Waterlands

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White seabassRetention open

Cape · California

Sharp Point

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

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Best score today · 7 AM · White seabass

78/100Great
Now
637 PM PDT
Best window
7-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing4.9 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score63Good
Tide4.9 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind3 kn NWgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.2 ft · 8 s
Air temp54°Cool
WeatherMostly cloudy71% cloud
Water55°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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When White seabass is best here

Shoulder season for White seabass · 6 more weeks at shoulder

White seabass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for White seabass · 6 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

White seabass in California

Spot profile

Sharp Point

Depth
15-40 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 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 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, rockfish and cabezon. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for lingcod, kelp greenling, white seabass and Pacific halibut. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Rockfish peak from May through September. Cabezon 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.
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

  • Lookout Point

    Cape · 3.1 mi

    78
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 78
    • Rockfish 77
    • Cabezon 76

    3 kt NWL 12:38 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 4.5 ft

  • Mussel Point

    Cape · 6.1 mi

    78
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 78
    • Rockfish 77
    • Cabezon 76

    3 kt NWL 12:38 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 4.5 ft

  • Rocky Point

    Cape · 7.3 mi

    78
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 78
    • Striped bass 78
    • Cabezon 76

    9 kt NL 12:38 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 4.5 ft

  • Abalone Point

    Cape · 7.5 mi

    78
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 78
    • Striped bass 78
    • Cabezon 76

    9 kt NL 12:38 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 4.5 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.