UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SurfperchRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 PM · Surfperch
- Now
- 511 AM PDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Southport 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
52Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 3 kt ESEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
41Water temp: 60°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.5 ftSeason & habitat · Surfperch
Species seasonality
73Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern Groundfish Management Area
Surfperch
Retention open- Daily limit
- 20 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 10.5 in, total length. Redtail surfperch only. No minimum size for other surfperch.
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- In San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay, surfperch are closed April 1 through July 31 and the limit is 5 (shiner perch excepted). 20 surfperch in combination, not more than 10 of any one species. Shiner perch have a separate limit of 20.
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)
- 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 Surfperch is best here
Peak season for Surfperch · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Southport Channel
- Depth
- 5-15 ft
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Protected
- Season
- Peak seasonSurfperch
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 Southport Channel
Southport Channel is a channel in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 5-15 ft. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, rockfish and Pacific halibut. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, lingcod, white seabass and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Rockfish peak from May through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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
- Buhne Point60
Cape · 1.9 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 60
- Striped bass 60
- Cabezon 59
3 kt ESEH 6:45 AM · 4.4 ftL 10:43 AM · 3.8 ft
- Hookton Channel60
Channel · 2.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 60
- Rockfish 56
- Cabezon 54
3 kt ESEH 6:42 AM · 4.5 ftL 10:51 AM · 3.9 ft
- South Bay57
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 57
- Striped bass 57
- Surfperch 57
3 kt ESEH 6:45 AM · 4.4 ftL 10:43 AM · 3.8 ft
- Buhne Spit Shoal55
Bar · 2.0 mi
Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season- Pacific halibut 55
- Rockfish 48
- Striped bass 48
3 kt ESEH 7:01 AM · 3.2 ftL 12:23 PM · 1.2 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.