Waterlands

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White seabassRetention open

Cape · California

Cooper Point

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

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Best score today · 3 AM · White seabass

70/100Great
Now
356 PM PST
Best window
6-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 14 · 3 PM

Time3P
Score35Fair
Tide3.5 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind2 kn Sgusts 20 · steady
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy50% chance of rain
Water70°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

White seabass

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 28 in, total length. Or twenty and one-half inches alternate length (Section 28.35).
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
CDFW pages disagree on the alternate length: the regulation text says 20.5 inches, the booklet summary table 21.5 inches, and the regional web pages 20 inches. Total length is 28 inches on all of them.

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)
  • Striped bass Retention open (2 per day)
  • Surfperch Retention open (20 per day)
  • Yellowfin tuna Retention open (10 per day)
  • Yellowtail Retention open (10 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When White seabass is best here

Out of season for White seabass · it leaves in 5 weeks

White seabass season by week of the year. Out of season for White seabass · it leaves in 5 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

White seabass in California →

Spot profile

Cooper Point

Depth
25-60 ft
Structure
Point · Outer · Exposed
Season
Off seasonWhite seabass

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 9 species here; the best right now are lingcod, striped bass and rockfish. It is peak season now for lingcod and kelp greenling, and shoulder season for striped bass, rockfish, cabezon and surfperch. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Rockfish peak from May through September.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Grimes Point

    Cape · 6.4 mi

    68
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 68
    • Rockfish 57
    • Surfperch 38

    6 kt NL 10:21 PM · -0.2 ftH 5:33 AM · 4.2 ft

  • Molera Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    67
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 67
    • Striped bass 66
    • Rockfish 57

    6 kt NL 10:27 PM · -0.2 ftH 5:43 AM · 4.3 ft

  • Sur Rock

    Bar · 3.6 mi

    65
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 65
    • Rockfish 55
    • Striped bass 53

    16 kt NNWL 10:27 PM · -0.2 ftH 5:43 AM · 4.3 ft

  • Point Sur

    Cape · 5.1 mi

    63
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 63
    • Striped bass 60
    • Rockfish 52

    16 kt NNWL 10:27 PM · -0.2 ftH 5:43 AM · 4.3 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.