UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Striped bassRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Striped bass
- Now
- 624 PM PDT
- Best window
- 5-7 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding3.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Santa Cruz Anchorage 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 · 4 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
62Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
84Wind: 6 kt WSWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
45Water temp: 60°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 5.4 ftSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
93Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 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)
- 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 Striped bass is best here
Peak season for Striped bass · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Santa Cruz Anchorage
- Depth
- 20-35 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
- Season
- Peak 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 Santa Cruz Anchorage
Santa Cruz Anchorage is a bay in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is 20-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, cabezon and striped bass. It is peak season now for rockfish, cabezon, striped bass and surfperch, and shoulder season for lingcod, kelp greenling, white seabass and Chinook salmon. Rockfish peak from May through September. Cabezon peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Black Point64
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 64
- Striped bass 63
- Cabezon 61
6 kt WSWH 8:09 PM · 4.9 ftL 3:01 AM · 0.3 ft
- Soquel Point64
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 64
- Striped bass 63
- Cabezon 61
6 kt WSWH 8:09 PM · 4.9 ftL 3:01 AM · 0.3 ft
- Steamer Lane62
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 62
- Rockfish 59
- Lingcod 57
6 kt WSWH 8:09 PM · 4.9 ftL 3:01 AM · 0.3 ft
- Mitchell Cove61
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 61
- Surfperch 61
- Cabezon 60
6 kt WSWH 8:09 PM · 4.9 ftL 3:01 AM · 0.3 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.