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Striped bassRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Cabezon
- Now
- 6312 PM PDT
- Best window
- 5 PM-12 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Ebbing4.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when South Bay 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
Thursday, Oct 1 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.4 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
64Wind: 4 kt NWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
97Water temp: 57°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern Groundfish Management Area
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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Striped bass is best here
Peak season for Striped bass · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
South Bay
- Depth
- 5-8 ft
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposed
- Season
- Peak 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 South Bay
South Bay is a bay in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 5-8 ft. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, cabezon and surfperch. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, surfperch and rockfish, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, lingcod, white seabass and Pacific halibut. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
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.
- 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.
- Surfperch
- Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Buhne Point65
Cape · 2.8 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 65
- Rockfish 63
- Cabezon 60
6 kt NL 2:40 PM · 3.6 ftH 8:34 PM · 5.8 ft
- Southport Channel63
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 63
- Rockfish 58
- Lingcod 57
6 kt NL 2:40 PM · 3.6 ftH 8:34 PM · 5.8 ft
- Hookton Channel62
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 62
- Rockfish 58
- Lingcod 57
6 kt NL 2:50 PM · 3.5 ftH 8:34 PM · 5.9 ft
- Buhne Spit Shoal61
Bar · 3.0 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 61
- Rockfish 60
- Striped bass 60
6 kt NL 4:22 PM · 1.1 ftH 8:53 PM · 4.2 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.