UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
California halibutRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · California halibut
- Now
- 463 PM PDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low2.1 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Soquel 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 3 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
44Tide: Low slackCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 4 kt SWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
28Water temp: 60°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 3.9 ftSeason & habitat · California halibut
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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 · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Soquel Cove
- Depth
- 25-35 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · flat bottom
- 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 Soquel Cove
Soquel Cove is a bay in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is 25-35 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are Pacific halibut, striped bass and cabezon. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, surfperch and rockfish, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, California halibut, kelp greenling and lingcod. Pacific halibut peak from May through July. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Pleasure Point53
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 53
- Striped bass 53
- Cabezon 51
4 kt SWH 8:52 PM · 5.0 ftL 3:30 AM · 0.3 ft
- Soquel Point53
Cape · 2.6 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 53
- Striped bass 53
- Cabezon 51
4 kt SWH 8:52 PM · 5.0 ftL 3:30 AM · 0.3 ft
- Black Point53
Cape · 3.4 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 53
- Striped bass 53
- Cabezon 51
4 kt SWH 8:52 PM · 5.0 ftL 3:30 AM · 0.3 ft
- Santa Cruz Anchorage53
Bay · 4.5 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 53
- Cabezon 52
- Striped bass 52
4 kt SWH 8:52 PM · 5.0 ftL 3:30 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.