Waterlands

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White seabassRetention open

Cape · California

Pinnacle Point

36.52°N · 121.95°W · Cape · Monterey Bay

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Best score today · 8 PM · White seabass

72/100Great
Now
496 PM PDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing4.5 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
Score49Good
Tide4.5 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.0 knmodeled · toward E
Wind10 kn NNWgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateRough5.6 ft · 8 s
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy59% 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 · 5 more weeks at shoulder

White seabass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for White seabass · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

White seabass in California

Spot profile

Pinnacle Point

Depth
40-200 ftDrop-off
Structure
Point · Outer · 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 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 striped bass, Pacific halibut and cabezon. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, rockfish and surfperch, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, Chinook salmon, kelp greenling and lingcod. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Pacific halibut peak from May through July. 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.
Pacific halibut
Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Pinnacle Cove

    Bay · 0.1 mi

    64
    Top: SurfperchPeak season
    • Surfperch 64
    • Pacific halibut 61
    • Rockfish 56

    10 kt NNWL 1:14 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:41 AM · 3.7 ft

  • Middle Cove

    Bay · 0.1 mi

    64
    Top: SurfperchPeak season
    • Surfperch 64
    • Pacific halibut 61
    • Rockfish 56

    10 kt NNWL 1:14 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:41 AM · 3.7 ft

  • North Point

    Cape · 0.1 mi

    63
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 63
    • Pacific halibut 61
    • Cabezon 60

    10 kt NNWL 1:14 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:41 AM · 3.7 ft

  • South Point

    Cape · 0.1 mi

    63
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 63
    • Pacific halibut 61
    • Cabezon 60

    10 kt NNWL 1:14 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:41 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.