UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Striped bassRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Surfperch
- Now
- 5612 PM PDT
- Best window
- 4 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Stillwater 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
Friday, Sep 25 · 12 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
84Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.4 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
64Wind: 10 kt NNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
67Water temp: 61°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 5.1 ftSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
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
Stillwater Cove
- Depth
- 3-35 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 Stillwater Cove
Stillwater Cove is a bay in Monterey Bay, California. Depth is 3-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, rockfish and surfperch. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, surfperch and cabezon, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, white seabass, lingcod and Chinook salmon. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Rockfish peak from May through September. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
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.
- Surfperch
- Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Arrowhead Point60
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 60
- Striped bass 58
- Cabezon 53
4 kt NWL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ftH 7:24 PM · 4.8 ft
- Carmel Bay58
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 58
- Pacific halibut 52
- Lingcod 51
4 kt NWL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ftH 7:24 PM · 4.8 ft
- Pescadero Point56
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 56
- Striped bass 55
- Pacific halibut 53
4 kt NWL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ftH 7:24 PM · 4.8 ft
- The Pinnacles56
Bar · 1.6 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 56
- Pacific halibut 53
- Lingcod 49
4 kt NWL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ftH 7:24 PM · 4.8 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.