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RockfishRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Rockfish
- Now
- 591 AM PDT
- Best window
- 6-10 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Samoa 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 · 1 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
79Wind: 1 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
43Water temp: 59°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.2 ftSeason & habitat · Rockfish
Species seasonality
70Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern Groundfish Management Area
Rockfish
Retention open- Daily limit
- 10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- No minimum size limit.
- Season
- Apr 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Shore-based anglers and spear divers are exempt from groundfish seasons and depth limits. Within the 10-fish RCG limit: no more than 1 copper rockfish, 2 canary rockfish, and 4 vermilion/sunset rockfish. RCG complex: all rockfish, cabezon, and kelp and rock greenlings combined. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat. Yelloweye, cowcod, bronzespotted and quillback rockfish may not be kept.
From CDFW Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations (updated June 23, 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)
- 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)
Source: CDFW · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Rockfish is best here
Peak season for Rockfish · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Samoa Channel
- Depth
- 20-30 ft
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Protected
- Season
- Peak seasonRockfish
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 Samoa Channel
Samoa Channel is a channel in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 20-30 ft. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, rockfish and lingcod. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for lingcod, white seabass, Pacific halibut and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Rockfish peak from May through September. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Outer Reach67
Channel · 0.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Rockfish 59
- Lingcod 56
1 kt ESEL 3:04 AM · 0.8 ftH 10:27 AM · 5.3 ft
- Eureka Channel67
Channel · 0.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Rockfish 59
- Lingcod 56
1 kt ESEL 3:04 AM · 0.8 ftH 10:27 AM · 5.3 ft
- Inner Reach67
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Rockfish 59
- Lingcod 56
1 kt ESEL 3:04 AM · 0.8 ftH 10:27 AM · 5.3 ft
- Arcata Channel67
Channel · 2.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Rockfish 59
- Lingcod 56
1 kt ESEL 3:10 AM · 0.8 ftH 10:34 AM · 5.4 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.