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Striped bassRetention open

Cape · California

Cooper Point

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

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Best score today · 5 PM · Striped bass

74/100Great
Now
708 PM PDT
Best window
8-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 13 · 12 AM

Time12A
Score64Good
Tide2.8 ft ▲Flooding
Wind10 kn SSEgusts 20 · building
Air temp53°Cool
WeatherOvercast38% chance of rain
Water69°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Striped bass

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 18 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Angling, spearfishing or bow and arrow only. No sinker over 4 pounds, no power-driven gurdy or winch, no snagging. The CDFW San Francisco Bay District page states the same limits for the bay: two fish, 18 inches total length.

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
  • Chinook salmon Closed (No retention)
  • 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)
  • 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 Striped bass is best here

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Striped bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Striped bass in California →

Spot profile

Cooper Point

Depth
25-60 ft
Structure
Point · Outer · Exposed
Season
Shoulder seasonStriped bass

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

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.
White seabass
White seabass hold along kelp bed edges and over nearby sand where market squid gather, usually in 20 to 80 feet of water and shallower as the water warms. Fish a live squid on a dropper loop or fly-line a sardine near the kelp at dawn, dusk and after dark, especially around the spring full moon. Tagged fish spend most of their time in 52 to 66 degree water.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Molera Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

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

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

  • Sur Rock

    Bar · 3.6 mi

    70
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 70
    • Striped bass 62
    • Rockfish 60

    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 67
    • Rockfish 57

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

  • Point Sur

    Cape · 5.1 mi

    69
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 69
    • Striped bass 69
    • 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.