Waterlands

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Chinook salmonRetention open

Cape · California

Cypress Point

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

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Best score today · 9 PM · Chinook salmon

71/100Great
Now
5810 AM PDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score58Good
Tide3.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.0 knmodeled · toward E
Wind5 kn NNWgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateRough4.5 ft · 9 s
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast85% cloud
Water61°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day (2 salmon combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 20 in, total length
Season
Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Oct 1
Other
Coho may not be kept. Salmon may not be filleted on a boat. No more than two daily bag limits on land, and one daily bag limit on a vessel. NOAA Fisheries can close open days early when the harvest guideline is near. Any salmon except coho. North of Point Conception: no more than two single-point, single-shank barbless hooks and one rod. Between 40°10' N. lat. and Point Conception, when bait fishing by any means other than trolling, use no more than two barbless circle hooks, hard tied no more than 5 inches apart. The 20,000 Chinook fall harvest guideline is shared with the area from 38°02' N. lat. to Pigeon Point.

From CDFW 2026 Ocean Salmon Sport Regulations (updated August 19, 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

Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder

Chinook salmon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Chinook salmon in California

Spot profile

Cypress Point

Depth
3-80 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonChinook salmon

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 cabezon, Pacific halibut and surfperch. It is peak season now for cabezon, surfperch, striped bass and rockfish, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, Chinook salmon, kelp greenling and lingcod. Cabezon peak from May through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.

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.
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.
Pacific halibut
Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Stillwater Cove

    Bay · 2.3 mi

    68
    Top: SurfperchPeak season
    • Surfperch 68
    • Cabezon 67
    • Striped bass 60

    5 kt NNWL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ftH 7:24 PM · 4.8 ft

  • Sunset Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    64
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 64
    • Pacific halibut 62
    • Striped bass 59

    5 kt NNWL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ftH 7:24 PM · 4.8 ft

  • Pescadero Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    64
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 64
    • Pacific halibut 62
    • Surfperch 60

    5 kt NNWL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ftH 7:24 PM · 4.8 ft

  • The Pinnacles

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    62
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 62
    • Cabezon 58
    • Rockfish 57

    5 kt NNWL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ftH 7:24 PM · 4.8 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.