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Chinook salmonClosedCape · California
Williams Point
39.75°N · 123.84°W · Cape · Coastal waters from Cape Mendocino to Pt. Arena CA out 10 nm
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 PM · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 205 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Williams Point 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 · 5 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
72Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
24Water temp: 56°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 6.3 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
65Closed season · capped at 20Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Closed
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Mendocino Groundfish Management Area
Chinook salmon
Closed- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Sep 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- CDFW expects 2027 season dates in April 2027.
From CDFW Current Ocean Recreational Fishing Regulations, Mendocino Region (updated August 10, 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)
- 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)
- Striped bass Retention open (2 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Chinook salmon is best here
Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Williams Point
- Depth
- 20-40 ft
- Structure
- Point · Outer · Semi-exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonChinook salmon
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 Williams Point
Williams Point is a cape in Coastal waters from Cape Mendocino to Pt. Arena CA out 10 nm, California. Depth is 20-40 ft. Its profile reads point, outer water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 12 species here; the best right now are striped bass, cabezon and rockfish. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, rockfish and surfperch, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, white seabass, lingcod and Pacific halibut. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September. Rockfish peak from May through September.
Tackle & technique
- Chinook salmon
- Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Cape Vizcaino64
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 64
- Cabezon 61
- Rockfish 60
4 kt NEH 10:26 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:39 PM · 2.2 ft
- Duffys Reef63
Bar · 12 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 63
- Cabezon 62
- Striped bass 60
4 kt ENEH 10:28 AM · 5.0 ftL 3:56 PM · 2.4 ft
- Rockport Bay61
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 61
- Cabezon 55
- Kelp greenling 55
4 kt NEH 10:26 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:39 PM · 2.2 ft
- Bruhel Point59
Cape · 10 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 59
- Surfperch 58
- Lingcod 54
3 kt EH 10:26 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:39 PM · 2.2 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.