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Kelp bassRetention openBay · California
Valley Anchorage
33.98°N · 119.67°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 · Kelp bass
- Now
- 6112 PM PDT
- Best window
- 4-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.8 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Valley 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 · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
82Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
95Wind: 2 kt WPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
62Water temp: 73°F, warmLight: Bright sunSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 2.6 ftSeason & habitat · Kelp bass
Species seasonality
67Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Southern Groundfish Management Area
Kelp bass
Retention open- Daily limit
- 5 per day (5 kelp bass, barred sand bass and spotted sand bass combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 14 in, total length. Or 10 inches alternate length.
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Fillets must be at least 7.5 inches long with a one-inch square patch of skin.
From CDFW 2026 California Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet (last updated July 17, 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 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Kelp bass is best here
Shoulder season for Kelp bass · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Valley Anchorage
- Depth
- 40-60 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonKelp bass
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 Valley Anchorage
Valley 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 40-60 ft. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are California yellowtail, kelp bass and rockfish. It is peak season now for California yellowtail, yellowfin tuna, mahi-mahi and California halibut, and shoulder season for kelp bass, rockfish, lingcod and barred sand bass. California yellowtail peak from July through September. Kelp bass peak from June through August. Rockfish peak from April through June.
Tackle & technique
- Kelp bass
- Kelp bass live in kelp beds, rocky reefs and breakwaters, most often in 9 to 70 feet of water, and seldom move far from home. In summer cast swimbaits or fish live anchovies along the up-current edge of the kelp and let them swim into the canopy. In winter the bigger fish move to reefs in 90 feet or more, where a squid-tipped jig works better.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Blue Banks Anchorage68
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 68
- Kelp bass 61
- Rockfish 61
2 kt WL 2:18 PM · 1.9 ftH 8:17 PM · 5.2 ft
- Bowen Point68
Cape · 3.6 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 68
- Lingcod 62
- Rockfish 62
2 kt WL 2:18 PM · 1.9 ftH 8:17 PM · 5.2 ft
- Prisoners Harbor64
Bay · 2.8 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 64
- Kelp bass 61
- Rockfish 61
2 kt WL 2:18 PM · 1.9 ftH 8:17 PM · 5.2 ft
- Tinkers Harbor64
Bay · 3.9 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 64
- Lingcod 62
- Rockfish 62
2 kt WL 2:18 PM · 1.9 ftH 8:17 PM · 5.2 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.