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California halibutRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 4 PM · California halibut
- Now
- 303 AM PST
- Best window
- 1-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding3.0 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
10Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
22Wind: 11 kt WNWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
98Water temp: 66°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · California halibut
Species seasonality
42Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
California halibut
Retention open- Daily limit
- Not published
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 22 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- 2 fish north of a line due west magnetic from Point Sur, Monterey County. 5 fish south of that line. The Point Sur line runs due west magnetic, not along a latitude line. Check which side of it you are fishing.
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))
- 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)
- 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 California halibut is best here
Out of season for California halibut · shoulder season starts in 22 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Mitchell Cove
- Depth
- Up to 30 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · slope
- Season
- Off seasonCalifornia halibut
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
- California halibut
- California halibut are ambush feeders that lie on sand or mud bottom, mostly in water shallower than 100 feet and often inside bays, harbors and estuaries. Drift or slow-troll a live anchovy or sardine on a sliding sinker rig, or bounce a swimbait along the bottom over flats, channel edges and sandy areas near structure. Keep the bait within a foot or two of the bottom and give a fish time to turn the bait before setting the hook.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Black Point59
Cape · 2.7 mi
Top: Striped bassShoulder season- Striped bass 59
- Lingcod 58
- Kelp greenling 53
3 kt NEH 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 58
- Kelp greenling 53
3 kt NEH 5:40 AM · 4.3 ftL 10:43 AM · 2.8 ft
- Steamer Lane58
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 58
- Striped bass 57
- Kelp greenling 47
3 kt NEH 5:40 AM · 4.3 ftL 10:43 AM · 2.8 ft
- Santa Cruz Anchorage58
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: LingcodPeak season- Lingcod 58
- Striped bass 58
- Kelp greenling 55
3 kt NEH 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.