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White seabassRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · White seabass
- Now
- 301 PM PDT
- Best window
- 4-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.8 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Sunset Point 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
Saturday, Oct 3 · 7 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 8 kt NPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
98Water temp: 59°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · White seabass
Species seasonality
67Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
White seabass
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 28 in, total length. Or twenty and one-half inches alternate length (Section 28.35).
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- CDFW pages disagree on the alternate length: the regulation text says 20.5 inches, the booklet summary table 21.5 inches, and the regional web pages 20 inches. Total length is 28 inches on all of them.
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)
- Striped bass Retention open (2 per day)
- Surfperch Retention open (20 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 White seabass is best here
Shoulder season for White seabass · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Sunset Point
- Depth
- 35-110 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder seasonWhite seabass
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, Pacific halibut and lingcod. It is peak season now for rockfish, surfperch, cabezon and striped bass, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, lingcod, Chinook salmon and California halibut. Rockfish peak from May through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- White seabass
- White seabass hold along kelp bed edges and over nearby sand where market squid gather, usually in 20 to 80 feet of water and shallower as the water warms. Fish a live squid on a dropper loop or fly-line a sardine near the kelp at dawn, dusk and after dark, especially around the spring full moon. Tagged fish spend most of their time in 52 to 66 degree water.
- 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.
- 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
- Cypress Point58
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 58
- Pacific halibut 54
- Lingcod 53
9 kt NNWL 2:20 PM · 2.6 ftH 8:12 PM · 4.9 ft
- The Pinnacles58
Bar · 0.9 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 58
- Pacific halibut 54
- Lingcod 53
9 kt NNWL 2:20 PM · 2.6 ftH 8:12 PM · 4.9 ft
- Pescadero Point58
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 58
- Pacific halibut 54
- Lingcod 53
9 kt NNWL 2:20 PM · 2.6 ftH 8:12 PM · 4.9 ft
- Stillwater Cove58
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 58
- Rockfish 53
- Pacific halibut 52
9 kt NNWL 2:20 PM · 2.6 ftH 8:12 PM · 4.9 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.