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Chinook salmonClosedSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 208 PM PDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding4.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cape Mendocino 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 · 8 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
66Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
42Wind: 18 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
44Water temp: 56°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 7.7 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
66Closed season · capped at 20Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Closed
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern Groundfish Management Area
Chinook salmon
Closed- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Sep 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Salmon may not be possessed on a vessel in this area while it is closed. CDFW expects 2027 season dates in April 2027.
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)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Chinook salmon is best here
Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Cape Mendocino
- Depth
- 2-10 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonChinook salmon
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 Cape Mendocino
Cape Mendocino is a cape in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth in the nearest water is 2-10 ft. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, surfperch and lingcod. It is peak season now for rockfish, surfperch, cabezon and striped bass, and shoulder season for lingcod, Pacific halibut, California halibut and kelp greenling. Rockfish peak from May through September. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Chinook salmon
- Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Blunts Reef41
Bar · 3.2 mi
Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season- Pacific halibut 41
- Cabezon 30
- California halibut 30
18 kt NNEH 9:41 PM · 5.3 ftL 4:43 AM · 0.5 ft
- Punta Gorda35
Cape · 13 mi
Top: Albacore tunaPeak season- Albacore tuna 35
- Lingcod 35
- Pacific halibut 35
11 kt NH 8:58 PM · 5.5 ftL 3:54 AM · 0.5 ft
- Rodgers Break35
Bar · 18 mi
Top: Albacore tunaPeak season- Albacore tuna 35
- Lingcod 35
- Pacific halibut 35
11 kt NH 8:58 PM · 5.5 ftL 3:54 AM · 0.5 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.