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LingcodRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Lingcod
- Now
- 6010 PM PDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Carmel Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Friday, Oct 2 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
88Wind: 11 kt NNWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 59°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Lingcod
Species seasonality
83Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
Lingcod
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 22 in, total length
- 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. 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))
- 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))
- Leopard shark Retention open (3 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Lingcod is best here
Shoulder season for Lingcod · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Carmel Bay
- Depth
- 200-450 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · 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 Carmel Bay
Carmel Bay is a bay in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is 200-450 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, lingcod and striped bass. It is peak season now for rockfish, striped bass, surfperch and cabezon, and shoulder season for lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific halibut and white seabass. Rockfish peak from May through September. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October.
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.
- 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
- Pescadero Point72
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 72
- Rockfish 67
- White seabass 63
5 kt NNWL 2:36 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:23 AM · 4.0 ft
- Pinnacle Point72
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 72
- Rockfish 67
- White seabass 63
5 kt NNWL 2:36 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:23 AM · 4.0 ft
- North Point72
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 72
- Rockfish 67
- White seabass 63
5 kt NNWL 2:36 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:23 AM · 4.0 ft
- The Pinnacles67
Bar · 1.2 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 67
- Striped bass 62
- Lingcod 60
5 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.