Waterlands

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White seabassRetention open

Cape · California

Point Sur

36.31°N · 121.90°W · Cape · Monterey Bay

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Best score today · 9 PM · White seabass

66/100Great
Now
477 PM PDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing4.6 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Sep 24 · 12 AM

Time12A
Score58Good
Tide3.0 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward WNW
Wind13 kn NNWgusts 21 · steady
Sea stateRough6.1 ft · 9 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherClear9% cloud
Water61°FBias corrected

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

Point Sur

Depth
15-80 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonWhite seabass

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Point Sur

Point Sur is a cape in Monterey Bay, California. Depth in the nearest water is 15-80 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are cabezon, striped bass and surfperch. It is peak season now for cabezon, striped bass, surfperch and rockfish, and shoulder season for Chinook salmon, Pacific halibut, kelp greenling and lingcod. Cabezon peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Surfperch peak in May and from July 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.
Cabezon
Cabezon sit in rock crevices, kelp beds and jetty boulders from the intertidal zone to about 100 feet and feed mostly on crabs and small fish. Fish a fish-finder rig with sand shrimp, squid or crab right on the bottom in the rocks, or drag a lead-head grub slowly through the kelp. Expect snags, and do not eat the roe, which is toxic.
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

  • Molera Point

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    68
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 68
    • Striped bass 63
    • Surfperch 62

    5 kt NWL 1:59 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ft

  • Cooper Point

    Cape · 5.1 mi

    68
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 68
    • Striped bass 64
    • Surfperch 63

    5 kt NWL 1:59 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ft

  • Kasler Point

    Cape · 7.4 mi

    67
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 67
    • Striped bass 63
    • Chinook salmon 61

    6 kt NWL 1:59 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ft

  • Sur Rock

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    62
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 62
    • Rockfish 58
    • Pacific halibut 56

    16 kt NNWL 1:59 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:03 AM · 3.8 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.