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Striped bassRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Striped bass
- Now
- 305 AM PST
- Best window
- 8-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding5.0 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.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 5 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
64Wind: 4 kt ESEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
56Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 55°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 6.9 ftSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
75Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern Groundfish Management Area
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
Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Outer Reach
- Depth
- 10-35 ft
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Protected
- Season
- Shoulder 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 9 species here; the best right now are lingcod, rockfish and surfperch. It is peak season now for lingcod and kelp greenling, and shoulder season for rockfish, surfperch, cabezon and striped bass. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November. Rockfish peak from May through September. Surfperch peak in May and from July 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.
- Lingcod
- Lingcod ambush prey from rock outcrops, reef edges and kelp where current runs, most often in 30 to 300 feet, and males move shallow to guard nests in winter. Drift over the reef bouncing a lead-head swimbait or metal jig on the bottom, or fish herring or squid on a heavy leader, since their teeth cut light line. From jetties and rocky shore, work bait or jigs along the rocks on the incoming 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 Channel64
Channel · 0.4 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 64
- Rockfish 49
- Surfperch 49
4 kt ESEH 6:58 AM · 6.1 ftL 12:02 PM · 3.3 ft
- Eureka Channel64
Channel · 0.6 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 64
- Rockfish 49
- Surfperch 49
4 kt ESEH 6:58 AM · 6.1 ftL 12:02 PM · 3.3 ft
- Inner Reach64
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 64
- Rockfish 49
- Surfperch 49
4 kt ESEH 6:58 AM · 6.1 ftL 12:02 PM · 3.3 ft
- Arcata Channel64
Channel · 2.4 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 64
- Rockfish 49
- Surfperch 49
4 kt ESEH 7:05 AM · 6.2 ftL 12:08 PM · 3.3 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.