Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CabezonRetention open

Cape · California

Arrowhead Point

36.56°N · 121.94°W · Cape · Monterey Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 PM · Cabezon

80/100Great
Now
632 AM PDT
Best window
6-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.6 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

Notify me when Arrowhead Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions

Saturday, Sep 19 · 8 PM

Time8P
Score60Good
Tide3.5 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward SSE
Wind11 kn NWgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateRough5.2 ft · 7 s
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy82% cloud
Water61°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Cabezon

Retention open
Daily limit
10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
No minimum size limit.
Season
Apr 1 to Dec 31, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Shore-based anglers and spear divers are exempt from groundfish seasons and depth limits. RCG complex: all rockfish, cabezon, and kelp and rock greenlings combined. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat.

From CDFW Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations (updated June 23, 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))
  • California halibut Retention open
  • Chinook salmon Retention open (2 per day (2 salmon combined))
  • 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)
  • 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 Cabezon is best here

Peak season for Cabezon · 1 more week at peak

Cabezon season by week of the year. Peak season for Cabezon · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cabezon in California

Spot profile

Arrowhead Point

Depth
5-50 ftDrop-off
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Peak seasonCabezon

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Arrowhead Point

Arrowhead Point is a cape in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is 5-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, rockfish and cabezon. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for white seabass, lingcod, Chinook salmon and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Rockfish peak from May through September. Cabezon peak from May through September.

Tackle & technique

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.
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

  • Pescadero Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Rockfish 65
    • White seabass 62

    9 kt NNWH 7:14 AM · 3.4 ftL 9:18 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Stillwater Cove

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    66
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 66
    • Surfperch 63
    • Cabezon 61

    9 kt NNWH 7:14 AM · 3.4 ftL 9:18 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Carmel Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    65
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 65
    • Surfperch 57
    • Lingcod 56

    9 kt NNWH 7:14 AM · 3.4 ftL 9:18 AM · 3.5 ft

  • The Pinnacles

    Bar · 1.6 mi

    65
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 65
    • Striped bass 59
    • Lingcod 56

    9 kt NNWH 7:14 AM · 3.4 ftL 9:18 AM · 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.