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California halibutRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 PM · California halibut
- Now
- 308 PM PDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing4.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cooper Point 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
Tuesday, Sep 22 · 5 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 7 kt NWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
47Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 62°F, primeLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 6.4 ftSeason & habitat · California halibut
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
California halibut
Retention open- Daily limit
- Not published
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 22 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- 2 fish north of a line due west magnetic from Point Sur, Monterey County. 5 fish south of that line. The Point Sur line runs due west magnetic, not along a latitude line. Check which side of it you are fishing.
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))
- 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)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When California halibut is best here
Shoulder season for California halibut · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cooper Point
- Depth
- 25-60 ft
- Structure
- Point · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCalifornia halibut
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Cooper Point
Cooper Point is a cape in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is 25-60 ft. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, cabezon and rockfish. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, rockfish and surfperch, and shoulder season for Chinook salmon, lingcod, white seabass and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September. Rockfish peak from May through September.
Tackle & technique
- California halibut
- California halibut are ambush feeders that lie on sand or mud bottom, mostly in water shallower than 100 feet and often inside bays, harbors and estuaries. Drift or slow-troll a live anchovy or sardine on a sliding sinker rig, or bounce a swimbait along the bottom over flats, channel edges and sandy areas near structure. Keep the bait within a foot or two of the bottom and give a fish time to turn the bait before setting the hook.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Grimes Point73
Cape · 6.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 73
- Rockfish 72
- Cabezon 69
5 kt NNWL 1:49 AM · 0.5 ftH 8:44 AM · 3.9 ft
- Molera Point69
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 69
- Striped bass 69
- Cabezon 68
5 kt NNWL 1:59 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ft
- Sur Rock67
Bar · 3.6 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 67
- Cabezon 63
- Lingcod 60
15 kt NNWL 1:59 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ft
- Point Sur65
Cape · 5.1 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 65
- Striped bass 64
- Cabezon 61
15 kt NNWL 1:59 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:03 AM · 3.8 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.