Waterlands

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White seabassRetention open

Cape · California

Lovers Point

36.63°N · 121.92°W · Cape · Monterey Bay

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Best score today · 7 PM · White seabass

82/100Great
Now
646 PM PDT
Best window
6-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing4.2 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score64Good
Tide4.2 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward ESE
Wind6 kn WSWgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateRough4.1 ft · 8 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water62°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 · 6 more weeks at shoulder

White seabass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for White seabass · 6 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

White seabass in California

Spot profile

Lovers Point

Depth
15-60 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonWhite seabass

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 Lovers Point

Lovers Point is a cape in Monterey Bay, California. Depth in the nearest water is 15-60 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

  • Lucas Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    78
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 78
    • Rockfish 72
    • Cabezon 68

    6 kt WSWL 12:19 AM · 0.8 ftH 8:16 AM · 3.7 ft

  • Point Pinos

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    78
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 78
    • Rockfish 72
    • Cabezon 68

    6 kt WSWL 12:19 AM · 0.8 ftH 8:16 AM · 3.7 ft

  • Point Alones

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    76
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 76
    • Rockfish 72
    • Cabezon 69

    8 kt NNWL 12:19 AM · 0.8 ftH 8:16 AM · 3.7 ft

  • Aumentos Rock

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    74
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 74
    • Striped bass 71
    • Cabezon 70

    6 kt WSWL 12:19 AM · 0.8 ftH 8:16 AM · 3.7 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.