Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

White seabassRetention open

Cape · California

Lopez Point

36.02°N · 121.57°W · Cape · Monterey Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 PM · White seabass

70/100Great
Now
512 PM PDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.4 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.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score51Good
Tide3.4 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind5 kn WNWgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateRough5.1 ft · 8 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy84% cloud
Water63°FObserved

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 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)
  • 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

Shoulder season for White seabass · 5 more weeks at shoulder

White seabass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for White seabass · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

White seabass in California

Spot profile

Lopez Point

Depth
8-35 ft
Structure
Point · Outer · Exposed
Season
Shoulder 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 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 rockfish, striped bass and cabezon. It is peak season now for rockfish, striped bass, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for lingcod, Chinook salmon, white seabass and Pacific halibut. Rockfish peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon 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.
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.
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

  • Tide Rock

    Bar · 6.3 mi

    64
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 64
    • Cabezon 58
    • Lingcod 57

    5 kt WNWH 6:19 PM · 4.7 ftL 1:49 AM · 0.5 ft

  • McWay Cove

    Bay · 11 mi

    62
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 62
    • Surfperch 56
    • Lingcod 55

    6 kt WNWH 6:19 PM · 4.7 ftL 1:49 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Grimes Point

    Cape · 16 mi

    62
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 62
    • Cabezon 59
    • Lingcod 55

    6 kt WNWH 6:19 PM · 4.7 ftL 1:49 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Jade Cove

    Bay · 9.9 mi

    58
    Top: SurfperchPeak season
    • Surfperch 58
    • Rockfish 54
    • Cabezon 53

    5 kt WNWH 6:19 PM · 4.7 ftL 1:49 AM · 0.5 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.