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Leopard sharkRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Leopard shark
- Now
- 303 AM PDT
- Best window
- 7 AM-12 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.9 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 3 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
23Tide: Low slackCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
88Wind: 2 kt NPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
39Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 57°F, coolLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.7 ftSeason & habitat · Leopard shark
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern Groundfish Management Area
Leopard shark
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 36 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Closed in the Groundfish Exclusion Areas off southern California.
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))
- 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)
- 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 Leopard shark is best here
Shoulder season for Leopard shark · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
South Bay
- Depth
- 5-8 ft
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonLeopard shark
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 Pacific halibut. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, surfperch and rockfish, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, white seabass, kelp greenling and lingcod. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July.
Tackle & technique
- Leopard shark
- Leopard sharks cruise shallow mudflats, sloughs and channel edges in bays, most often in less than 15 feet of water, and follow the flooding tide onto the flats to feed on crabs, worms, clams and small fish. Anchor or fish from shore or a pier with a sliding sinker rig and a chunk of squid, mackerel or ghost shrimp on the bottom. The bite is often better into the evening and at night.
- 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
- Buhne Point55
Cape · 2.8 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 55
- Cabezon 53
- Rockfish 52
2 kt NH 10:11 AM · 5.0 ftL 2:40 PM · 3.6 ft
- Buhne Spit Shoal55
Bar · 3.0 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 55
- Pacific halibut 53
- Rockfish 51
2 kt NL 4:23 AM · 0.3 ftH 10:20 AM · 3.5 ft
- Southport Channel54
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 54
- Pacific halibut 51
- Rockfish 47
2 kt NH 10:11 AM · 5.0 ftL 2:40 PM · 3.6 ft
- Hookton Channel53
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 53
- Pacific halibut 52
- Rockfish 47
2 kt NH 10:01 AM · 5.0 ftL 2:50 PM · 3.5 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.