Waterlands

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Chinook salmonClosed

Cape · California

Rocky Point

41.14°N · 124.16°W · Cape · Humboldt Bay

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Best score today · 9 AM · Chinook salmon

74/100Great
Now
204 PM PDT
Best window
5 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding3.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score20Poor
Tide3.7 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward S
Wind9 kn Ngusts 11 · steady
Sea stateRough5.2 ft · 9 s
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherOvercast85% cloud
Water54°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Northern Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Chinook salmon is best here

Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Chinook salmon in California

Spot profile

Rocky Point

Depth
15-50 ft
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 Rocky Point

Rocky Point is a cape in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 15-50 ft. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are cabezon, rockfish and kelp greenling. It is peak season now for cabezon, rockfish, striped bass and surfperch, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, lingcod, Pacific halibut and white seabass. Cabezon peak from May through September. Rockfish peak from May through September. Kelp greenling peak 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.
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.
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

  • Abalone Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    63
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 63
    • Rockfish 63
    • Kelp greenling 57

    9 kt NH 8:27 PM · 5.7 ftL 3:34 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Palmers Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    63
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 63
    • Rockfish 63
    • Kelp greenling 57

    9 kt NH 8:27 PM · 5.7 ftL 3:34 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Omenoku Point

    Cape · 5.0 mi

    62
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 62
    • Cabezon 60
    • Lingcod 56

    11 kt NNWH 8:27 PM · 5.7 ftL 3:34 AM · 0.6 ft

  • College Cove

    Bay · 5.1 mi

    58
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 58
    • Surfperch 57
    • Rockfish 56

    11 kt NNWH 8:27 PM · 5.7 ftL 3:34 AM · 0.6 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.