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White seabassRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · White seabass
- Now
- 4710 PM PDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing5.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when North Bay 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 · 10 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
85Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.7 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 3 kt NWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
44Water temp: 54°F, coolLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 6.2 ftSeason & habitat · White seabass
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern 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 today
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
North Bay Channel
- Depth
- 15-35 ft
- Structure
- Channel · 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 North Bay Channel
North Bay Channel is a channel in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 15-35 ft. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, cabezon and surfperch. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, surfperch and rockfish, and shoulder season for lingcod, kelp greenling, Pacific halibut and white seabass. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September. Surfperch peak in May and from July 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Buhne Point67
Cape · 1.9 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Cabezon 66
- Rockfish 61
3 kt NWL 3:37 AM · 0.6 ftH 10:36 AM · 5.3 ft
- Hookton Channel65
Channel · 1.7 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 65
- Cabezon 60
- Surfperch 57
3 kt NWL 3:38 AM · 0.6 ftH 10:30 AM · 5.3 ft
- Humboldt Bay64
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 64
- Surfperch 62
- Striped bass 60
3 kt NWL 5:10 AM · 0.2 ftH 10:49 AM · 3.7 ft
- Buhne Spit Shoal60
Bar · 1.8 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 60
- Surfperch 57
- Striped bass 56
3 kt NWL 5:10 AM · 0.2 ftH 10:49 AM · 3.7 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.