Waterlands

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Striped bassRetention open

Cape · California

Sunset Point

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

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Best score today · 7 PM · Striped bass

77/100Great
Now
638 AM PDT
Best window
6-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Low3.4 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Sunday, Sep 27 · 2 PM

Time2P
Score72Great
Tide3.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind12 kn NNWgusts 17 · steady
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water60°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Central Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

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 · 6 more weeks at peak

Striped bass season by week of the year. Peak season for Striped bass · 6 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Striped bass in California

Spot profile

Sunset Point

Depth
35-110 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · drop-off
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 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 striped bass, rockfish and cabezon. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for Chinook salmon, white seabass, lingcod and Pacific halibut. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Rockfish peak from May through September. Cabezon peak from May 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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cypress Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    63
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 63
    • Rockfish 62
    • Cabezon 58

    8 kt NNEL 9:18 AM · 3.5 ftH 4:03 PM · 4.6 ft

  • Pescadero Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    63
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 63
    • Rockfish 62
    • Cabezon 58

    8 kt NNEL 9:18 AM · 3.5 ftH 4:03 PM · 4.6 ft

  • The Pinnacles

    Bar · 0.9 mi

    62
    Top: RockfishPeak season
    • Rockfish 62
    • Lingcod 54
    • Pacific halibut 53

    8 kt NNEL 9:18 AM · 3.5 ftH 4:03 PM · 4.6 ft

  • Stillwater Cove

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    60
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 60
    • Surfperch 60
    • Cabezon 59

    8 kt NNEL 9:18 AM · 3.5 ftH 4:03 PM · 4.6 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.