Waterlands

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White seabassRetention open

Cape · California

Rocky Point

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

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Best score today · 8 AM · White seabass

76/100Great
Now
545 AM PDT
Best window
5-11 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 AM · now

Time5ANOW
Score54Good
Tide2.4 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward E
Wind7 kn NNEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.7 ft · 7 s
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water54°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Northern Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When White seabass is best here

Shoulder season for White seabass · 5 more weeks at shoulder

White seabass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for White seabass · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

White seabass in California

Spot profile

Rocky Point

Depth
15-50 ft
Structure
Point · Outer · Exposed
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 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 striped bass, cabezon and rockfish. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, rockfish and surfperch, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, lingcod, white seabass and California halibut. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September. Rockfish peak from May 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

  • Abalone Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    71
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 71
    • Cabezon 67
    • Rockfish 67

    7 kt NNEH 9:11 AM · 4.7 ftL 1:41 PM · 3.8 ft

  • Palmers Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    71
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 71
    • Cabezon 67
    • Rockfish 67

    7 kt NNEH 9:11 AM · 4.7 ftL 1:41 PM · 3.8 ft

  • Omenoku Point

    Cape · 5.0 mi

    71
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 71
    • Rockfish 66
    • Cabezon 65

    11 kt NH 9:11 AM · 4.7 ftL 1:41 PM · 3.8 ft

  • College Cove

    Bay · 5.1 mi

    68
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 68
    • Cabezon 63
    • Surfperch 62

    11 kt NH 9:11 AM · 4.7 ftL 1:41 PM · 3.8 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.