WNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
44Water temp: 56°F, primeLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Major periodSeas: 5.9 ftSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
100Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Mendocino Groundfish Management Area
Striped bass
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 18 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Angling, spearfishing or bow and arrow only. No sinker over 4 pounds, no power-driven gurdy or winch, no snagging. The CDFW San Francisco Bay District page states the same limits for the bay: two fish, 18 inches total length.
From CDFW 2026 California Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet (last updated July 17, 2026), read Sep 13
Other species here
- Albacore tuna Retention open (25 per day)
- Barred sand bass Retention open (4 per day (5 kelp bass, barred sand bass and spotted sand bass combined))
- Cabezon Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
- California halibut Retention open (2 per day)
- Chinook salmon Closed (No retention)
- Coho salmon Closed (No retention)
- Kelp bass Retention open (5 per day (5 kelp bass, barred sand bass and spotted sand bass combined))
- Kelp greenling Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
- Leopard shark Retention open (3 per day)
- Lingcod Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Pacific bluefin tuna Retention open (2 per day)
- Pacific halibut Retention open (1 per day)
- Rockfish Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
- Sablefish Retention open (10 per day)
- Surfperch Retention open (20 per day)
- White seabass Retention open (3 per day)
- Yellowfin tuna Retention open (10 per day)
- Yellowtail Retention open (10 per day)
Source: CDFW · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Striped bass is best here
Peak season for Striped bass · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cape Vizcaino
- Depth
- 40-45 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Peak seasonStriped bass
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Cape Vizcaino
Cape Vizcaino is a cape in Coastal waters from Cape Mendocino to Pt. Arena CA out 10 nm, California. Depth in the nearest water is 40-45 ft. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 12 species here; the best right now are cabezon, kelp greenling and surfperch. It is peak season now for cabezon, surfperch, rockfish and striped bass, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, Pacific halibut, lingcod and white seabass. Cabezon peak from May through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Striped bass
- Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
- Cabezon
- Cabezon sit in rock crevices, kelp beds and jetty boulders from the intertidal zone to about 100 feet and feed mostly on crabs and small fish. Fish a fish-finder rig with sand shrimp, squid or crab right on the bottom in the rocks, or drag a lead-head grub slowly through the kelp. Expect snags, and do not eat the roe, which is toxic.
- Kelp greenling
- Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Williams Point68
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 68
- Surfperch 67
- Kelp greenling 62
3 kt WNWL 3:39 PM · 2.2 ftH 9:46 PM · 5.4 ft
- Bruhel Point67
Cape · 8.6 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 67
- Surfperch 65
- Kelp greenling 62
2 kt WNWL 3:39 PM · 2.2 ftH 9:46 PM · 5.4 ft
- Ten Mile River Bluff67
Cape · 12 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 67
- Surfperch 65
- Kelp greenling 62
2 kt WNWL 3:39 PM · 2.2 ftH 9:46 PM · 5.4 ft
- Rockport Bay63
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 63
- Cabezon 62
- Kelp greenling 62
3 kt WNWL 3:39 PM · 2.2 ftH 9:46 PM · 5.4 ft
Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with CDFW before you keep a fish.