UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Striped bassRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Surfperch
- Now
- 582 AM PDT
- Best window
- 4-11 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.5 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
Monday, Sep 28 · 2 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
78Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
82Wind: 10 kt NPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
61Water temp: 63°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 6.0 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 yesterday
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, surfperch and Pacific halibut. It is peak season now for striped bass, surfperch, cabezon and rockfish, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, white seabass, kelp greenling and lingcod. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Arrowhead Point60
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 60
- Pacific halibut 56
- Rockfish 55
6 kt NNWH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ft
- Pescadero Point58
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 58
- Pacific halibut 57
- Rockfish 53
6 kt NNWH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ft
- The Pinnacles57
Bar · 1.6 mi
Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season- Pacific halibut 57
- Rockfish 53
- Striped bass 48
6 kt NNWH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ft
- Carmel Bay56
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season- Pacific halibut 56
- Rockfish 53
- Lingcod 46
6 kt NNWH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:38 PM · 2.9 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.