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California halibutPeak seasonBay · California
Buena Vista Lagoon
33.17°N · 117.35°W · Bay · Inner waters from Point Mugu to San Mateo Pt. CA including Santa Catalina and Anacapa Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · California yellowtail
- Now
- 648 AM PDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Buena Vista Lagoon 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 · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
81Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
94Wind: 2 kt NNWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
42Water temp: 74°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.8 ftSeason & habitat · California halibut
Species seasonality
95Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Southern Groundfish Management Area
No rule for California halibut is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. 45 rules for this area are waiting for review and not shown until checked. Confirm limits with CDFW before you keep a fish.
Source: CDFW · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When California halibut is best here
Peak season for California halibut · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Buena Vista Lagoon
- Depth
- Not sampled
- Structure
- Bay
- Season
- Peak seasonCalifornia halibut
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14. Depths are feet below the DEM vertical datum, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Buena Vista Lagoon
Buena Vista Lagoon is a bay in Inner waters from Point Mugu to San Mateo Pt. CA including Santa Catalina and Anacapa Islands, California.
Waterlands scores 9 species here; the best right now are California halibut, California yellowtail and kelp bass. It is peak season now for California halibut, California yellowtail and leopard shark, and shoulder season for kelp bass, surfperch, lingcod and rockfish. California halibut peak from May through September. California yellowtail peak from July through September. Kelp bass peak from June through August.
Tackle & technique
- California halibut
- California halibut are ambush feeders that lie on sand or mud bottom, mostly in water shallower than 100 feet and often inside bays, harbors and estuaries. Drift or slow-troll a live anchovy or sardine on a sliding sinker rig, or bounce a swimbait along the bottom over flats, channel edges and sandy areas near structure. Keep the bait within a foot or two of the bottom and give a fish time to turn the bait before setting the hook.
- California yellowtail
- Yellowtail school around the offshore islands, banks, high spots and kelp paddies from spring into fall, moving north from Baja as the water warms past about 64 degrees. Fly-line a sardine or mackerel, cast a surface iron to breaking fish, or drop a heavy iron and wind it fast when they hold deep. Heavy line matters because they run straight for kelp and rock.
- Kelp bass
- Kelp bass live in kelp beds, rocky reefs and breakwaters, most often in 9 to 70 feet of water, and seldom move far from home. In summer cast swimbaits or fish live anchovies along the up-current edge of the kelp and let them swim into the canopy. In winter the bigger fish move to reefs in 90 feet or more, where a squid-tipped jig works better.
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.