Waterlands

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LingcodShoulder season

Cape · California

Arrowhead Point

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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 PM · Lingcod

78/100Great
Now
542 PM PDT
Best window
5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding4.7 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
Score66Great
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

No rule for Lingcod 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 Lingcod is best here

Shoulder season for Lingcod · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Lingcod in California

Spot profile

Arrowhead Point

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

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

Tackle & technique

Lingcod
Lingcod ambush prey from rock outcrops, reef edges and kelp where current runs, most often in 30 to 300 feet, and males move shallow to guard nests in winter. Drift over the reef bouncing a lead-head swimbait or metal jig on the bottom, or fish herring or squid on a heavy leader, since their teeth cut light line. From jetties and rocky shore, work bait or jigs along the rocks on the incoming tide.
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.
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

  • Stillwater Cove

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    70
    Top: SurfperchPeak season
    • Surfperch 70
    • Cabezon 67
    • California halibut 58

    6 kt SWH 2:56 PM · 4.7 ftL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Pescadero Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    68
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 68
    • Surfperch 63
    • Rockfish 62

    6 kt SWH 2:56 PM · 4.7 ftL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Carmel Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    62
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 62
    • Surfperch 62
    • Pacific halibut 57

    6 kt SWH 2:56 PM · 4.7 ftL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ft

  • The Pinnacles

    Bar · 1.6 mi

    62
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 62
    • Cabezon 61
    • Pacific halibut 59

    6 kt SWH 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.