UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Leopard sharkRetention openBay · California
Horseshoe Cove
38.61°N · 123.37°W · Bay · Coastal Waters from Point Arena to Point Reyes California out to 10 nm
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 PM · Leopard shark
- Now
- 307 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Horseshoe Cove 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
88Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 2 kt NPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
49Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 58°F, coolLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 6.4 ftSeason & habitat · Leopard shark
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
San Francisco Groundfish Management Area
Leopard shark
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 36 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Closed in the Groundfish Exclusion Areas off southern California.
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))
- 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 Leopard shark is best here
Shoulder season for Leopard shark · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Horseshoe Cove
- Depth
- 10-60 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder seasonLeopard shark
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 Horseshoe Cove
Horseshoe Cove is a bay in Coastal Waters from Point Arena to Point Reyes California out to 10 nm. Depth is 10-60 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 12 species here; the best right now are rockfish, striped bass and surfperch. It is peak season now for rockfish, striped bass, surfperch and cabezon, and shoulder season for lingcod, kelp greenling, white seabass and Pacific halibut. Rockfish peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Leopard shark
- Leopard sharks cruise shallow mudflats, sloughs and channel edges in bays, most often in less than 15 feet of water, and follow the flooding tide onto the flats to feed on crabs, worms, clams and small fish. Anchor or fish from shore or a pier with a sliding sinker rig and a chunk of squid, mackerel or ghost shrimp on the bottom. The bite is often better into the evening and at night.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Black Point71
Cape · 5.7 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 71
- Surfperch 70
- Cabezon 69
4 kt NH 10:06 AM · 4.1 ftL 3:35 PM · 1.8 ft
- Rocky Point69
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 69
- Rockfish 69
- Striped bass 68
4 kt NH 10:06 AM · 4.1 ftL 3:35 PM · 1.8 ft
- Stump Beach Cove69
Bay · 2.7 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 69
- Striped bass 67
- Cabezon 62
2 kt NH 9:58 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:36 PM · 2.1 ft
- Fisk Mill Cove67
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Cabezon 62
- Rockfish 61
2 kt NH 9:58 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:36 PM · 2.1 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.