Waterlands

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LingcodRetention open

Cape · California

Sunset Point

36.57°N · 121.97°W · Cape · Monterey Bay

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Best score today · 9 PM · Lingcod

72/100Great
Now
587 AM PDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.3 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score58Good
Tide3.3 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind11 kn NNWgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateRough5.7 ft · 8 s
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water62°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Lingcod

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 22 in, total length
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. 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))
  • 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)
  • 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 Lingcod is best here

Shoulder season for Lingcod · 1 more week at shoulder

Lingcod season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Lingcod · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Lingcod in California

Spot profile

Sunset Point

Depth
35-110 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonLingcod

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 Sunset Point

Sunset Point is a cape in Monterey Bay, California. Depth in the nearest water is 35-110 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, striped bass and cabezon. It is peak season now for rockfish, striped bass, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, Chinook salmon, lingcod and white seabass. Rockfish peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September.

Tackle & technique

Lingcod
Lingcod ambush prey from rock outcrops, reef edges and kelp where current runs, most often in 30 to 300 feet, and males move shallow to guard nests in winter. Drift over the reef bouncing a lead-head swimbait or metal jig on the bottom, or fish herring or squid on a heavy leader, since their teeth cut light line. From jetties and rocky shore, work bait or jigs along the rocks on the incoming tide.
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.
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

  • Stillwater Cove

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    67
    Top: SurfperchPeak season
    • Surfperch 67
    • Striped bass 64
    • Cabezon 63

    11 kt NNWH 8:41 AM · 3.7 ftL 12:44 PM · 3.3 ft

  • Cypress Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    65
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 65
    • Striped bass 63
    • Cabezon 62

    11 kt NNWH 8:41 AM · 3.7 ftL 12:44 PM · 3.3 ft

  • The Pinnacles

    Bar · 0.9 mi

    65
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 65
    • Pacific halibut 59
    • Lingcod 58

    11 kt NNWH 8:41 AM · 3.7 ftL 12:44 PM · 3.3 ft

  • Pescadero Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    65
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 65
    • Striped bass 63
    • Cabezon 62

    11 kt NNWH 8:41 AM · 3.7 ftL 12:44 PM · 3.3 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.