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Kelp bassRetention openBay · California
Iron Bound Bay
33.45°N · 118.58°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 · 7 PM · Kelp bass
- Now
- 459 AM PDT
- Best window
- 5-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- High4.3 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Iron Bound 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 · 9 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
34Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
81Wind: 1 kt SSEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
62Water temp: 73°F, warmLight: MorningSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 4.2 ftSeason & habitat · Kelp bass
Species seasonality
56Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Southern Groundfish Management Area
Kelp bass
Retention open- Daily limit
- 5 per day (5 kelp bass, barred sand bass and spotted sand bass combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 14 in, total length. Or 10 inches alternate length.
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Fillets must be at least 7.5 inches long with a one-inch square patch of skin.
From CDFW 2026 California Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet (last updated July 17, 2026), read Sep 13
Other species here
- Albacore tuna Retention open (10 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 (5 per day)
- Chinook salmon Retention open (2 per day (2 salmon combined))
- Coho salmon Closed (No retention)
- 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)
- 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 Kelp bass is best here
Shoulder season for Kelp bass · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Iron Bound Bay
- Depth
- 130-160 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonKelp 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 Iron Bound Bay
Iron Bound Bay is a bay in Inner waters from Point Mugu to San Mateo Pt. CA including Santa Catalina and Anacapa Islands, California. Depth in the nearest water is 130-160 ft. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 9 species here; the best right now are California yellowtail, surfperch and kelp bass. It is peak season now for California yellowtail, California halibut and leopard shark, and shoulder season for surfperch, kelp bass, barred sand bass and lingcod. California yellowtail peak from July through September. Surfperch peak from December through March. Kelp bass peak from June through August.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Cactus Bay64
Bay · 1.8 mi
Top: California halibutPeak season- California halibut 64
- Lingcod 49
- Rockfish 48
1 kt SSEL 2:17 PM · 1.8 ftH 8:09 PM · 5.2 ft
- Kelp Point55
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 55
- Lingcod 47
- Rockfish 46
1 kt SSEL 2:17 PM · 1.8 ftH 8:09 PM · 5.2 ft
- Black Point54
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 54
- California halibut 50
- Lingcod 47
1 kt SSEL 2:17 PM · 1.8 ftH 8:09 PM · 5.2 ft
- Stony Point54
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 54
- California halibut 51
- Lingcod 49
1 kt SSEL 2:17 PM · 1.8 ftH 8:09 PM · 5.2 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.