UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
CabezonRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Cabezon
- Now
- 402 AM PDT
- Best window
- 6-9 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Arcata Channel 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 · 2 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
32Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
77Wind: 0 kt NWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
34Water temp: 60°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.3 ftSeason & habitat · Cabezon
Species seasonality
70Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern Groundfish Management Area
Cabezon
Retention open- Daily limit
- 10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- No minimum size limit.
- Season
- Apr 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Shore-based anglers and spear divers are exempt from groundfish seasons and depth limits. RCG complex: all rockfish, cabezon, and kelp and rock greenlings combined. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat.
From CDFW Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations (updated June 23, 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))
- 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)
- 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 Cabezon is best here
Peak season for Cabezon · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Arcata Channel
- Depth
- 8-20 ft
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Protected
- Season
- Peak seasonCabezon
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 Arcata Channel
Arcata Channel is a channel in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 8-20 ft. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, Pacific halibut and rockfish. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, surfperch and cabezon, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, lingcod, white seabass and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Pacific halibut peak from May through July. Rockfish peak from May through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Arcata Bay61
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 61
- Rockfish 52
- White seabass 52
0 kt NWL 3:45 AM · 0.9 ftH 10:49 AM · 5.1 ft
- Inner Reach60
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 60
- Pacific halibut 50
- Rockfish 48
0 kt NWL 3:04 AM · 0.8 ftH 10:27 AM · 5.3 ft
- Eureka Channel60
Channel · 1.8 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 60
- Pacific halibut 51
- Rockfish 48
0 kt NWL 3:04 AM · 0.8 ftH 10:27 AM · 5.3 ft
- Samoa Channel60
Channel · 2.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 60
- Pacific halibut 51
- Rockfish 48
0 kt NWL 3:04 AM · 0.8 ftH 10:27 AM · 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.