Waterlands

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RockfishPeak season

Cape · California

Arrowhead Point

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

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Best score today · 6 PM · Rockfish

77/100Great
Now
669 AM PDT
Best window
5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Sep 30 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score75Great
Tide2.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind3 kn NNWgusts 12 · steady
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherClear16% cloud
Water61°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Rockfish is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. 32 rules for this area are waiting for review and not shown until checked. Confirm limits with CDFW before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Rockfish is best here

Peak season for Rockfish · 1 more week at peak

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

Rockfish in California

Spot profile

Arrowhead Point

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

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 rockfish, cabezon and Pacific halibut. It is peak season now for rockfish, cabezon, striped bass and surfperch, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, Chinook salmon, lingcod and white seabass. Rockfish peak from May through September. Cabezon peak from May through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
Pacific halibut
Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Stillwater Cove

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    64
    Top: SurfperchPeak season
    • Surfperch 64
    • Cabezon 62
    • Rockfish 60

    3 kt SH 2:56 PM · 4.7 ftL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Pescadero Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    64
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 64
    • Cabezon 62
    • Striped bass 62

    3 kt SH 2:56 PM · 4.7 ftL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Carmel Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    64
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 64
    • Pacific halibut 58
    • Surfperch 57

    3 kt SH 2:56 PM · 4.7 ftL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ft

  • The Pinnacles

    Bar · 1.6 mi

    64
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 64
    • Pacific halibut 59
    • Cabezon 56

    3 kt SH 2:56 PM · 4.7 ftL 11:03 PM · 0.9 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.