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Leopard sharkRetention openBay · California
Willows Anchorage
33.96°N · 119.75°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 · 9 AM · Leopard shark
- Now
- 3010 PM PDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.8 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Willows 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 · 10 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
63Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.6 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
25Wind: 15 kt WNWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
64Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 3.5 ftSeason & habitat · Leopard shark
Species seasonality
91Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Southern Groundfish Management Area
Leopard shark
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 36 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Closed in the Groundfish Exclusion Areas off southern California.
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 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))
- 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 Leopard shark is best here
Peak season for Leopard shark · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Willows Anchorage
- Depth
- 30-45 ft
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Peak seasonLeopard shark
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 Willows Anchorage
Willows 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 is 30-45 ft. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are California yellowtail, yellowfin tuna and barred sand bass. It is peak season now for California yellowtail, yellowfin tuna, Pacific bluefin tuna and California halibut, and shoulder season for barred sand bass, kelp bass, lingcod and rockfish. California yellowtail peak from July through September. Yellowfin tuna peak from August through September. Barred sand bass peak from June through August.
Tackle & technique
- Leopard shark
- Leopard sharks cruise shallow mudflats, sloughs and channel edges in bays, most often in less than 15 feet of water, and follow the flooding tide onto the flats to feed on crabs, worms, clams and small fish. Anchor or fish from shore or a pier with a sliding sinker rig and a chunk of squid, mackerel or ghost shrimp on the bottom. The bite is often better into the evening and at night.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Bowen Point63
Cape · 1.6 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 63
- Yellowfin tuna 56
- Lingcod 53
15 kt WNWL 2:29 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:54 AM · 4.3 ft
- Blue Banks Anchorage63
Bay · 4.5 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 63
- Yellowfin tuna 56
- Barred sand bass 54
15 kt WNWL 2:29 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:54 AM · 4.3 ft
- Valley Anchorage63
Bay · 5.0 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 63
- Yellowfin tuna 56
- Barred sand bass 54
15 kt WNWL 2:29 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:54 AM · 4.3 ft
- Alamos Anchorage57
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: California yellowtailPeak season- California yellowtail 57
- Barred sand bass 52
- Kelp bass 51
15 kt WNWL 2:29 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:54 AM · 4.3 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.