Waterlands

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California halibutRetention open

Cape · California

Cypress Point

36.58°N · 121.98°W · Cape · Monterey Bay

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Best score today · 8 PM · California halibut

73/100Great
Now
305 AM PDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 AM · now

Time5ANOW
Score30Fair
Tide2.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NNE
Wind10 kn NNWgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateRough5.0 ft · 8 s
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water62°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When California halibut is best here

Shoulder season for California halibut · 6 more weeks at shoulder

California halibut season by week of the year. Shoulder season for California halibut · 6 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

California halibut in California

Spot profile

Cypress Point

Depth
3-80 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonCalifornia halibut

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 Cypress Point

Cypress Point is a cape in Monterey Bay, California. Depth in the nearest water is 3-80 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, rockfish and white seabass. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for white seabass, lingcod, Chinook salmon and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. 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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Sunset Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Rockfish 64
    • White seabass 59

    10 kt NNWH 8:13 AM · 3.6 ftL 11:22 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Pescadero Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Rockfish 64
    • White seabass 59

    10 kt NNWH 8:13 AM · 3.6 ftL 11:22 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Stillwater Cove

    Bay · 2.3 mi

    67
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 67
    • Surfperch 61
    • Rockfish 58

    10 kt NNWH 8:13 AM · 3.6 ftL 11:22 AM · 3.5 ft

  • The Pinnacles

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    64
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 64
    • Striped bass 59
    • Lingcod 56

    10 kt NNWH 8:13 AM · 3.6 ftL 11:22 AM · 3.5 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.