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Leopard sharkRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · Leopard shark
- Now
- 305 AM PDT
- Best window
- 5-9 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Lopez Point scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Thursday, Sep 24 · 12 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
38Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.7 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
90Wind: 2 kt NNEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
61Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 63°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 5.9 ftSeason & habitat · Leopard shark
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
Leopard shark
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 36 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Closed in the Groundfish Exclusion Areas off southern California.
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 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))
- 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 Leopard shark is best here
Shoulder season for Leopard shark · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Lopez Point
- Depth
- 8-35 ft
- Structure
- Point · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonLeopard shark
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 Lopez Point
Lopez Point is a cape in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is 8-35 ft. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, white seabass and rockfish. 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
- Leopard shark
- Leopard sharks cruise shallow mudflats, sloughs and channel edges in bays, most often in less than 15 feet of water, and follow the flooding tide onto the flats to feed on crabs, worms, clams and small fish. Anchor or fish from shore or a pier with a sliding sinker rig and a chunk of squid, mackerel or ghost shrimp on the bottom. The bite is often better into the evening and at night.
- 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.
- 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
- Grimes Point69
Cape · 16 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 69
- Rockfish 61
- White seabass 61
1 kt NNWH 9:08 AM · 4.1 ftL 2:11 PM · 2.5 ft
- Tide Rock66
Bar · 6.3 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 66
- White seabass 64
- Striped bass 62
2 kt NNWH 9:08 AM · 4.1 ftL 2:11 PM · 2.5 ft
- Jade Cove66
Bay · 9.9 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 66
- Surfperch 61
- White seabass 58
2 kt NNWH 9:08 AM · 4.1 ftL 2:11 PM · 2.5 ft
- McWay Cove62
Bay · 11 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 62
- Rockfish 61
- Surfperch 59
1 kt NNWH 9:08 AM · 4.1 ftL 2:11 PM · 2.5 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.