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Best score today · 7 PM · Cabezon

83/100Great

Now: 546 AM PDT
Best window: 7-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now: Flooding1.1 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 86

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time6ANOW

Score54Good

Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding

CurrentSlack0.0 kn

Wind1 kn SSWgusts 5 · steady

Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 8 s

Air temp55°Cool

WeatherOvercast100% cloud

Water64°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

3A

4A

5A

NOW

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

40

42

49

54

60

59

57

56

59

58

52

47

46

48

56

61

58

51

54

58

54

47

41

1.6

1.3

0.7

○0.0

0.7

1.3

1.5

1.4

1.1

0.6

○0.1

0.7

0.9

0.8

0.5

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0.7

1.2

1.4

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0.7

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0.7

1.4

52

51

41

51

61

72

71

60

61

51

42

31

32

43

53

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.4

64°

65°

64°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

San Francisco Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Cabezon

Retention open

Daily limit: 10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined)
Possession: Not published
Size: No minimum size limit.
Season: Apr 1 to Dec 31, 2026
Annual quota: Not published
Other: Shore-based anglers and spear divers are exempt from groundfish seasons and depth limits. All groundfish fishing is prohibited at Cordell Bank. RCG complex: all rockfish, cabezon, and kelp and rock greenlings combined. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat.

From CDFW Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations (updated June 23, 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))
California halibut Retention open (2 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)
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)

Always check with CDFW ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: CDFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cabezon is best here

Peak season for Cabezon · 1 more week at peak

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Cabezon in California →

Spot profile

Southampton Shoal Channel

Depth: 25-50 ftSlope
Structure: Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
Season: Peak seasonCabezon

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 Southampton Shoal Channel

Southampton Shoal Channel is a channel in San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 25-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, California halibut and lingcod. It is peak season now for striped bass, surfperch, rockfish and cabezon, and shoulder season for California halibut, lingcod, Pacific halibut and white seabass. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. California halibut peak from May through August. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
California halibut: California halibut are ambush feeders that lie on sand or mud bottom, mostly in water shallower than 100 feet and often inside bays, harbors and estuaries. Drift or slow-troll a live anchovy or sardine on a sliding sinker rig, or bounce a swimbait along the bottom over flats, channel edges and sandy areas near structure. Keep the bait within a foot or two of the bottom and give a fish time to turn the bait before setting the hook.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →

Cypress Point
Cape · 1.9 mi
70
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 70
- Rockfish 64
- California halibut 63
1 kt SSWH 11:14 AM · 5.3 ftL 4:44 PM · 2.3 ft
Castro Rocks
Bar · 1.3 mi
68
Top: RockfishPeak season
- Rockfish 68
- White seabass 64
- Cabezon 63
1 kt SSWH 11:14 AM · 5.3 ftL 4:44 PM · 2.3 ft
Richmond Harbor Entrance Channel
Channel · 1.3 mi
67
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 67
- California halibut 60
- Lingcod 59
1 kt SSWH 11:14 AM · 5.3 ftL 4:44 PM · 2.3 ft
Southampton Shoal
Bar · 1.8 mi
62
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 62
- California halibut 59
- Rockfish 58
1 kt SSWH 11:17 AM · 4.8 ftL 4:38 PM · 2.1 ft