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Striped bassRetention 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 · Striped bass
- Now
- 5210 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High4.1 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
30Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.4 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
63Wind: 3 kt WPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
50Water temp: 58°F, primeLight: MorningSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 6.2 ftSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
San Francisco 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
Horseshoe Cove
- Depth
- 10-60 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
- 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 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 surfperch, cabezon and kelp greenling. It is peak season now for surfperch, cabezon, rockfish and striped bass, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, Pacific halibut, lingcod and white seabass. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Cabezon peak from May through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November.
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.
- Surfperch
- Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
- 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
- Stump Beach Cove70
Bay · 2.7 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 70
- Cabezon 62
- Kelp greenling 60
3 kt WL 3:36 PM · 2.1 ftH 9:10 PM · 5.3 ft
- Black Point70
Cape · 5.7 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 70
- Cabezon 69
- Kelp greenling 64
4 kt WNWL 3:35 PM · 1.8 ftH 9:31 PM · 4.8 ft
- Rocky Point69
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 69
- Kelp greenling 64
- Surfperch 61
4 kt WNWL 3:35 PM · 1.8 ftH 9:31 PM · 4.8 ft
- Fisk Mill Cove62
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 62
- Kelp greenling 61
- Surfperch 61
3 kt WL 3:36 PM · 2.1 ftH 9:10 PM · 5.3 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.