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Leopard sharkRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Leopard shark
- Now
- 305 PM PDT
- Best window
- 5-10 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High5.5 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Blunts Reef 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 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
96Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.7 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
73Wind: 13 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
46Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 58°F, coolLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.8 ftSeason & habitat · Leopard shark
Species seasonality
28Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Leopard shark is best here
Shoulder season for Leopard shark · 6 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Blunts Reef
- Depth
- 100-120 ft
- Structure
- Reef · Outer · Exposed
- 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 Blunts Reef
Blunts Reef is a bar in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 100-120 ft. Its profile reads reef, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are cabezon, rockfish and surfperch. It is peak season now for cabezon, rockfish, surfperch and striped bass, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, Pacific halibut, lingcod and white seabass. Cabezon peak from May through September. Rockfish peak from May through September. 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.
- 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
- Punta Gorda71
Cape · 14 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 71
- Cabezon 70
- Striped bass 66
6 kt NNWL 12:27 AM · 0.9 ftH 8:06 AM · 4.0 ft
- Cape Mendocino68
Cape · 3.2 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 68
- Surfperch 68
- Kelp greenling 59
13 kt NNEL 1:23 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:12 AM · 4.0 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.