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RockfishRetention openBay · California
Middle Anchorage
34.00°N · 119.55°W · Bay · Outer waters from Santa Cruz Island to San Clemente Island to 60 NM offshore including San Nicolas and Santa Barbara Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Rockfish
- Now
- 492 AM PDT
- Best window
- 6-9 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Middle Anchorage 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 · 2 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
54Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.4 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 5 kt WNWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
41Water temp: 71°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.8 ftSeason & habitat · Rockfish
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Southern Groundfish Management Area
Rockfish(nearshore)
Retention open- Daily limit
- 10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- No minimum size limit.
- Season
- Jul 1 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 1
- Other
- Shore-based anglers and spear divers are exempt from groundfish seasons and depth limits. Closed in the Groundfish Exclusion Areas (Section 27.50). Within the 10-fish RCG limit: no more than 1 copper rockfish, 2 canary rockfish, and 2 vermilion/sunset rockfish. RCG complex: all rockfish, cabezon, and kelp and rock greenlings combined. Boat-based take only shoreward of the 50-fathom (300 feet) Rockfish Conservation Area line. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat. Yelloweye, cowcod, bronzespotted and quillback rockfish may not be kept.
From CDFW Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations (updated June 23, 2026), read Sep 13
Other species here
- Albacore tuna Retention open (10 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 (5 per day)
- 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)
- 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 Rockfish is best here
Shoulder season for Rockfish · 9 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Middle Anchorage
- Depth
- 20-35 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonRockfish
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Middle Anchorage
Middle Anchorage is a bay in Outer waters from Santa Cruz Island to San Clemente Island to 60 NM offshore including San Nicolas and Santa Barbara Islands, California. Depth in the nearest water is 20-35 ft. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are yellowfin tuna, California yellowtail and Pacific bluefin tuna. It is peak season now for yellowfin tuna, California yellowtail, Pacific bluefin tuna and mahi-mahi, and shoulder season for barred sand bass, kelp bass, lingcod and rockfish. Yellowfin tuna peak from August through September. California yellowtail peak from July through September. Pacific bluefin tuna peak from June through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Yellowfin tuna
- Yellowfin feed in blue water along canyon edges, the shelf break, current edges, deepwater platforms and FADs, usually from the surface to about 300 feet. Troll ballyhoo, spreader bars and cedar plugs early in the day, then chunk butterfish or sardines, fish live hardtails, or drop jigs to marks. Around Gulf platforms and in the canyons the night bite on chunks and jigs is often better than the day.
- California yellowtail
- Yellowtail school around the offshore islands, banks, high spots and kelp paddies from spring into fall, moving north from Baja as the water warms past about 64 degrees. Fly-line a sardine or mackerel, cast a surface iron to breaking fish, or drop a heavy iron and wind it fast when they hold deep. Heavy line matters because they run straight for kelp and rock.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Coche Point59
Cape · 4.1 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 59
- Kelp bass 50
- Lingcod 50
5 kt WNWH 8:54 AM · 4.3 ftL 2:18 PM · 1.9 ft
- Yellowbanks Anchorage55
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 55
- Barred sand bass 54
- Kelp bass 53
5 kt WNWH 8:54 AM · 4.3 ftL 2:18 PM · 1.9 ft
- Cavern Point55
Cape · 3.8 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 55
- Lingcod 48
- Rockfish 47
5 kt WNWH 8:54 AM · 4.3 ftL 2:18 PM · 1.9 ft
- Chinese Harbor54
Bay · 3.8 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 54
- Barred sand bass 52
- California halibut 52
5 kt WNWH 8:54 AM · 4.3 ftL 2:18 PM · 1.9 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.