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SurfperchRetention openBay · California
Spooners Cove
35.27°N · 120.89°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 · 5 PM · Surfperch
- Now
- 576 PM PDT
- Best window
- 6-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Spooners 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 · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
74Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 5 kt WNWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
41Water temp: 67°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 6.2 ftSeason & habitat · Surfperch
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
Surfperch
Retention open- Daily limit
- 20 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 10.5 in, total length. Redtail surfperch only. No minimum size for other surfperch.
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- In San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay, surfperch are closed April 1 through July 31 and the limit is 5 (shiner perch excepted). 20 surfperch in combination, not more than 10 of any one species. Shiner perch have a separate limit of 20.
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)
- 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 Surfperch is best here
Last week of peak season for Surfperch · shoulder season next
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Spooners Cove
- Depth
- About 35 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Protected
- Season
- Peak seasonSurfperch
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 Spooners Cove
Spooners 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 in the nearest water is about 35 ft. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, cabezon and rockfish. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, rockfish and surfperch, and shoulder season for white seabass, kelp greenling, Chinook salmon and lingcod. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September. Rockfish peak from May through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Hazard Canyon Reef66
Bar · 1.1 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 66
- Striped bass 64
- Lingcod 62
5 kt WNWH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ftL 3:16 AM · 0.3 ft
- Morro Bay65
Bay · 4.9 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 65
- Surfperch 59
- Cabezon 56
2 kt NWH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ftL 3:16 AM · 0.3 ft
- Santa Rosa Reef65
Bar · 10 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 65
- Lingcod 61
- Cabezon 59
2 kt NWH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ftL 3:16 AM · 0.3 ft
- Lone Black Rock65
Bar · 10 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 65
- Lingcod 61
- Cabezon 59
2 kt NWH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ftL 3:16 AM · 0.3 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.