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Kelp greenlingRetention 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 · Kelp greenling
- Now
- 342 PM PDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.2 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 · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
29Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
90Wind: 8 kt WNWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
10Water temp: 64°F, hotLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 5.8 ftSeason & habitat · Kelp greenling
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
Kelp greenling
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. RCG complex: all rockfish, cabezon, and kelp and rock greenlings combined. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat. CDFW limits and seasons cover kelp and rock greenlings together.
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))
- 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))
- 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 greenling is best here
Shoulder season for Kelp greenling · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Pirates Cove
- Depth
- 10-25 ft
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonKelp greenling
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 Pacific halibut, striped bass and surfperch. It is peak season now for striped bass, surfperch, rockfish and cabezon, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, white seabass, lingcod and Chinook salmon. Pacific halibut peak from May through July. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Kelp greenling
- Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Lone Rock56
Bar · 0.3 mi
Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season- Pacific halibut 56
- Rockfish 52
- Striped bass 48
8 kt WNWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Howell Rock56
Bar · 1.3 mi
Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season- Pacific halibut 56
- Rockfish 52
- Striped bass 48
8 kt WNWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Fossil Point55
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 55
- Rockfish 49
- Pacific halibut 48
8 kt WNWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- San Luis Obispo Bay53
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season- Pacific halibut 53
- Striped bass 52
- Rockfish 43
8 kt WNWL 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.