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RockfishRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Rockfish
- Now
- 545 PM PST
- Best window
- 5-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Mitchell Cove 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
Monday, Nov 9 · 3 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
93Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
87Wind: 2 kt SSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
30Water temp: 66°F, hotLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 6.5 ftSeason & habitat · Rockfish
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
Rockfish
Retention open- Daily limit
- 10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- No minimum size limit.
- Season
- Apr 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Shore-based anglers and spear divers are exempt from groundfish seasons and depth limits. Within the 10-fish RCG limit: no more than 1 copper rockfish, 2 canary rockfish, and 2 vermilion/sunset rockfish. RCG complex: all rockfish, cabezon, and kelp and rock greenlings combined. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat. Yelloweye, cowcod, bronzespotted and quillback rockfish may not be kept.
From CDFW Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations (updated June 23, 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 Closed (No retention)
- 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)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Rockfish is best here
Shoulder season for Rockfish · 8 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Mitchell Cove
- Depth
- Up to 30 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonRockfish
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 Mitchell Cove
Mitchell Cove is a bay in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is up to 30 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 9 species here; the best right now are lingcod, striped bass and kelp greenling. It is peak season now for lingcod and kelp greenling, and shoulder season for striped bass, rockfish, surfperch and cabezon. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Kelp greenling peak from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Lingcod
- Lingcod ambush prey from rock outcrops, reef edges and kelp where current runs, most often in 30 to 300 feet, and males move shallow to guard nests in winter. Drift over the reef bouncing a lead-head swimbait or metal jig on the bottom, or fish herring or squid on a heavy leader, since their teeth cut light line. From jetties and rocky shore, work bait or jigs along the rocks on the incoming tide.
- 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
- Steamer Lane70
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 70
- Striped bass 63
- Kelp greenling 55
7 kt NWL 10:20 PM · -0.2 ftH 5:40 AM · 4.3 ft
- Santa Cruz Anchorage70
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 70
- Striped bass 64
- Kelp greenling 63
7 kt NWL 10:20 PM · -0.2 ftH 5:40 AM · 4.3 ft
- Black Point70
Cape · 2.7 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 70
- Striped bass 65
- Kelp greenling 61
7 kt NWL 10:20 PM · -0.2 ftH 5:40 AM · 4.3 ft
- Soquel Point70
Cape · 3.6 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 70
- Striped bass 65
- Kelp greenling 61
7 kt NWL 10:20 PM · -0.2 ftH 5:40 AM · 4.3 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.