Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Striped bassRetention open

Channel · California

Outer Reach

40.80°N · 124.19°W · Channel · Humboldt Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 PM · Striped bass

80/100Great
Now
581 AM PDT
Best window
7-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.2 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Outer Reach scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score58Good
Tide1.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward NNE
Wind3 kn ESEgusts 5 · steady
Sea stateRough4.2 ft · 8 s
Air temp54°Cool
WeatherMostly cloudy69% cloud
Water63°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Northern Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Striped bass

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 18 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Angling, spearfishing or bow and arrow only. No sinker over 4 pounds, no power-driven gurdy or winch, no snagging. The CDFW San Francisco Bay District page states the same limits for the bay: two fish, 18 inches total length.

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)
  • 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 Striped bass is best here

Peak season for Striped bass · 6 more weeks at peak

Striped bass season by week of the year. Peak season for Striped bass · 6 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Striped bass in California

Spot profile

Outer Reach

Depth
10-35 ft
Structure
Channel · Inner · Protected
Season
Peak seasonStriped bass

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 Outer Reach

Outer Reach is a channel in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 10-35 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

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.
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

  • Samoa Channel

    Channel · 0.4 mi

    58
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 58
    • Pacific halibut 55
    • Rockfish 53

    3 kt ESEH 7:08 AM · 4.8 ftL 11:04 AM · 4.0 ft

  • Eureka Channel

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    58
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 58
    • Pacific halibut 54
    • Rockfish 53

    3 kt ESEH 7:08 AM · 4.8 ftL 11:04 AM · 4.0 ft

  • Inner Reach

    Channel · 1.3 mi

    58
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 58
    • Pacific halibut 54
    • Rockfish 53

    3 kt ESEH 7:08 AM · 4.8 ftL 11:04 AM · 4.0 ft

  • Arcata Channel

    Channel · 2.4 mi

    58
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 58
    • Pacific halibut 54
    • Rockfish 53

    3 kt ESEH 7:15 AM · 4.9 ftL 11:10 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.