Waterlands

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Striped bassRetention open

Cape · California

Sharp Point

41.24°N · 124.11°W · Cape · Humboldt Bay

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Best score today · 6 AM · Striped bass

75/100Great
Now
535 AM PST
Best window
5-7 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High5.4 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Nov 11 · 9 PM

Time9P
Score64Good
Tide0.7 ft ▲Flooding
Wind8 kn SSEgusts 27 · steady
Air temp50°Cool
WeatherOvercast58% chance of rain
Water58°FPersisted

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

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Striped bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Striped bass in California →

Spot profile

Sharp Point

Depth
15-40 ft
Structure
Point · Outer · Exposed
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 Sharp Point

Sharp Point is a cape in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 15-40 ft. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 9 species here; the best right now are kelp greenling, cabezon and lingcod. It is peak season now for kelp greenling and lingcod, and shoulder season for cabezon, striped bass, surfperch and rockfish. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through September. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.

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.
Kelp greenling
Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.
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

  • Rocky Point

    Cape · 7.3 mi

    72
    Top: Kelp greenlingPeak season
    • Kelp greenling 72
    • Cabezon 63
    • Lingcod 60

    8 kt NL 10:14 AM · 3.5 ftH 3:54 PM · 6.2 ft

  • Abalone Point

    Cape · 7.5 mi

    72
    Top: Kelp greenlingPeak season
    • Kelp greenling 72
    • Cabezon 63
    • Lingcod 60

    8 kt NL 10:14 AM · 3.5 ftH 3:54 PM · 6.2 ft

  • Lookout Point

    Cape · 3.1 mi

    71
    Top: Kelp greenlingPeak season
    • Kelp greenling 71
    • Cabezon 61
    • Lingcod 58

    2 kt EL 10:14 AM · 3.5 ftH 3:54 PM · 6.2 ft

  • Mussel Point

    Cape · 6.1 mi

    71
    Top: Kelp greenlingPeak season
    • Kelp greenling 71
    • Cabezon 61
    • Lingcod 58

    2 kt EL 10:14 AM · 3.5 ftH 3:54 PM · 6.2 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.