Waterlands

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Kelp greenlingRetention open

Bay · California

Bluefish Cove

36.52°N · 121.94°W · Bay · Monterey Bay

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Best score today · 7 AM · Kelp greenling

74/100Great
Now
559 PM PDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing4.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 PM · now

Time9PNOW
Score55Good
Tide4.3 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward N
Wind4 kn NNWgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.9 ft · 9 s
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast91% cloud
Water62°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Kelp greenling

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. CDFW limits and seasons cover kelp and rock greenlings together.

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))
  • 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))
  • 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Kelp greenling is best here

Shoulder season for Kelp greenling · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Kelp greenling in California

Spot profile

Bluefish Cove

Depth
10-130 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonKelp greenling

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 Bluefish Cove

Bluefish Cove is a bay in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is 10-130 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, striped bass and surfperch. It is peak season now for rockfish, striped bass, surfperch and cabezon, and shoulder season for lingcod, Pacific halibut, California halibut and white seabass. Rockfish peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Kelp greenling
Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cannery Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    73
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 73
    • Rockfish 69
    • White seabass 65

    4 kt NNWL 2:36 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:23 AM · 4.0 ft

  • North Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    72
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 72
    • Rockfish 68
    • Cabezon 63

    4 kt NNWL 2:36 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:23 AM · 4.0 ft

  • Whalers Cove

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    69
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 69
    • Striped bass 66
    • Surfperch 65

    4 kt NNWL 2:36 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:23 AM · 4.0 ft

  • Big Dome Cove

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    69
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 69
    • Striped bass 66
    • Surfperch 65

    4 kt NNWL 2:36 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:23 AM · 4.0 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.