Waterlands

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Pacific halibutRetention open

Bar · California

Blunts Reef

40.45°N · 124.47°W · Bar · Humboldt Bay

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Best score today · 6 PM · Pacific halibut

74/100Great
Now
5411 PM PDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMMoving water
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 PM · now

Time11PNOW
Score54Good
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.4 knmodeled · toward NNW
Wind5 kn Sgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateRough5.4 ft · 9 s
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy73% cloud
Water60°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Northern Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Pacific halibut

Retention open
Daily limit
1 per day
Possession
1 in possession
Size
Not published
Season
Apr 1 to Nov 15, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Nov 16
Other
Closes early if the California quota is reached. Check the CDFW Pacific halibut page before fishing. When angling, no more than one line with two hooks.

From CDFW Current Ocean Recreational Fishing Regulations, Northern Region (updated August 31, 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)
  • 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Pacific halibut is best here

Shoulder season for Pacific halibut · 1 more week at shoulder

Pacific halibut season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Pacific halibut · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Pacific halibut in California

Spot profile

Blunts Reef

Depth
100-120 ft
Structure
Reef · Outer · Exposed
Season
Shoulder seasonPacific halibut

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 rockfish, white seabass and Pacific halibut. It is peak season now for rockfish, cabezon, striped bass and surfperch, and shoulder season for white seabass, Pacific halibut, lingcod and kelp greenling. Rockfish peak from May through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cape Mendocino

    Cape · 3.2 mi

    65
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 65
    • Rockfish 60
    • Cabezon 54

    5 kt SL 12:13 AM · 1.1 ftH 6:40 AM · 3.9 ft

  • Punta Gorda

    Cape · 14 mi

    55
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 55
    • Surfperch 54
    • Albacore tuna 53

    1 kt EH 6:34 AM · 3.9 ftL 10:13 AM · 3.5 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.