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California halibutRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · California halibut
- Now
- 306 PM PDT
- Best window
- 6-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pinnacle Point 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
62Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt WNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
61Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 60°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeas: 4.3 ftSeason & habitat · California halibut
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 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)
- 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 California halibut is best here
Shoulder season for California halibut · 6 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Pinnacle Point
- Depth
- 40-200 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder 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 Pinnacle Point
Pinnacle Point is a cape in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is 40-200 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, striped bass and lingcod. It is peak season now for rockfish, striped bass, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for lingcod, white seabass, Chinook salmon and Pacific halibut. Rockfish peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. 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.
- 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
- Pinnacle Cove77
Bay · 0.1 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 77
- Lingcod 68
- Striped bass 67
4 kt WNWL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:14 AM · 3.4 ft
- Middle Cove77
Bay · 0.1 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 77
- Lingcod 68
- Striped bass 67
4 kt WNWL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:14 AM · 3.4 ft
- North Point77
Cape · 0.1 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 77
- Striped bass 74
- Lingcod 68
4 kt WNWL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:14 AM · 3.4 ft
- South Point77
Cape · 0.1 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 77
- Striped bass 74
- Lingcod 68
4 kt WNWL 11:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:14 AM · 3.4 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.