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Chinook salmonClosed

Cape · California

Cooper Point

36.25°N · 121.84°W · Cape · Monterey Bay

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Best score today · 5 PM · Chinook salmon

74/100Great
Now
209 PM PDT
Best window
9-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing-0.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Nov 10 · 8 AM

Time8A
Tide5.1 ft ▲Flooding
Wind2 kn SWgusts 11 · steady
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherClear8% cloud
Water69°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon

Closed
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Oct 1 to Oct 31, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Other
The fall season south of Pigeon Point is September 1 through 30 only. Fish may be taken only during the open season (Section 1.14).

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
  • 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Chinook salmon is best here

Out of season for Chinook salmon · the off season starts in 18 weeks

Chinook salmon season by week of the year. Out of season for Chinook salmon · the off season starts in 18 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Chinook salmon in California →

Spot profile

Cooper Point

Depth
25-60 ft
Structure
Point · Outer · Exposed
Season
Not here nowChinook salmon

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, lingcod and white seabass. It is peak season now for lingcod and kelp greenling, and shoulder season for striped bass, rockfish, cabezon and surfperch. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Chinook salmon
Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Molera Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    71
    Top: Striped bassShoulder season
    • Striped bass 71
    • Lingcod 64
    • White seabass 58

    3 kt NL 10:23 PM · -0.5 ftH 4:55 AM · 4.0 ft

  • Point Sur

    Cape · 5.1 mi

    71
    Top: Striped bassShoulder season
    • Striped bass 71
    • Lingcod 66
    • White seabass 58

    9 kt NWL 10:23 PM · -0.5 ftH 4:55 AM · 4.0 ft

  • Grimes Point

    Cape · 6.4 mi

    70
    Top: Striped bassShoulder season
    • Striped bass 70
    • Lingcod 65
    • White seabass 57

    3 kt NL 10:15 PM · -0.4 ftH 4:45 AM · 3.8 ft

  • Sur Rock

    Bar · 3.6 mi

    68
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 68
    • Striped bass 64
    • White seabass 59

    9 kt NWL 10:23 PM · -0.5 ftH 4:55 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.