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White seabassRetention openBar · California
Hazard Canyon Reef
35.29°N · 120.88°W · Bar · Waters from Pt. Sal to Santa Cruz Island CA and westward 60 nm including San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · White seabass
- Now
- 3010 AM PDT
- Best window
- 4-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing4.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hazard Canyon Reef 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 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
33Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt NWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
57Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 62°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 6.6 ftSeason & habitat · White seabass
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
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
Hazard Canyon Reef
- Depth
- 4-20 ft
- Structure
- Reef · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonWhite seabass
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 Hazard Canyon Reef
Hazard Canyon Reef is a bar in Waters from Pt. Sal to Santa Cruz Island CA and westward 60 nm including San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands, California. Depth is 4-20 ft. Its profile reads reef, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, Pacific halibut and surfperch. 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. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
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
- Whale Rock64
Bar · 10 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 64
- Rockfish 59
- Pacific halibut 58
5 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Morro Bay61
Bay · 3.8 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 61
- Pacific halibut 53
- Chinook salmon 49
3 kt NL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Estero Bay60
Bay · 10 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 60
- Striped bass 56
- Pacific halibut 55
5 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Spooners Cove59
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 59
- Pacific halibut 54
- Chinook salmon 50
5 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 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.