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Striped bassRetention openBay · California
Pirates Cove
35.17°N · 120.72°W · Bay · 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 · 12 AM · Striped bass
- Now
- 6011 AM PDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pirates Cove 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 · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
71Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
82Wind: 4 kt NWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
39Water temp: 63°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Major periodSeas: 5.8 ftSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
Striped bass
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 18 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Angling, spearfishing or bow and arrow only. No sinker over 4 pounds, no power-driven gurdy or winch, no snagging. The CDFW San Francisco Bay District page states the same limits for the bay: two fish, 18 inches total length.
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)
- 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 Striped bass is best here
Peak season for Striped bass · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Pirates Cove
- Depth
- 10-25 ft
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Peak seasonStriped 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 Pirates Cove
Pirates Cove is a bay in Waters from Pt. Sal to Santa Cruz Island CA and westward 60 nm including San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands, California. Depth is 10-25 ft. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, surfperch and rockfish. It is peak season now for striped bass, surfperch, rockfish and cabezon, and shoulder season for lingcod, white seabass, Pacific halibut and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Rockfish peak from May through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Surfperch
- Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
- 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
- Lone Rock66
Bar · 0.3 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 66
- Lingcod 60
- Cabezon 58
4 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Howell Rock66
Bar · 1.3 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 66
- Lingcod 60
- Cabezon 58
4 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Fossil Point63
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 63
- Striped bass 63
- Lingcod 57
4 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- San Luis Obispo Bay60
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 60
- Rockfish 57
- Cabezon 54
4 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.