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White seabassRetention openBar · California
Seal Island Bar
38.22°N · 122.96°W · Bar · Coastal Waters from Point Arena to Point Reyes California out to 10 nm
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · White seabass
- Now
- 305 AM PDT
- Best window
- 6-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Seal Island Bar 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
45Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
94Wind: 3 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
59Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 59°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 7.0 ftSeason & habitat · White seabass
Species seasonality
61Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
San Francisco Groundfish Management Area
White seabass
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 28 in, total length. Or twenty and one-half inches alternate length (Section 28.35).
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- CDFW pages disagree on the alternate length: the regulation text says 20.5 inches, the booklet summary table 21.5 inches, and the regional web pages 20 inches. Total length is 28 inches on all of them.
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)
- Striped bass Retention open (2 per day)
- Surfperch Retention open (20 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 White seabass is best here
Shoulder season for White seabass · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Seal Island Bar
- Depth
- 5-6 ft
- Structure
- Bar · Inner · Protected
- Season
- Shoulder seasonWhite seabass
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 Seal Island Bar
Seal Island Bar is a bar in Coastal Waters from Point Arena to Point Reyes California out to 10 nm. Depth is 5-6 ft. Its profile reads bar, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 12 species here; the best right now are surfperch, Pacific halibut and rockfish. It is peak season now for surfperch, rockfish, albacore tuna and cabezon, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, lingcod, California halibut and kelp greenling. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July. Rockfish peak from May through September.
Tackle & technique
- White seabass
- White seabass hold along kelp bed edges and over nearby sand where market squid gather, usually in 20 to 80 feet of water and shallower as the water warms. Fish a live squid on a dropper loop or fly-line a sardine near the kelp at dawn, dusk and after dark, especially around the spring full moon. Tagged fish spend most of their time in 52 to 66 degree water.
- 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.
- Pacific halibut
- Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Toms Point55
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 55
- Surfperch 54
- Lingcod 48
3 kt ESEH 10:37 AM · 4.3 ftL 4:26 PM · 2.0 ft
- Clam Island Bar54
Bar · 0.2 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 54
- Pacific halibut 49
- Rockfish 49
3 kt ESEH 10:37 AM · 4.3 ftL 4:26 PM · 2.0 ft
- Bodega Bay50
Bay · 4.1 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 50
- Surfperch 48
- Lingcod 44
3 kt ESEH 10:37 AM · 4.3 ftL 4:26 PM · 2.0 ft
- Preston Point48
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 48
- Surfperch 48
- Pacific halibut 42
3 kt ESEH 11:21 AM · 4.3 ftL 5:21 PM · 1.7 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.