Waterlands

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Chinook salmonClosed

Bar · California

Fort Ross Reef

38.50°N · 123.23°W · Bar · Coastal Waters from Point Arena to Point Reyes California out to 10 nm

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Best score today · 11 PM · Chinook salmon

77/100Great
Now
206 AM PDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.8 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: today · 77

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

Time6ANOW
Score20Poor
Tide1.8 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind3 kn Ngusts 6 · steady
Sea stateRough6.5 ft · 9 s
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherClear2% cloud
Water58°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

San Francisco Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon

Closed
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Sep 1 to Oct 31, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Closed from Point Arena south to 38°02' N. lat. The fall season is open only from 38°02' N. lat. south to Pigeon Point.

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)
  • 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)
Always check with CDFW ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Chinook salmon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Chinook salmon in California →

Spot profile

Fort Ross Reef

Depth
20-100 ftDrop-off
Structure
Reef · Outer · ExposedReef · drop-off
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 Fort Ross Reef

Fort Ross Reef is a bar in Coastal Waters from Point Arena to Point Reyes California out to 10 nm. Depth is 20-100 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 12 species here; the best right now are cabezon, rockfish and striped bass. It is peak season now for cabezon, rockfish, striped bass and surfperch, and shoulder season for white seabass, lingcod, kelp greenling and Pacific halibut. Cabezon peak from May through September. Rockfish peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October.

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.
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.
Rockfish
Rockfish live on rocky reefs, pinnacles and kelp from the shoreline out past 300 feet, with black and blue rockfish schooling mid-water over shallow reefs and copper, quillback, yelloweye and vermilion sitting tight to deeper bottom. Drift over the structure with a shrimp fly above a lead-head grub or metal jig, or a squid strip, and reel up a few cranks after touching bottom to cut snags. Use a descending device to release any fish brought up from deep water.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Stump Beach Cove

    Bay · 7.9 mi

    65
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 65
    • Surfperch 65
    • Cabezon 60

    3 kt NH 9:58 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:36 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Horseshoe Cove

    Bay · 11 mi

    64
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 64
    • Surfperch 64
    • Lingcod 59

    3 kt NH 10:06 AM · 4.1 ftL 3:35 PM · 1.8 ft

  • Duncans Point

    Cape · 11 mi

    62
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 62
    • Surfperch 61
    • Lingcod 57

    1 kt NWH 10:11 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:50 PM · 2.3 ft

  • Fisk Mill Cove

    Bay · 9.2 mi

    58
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 58
    • Surfperch 57
    • Lingcod 52

    3 kt NH 9:58 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:36 PM · 2.1 ft

Open in the tide map

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.