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Striped bassRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Striped bass
- Now
- 5612 AM PST
- Best window
- 1-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.3 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
Sunday, Nov 15 · 5 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
78Wind: 8 kt SSWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
72Water temp: 66°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Lingcod
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
Striped bass
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 18 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Angling, spearfishing or bow and arrow only. No sinker over 4 pounds, no power-driven gurdy or winch, no snagging. The CDFW San Francisco Bay District page states the same limits for the bay: two fish, 18 inches total length.
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 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)
- Rockfish Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
- Sablefish Retention open (10 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 Striped bass is best here
Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 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 seasonStriped bass
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 striped bass, kelp greenling and lingcod. It is peak season now for kelp greenling and lingcod, and shoulder season for striped bass, surfperch, rockfish and cabezon. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Kelp greenling
- Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Black Point59
Cape · 2.7 mi
Top: Striped bassShoulder season- Striped bass 59
- Lingcod 57
- Kelp greenling 52
2 kt NNEH 5:40 AM · 4.3 ftL 10:43 AM · 2.8 ft
- Soquel Point59
Cape · 3.6 mi
Top: Striped bassShoulder season- Striped bass 59
- Lingcod 57
- Kelp greenling 52
2 kt NNEH 5:40 AM · 4.3 ftL 10:43 AM · 2.8 ft
- Santa Cruz Anchorage58
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Striped bassShoulder season- Striped bass 58
- Lingcod 57
- Kelp greenling 54
2 kt NNEH 5:40 AM · 4.3 ftL 10:43 AM · 2.8 ft
- Steamer Lane57
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 57
- Striped bass 57
- Kelp greenling 46
2 kt NNEH 5:40 AM · 4.3 ftL 10:43 AM · 2.8 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.