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CabezonRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Cabezon
- Now
- 677 AM PDT
- Best window
- 7-11 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding3.2 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
99Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 7 kt NNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
53Water temp: 62°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.0 ftSeason & habitat · Cabezon
Species seasonality
82Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
Cabezon
Retention open- Daily limit
- 10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- No minimum size limit.
- Season
- Apr 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Shore-based anglers and spear divers are exempt from groundfish seasons and depth limits. RCG complex: all rockfish, cabezon, and kelp and rock greenlings combined. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat.
From CDFW Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations (updated June 23, 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))
- 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)
- 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 Cabezon is best here
Peak season for Cabezon · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Stillwater Cove
- Depth
- 3-35 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
- Season
- Peak seasonCabezon
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 cabezon. It is peak season now for striped bass, surfperch, cabezon and rockfish, and shoulder season for white seabass, Chinook salmon, 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. Cabezon peak from May through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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 Point72
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 72
- Striped bass 72
- Cabezon 69
7 kt NNWH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ft
- Pescadero Point70
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 70
- Striped bass 69
- Cabezon 66
7 kt NNWH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ft
- The Pinnacles70
Bar · 1.6 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 70
- Lingcod 64
- Cabezon 60
7 kt NNWH 9:03 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:38 PM · 2.9 ft
- Carmel Bay70
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 70
- Lingcod 64
- Surfperch 60
7 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.