Waterlands

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Leopard sharkRetention open

Cape · California

Arrowhead Point

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

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Best score today · 7 PM · Leopard shark

80/100Great
Now
302 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

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Sep 30 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score46Good
Tide2.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind11 kn NNWgusts 19 · steady
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water61°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Leopard shark

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 36 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Closed in the Groundfish Exclusion Areas off southern California.

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
  • 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))
  • 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 Leopard shark is best here

Shoulder season for Leopard shark · 6 more weeks at shoulder

Leopard shark season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Leopard shark · 6 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Leopard shark in California

Spot profile

Arrowhead Point

Depth
5-50 ftDrop-off
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonLeopard shark

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

Leopard shark
Leopard sharks cruise shallow mudflats, sloughs and channel edges in bays, most often in less than 15 feet of water, and follow the flooding tide onto the flats to feed on crabs, worms, clams and small fish. Anchor or fish from shore or a pier with a sliding sinker rig and a chunk of squid, mackerel or ghost shrimp on the bottom. The bite is often better into the evening and at night.
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.