Today's best fishing in Monterey: 7 AM to 10 AM
This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Monterey.
The next 14 days in Monterey
Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCasterTwo weeks ahead
Most forecasts stop at the weekend. This one runs a full 14 days, so you can pick the day before you book the time off.
One number, out of 100
The best score anything in Monterey reaches that day. Green is good, amber is fair, red is slow, and you can read it from across the room.
4,032 scores behind it
12 spots, every hour of every day, out to 14. This row is the best of them.
Hour by hour today at Point Alones
All times PDTOne real spot
A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Point Alones, the most fished mark in Monterey, scored for Lingcod.
Six readings, one clock
Tide, current, wind, sea, air and sky, all lined up on the same hour, so you can see what is actually driving the score.
Currents, not just tides
Modelled flow for the water off Monterey, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.
The spots people actually fish in Monterey
6 more on the mapA year of catch reports
The order here is how much each mark actually gets fished, not today's guess. The busiest water in Monterey comes first.
Today's number too
Beside each name is the best score that spot reaches today, so you can weigh a proven mark against a good forecast.
Every mark has a page
Its own chart, its own species and its own rules, worked out the same way as everything above.
- 78Point AlonesKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 78Point PinosKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 78Lucas PointKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 74Hump 2.7 km W of Point PinosKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 74Hump 2.7 km NW of Spanish BayKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 74Hump 2.5 km NW of Point JoeKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
Every spot we score in Monterey
Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCanReal charted seabed
Depth soundings, not a stock map. The banks, reefs and drop-offs are where you can see them.
12 marks, all scored
Every spot we cover around Monterey, each one carrying its own number for today.
Point at any of them
The name, how busy a mark it is, and the tide, sea and seabed at its best hour.
Create custom spots
Our full model on your custom private spots.
- Drop a pinAnywhere on the water. The ledge you found, the bay nobody talks about.
- Name itYour name for it, not ours. It stays private to your account.
- Choose speciesPick what you fish there, and it starts scoring from the next run.
What you can keep in Monterey today
- LingcodKeep2 a day · min 22"Open at all 12 spots we cover
- Copper RockfishKeep1 a dayOpen at all 9 spots we cover
- California HalibutKeep5 a day · min 22"Open at all 4 spots we cover
- Rockfish (Aggregate)Keep10 a dayOpen at all 2 spots we cover
- CabezonKeep10 a dayOpen at all 4 spots we cover
- Chinook SalmonClosedShut at all 12 spots we cover
- Blue RockfishClosedShut at all 2 spots we cover
- Black RockfishClosedShut at all 2 spots we cover
Rules differ between groundfish management areas and change in season. Check CDFW for the groundfish management area you are fishing before you keep anything.
That was one day. Pro opens the next fourteen.
Every spot on this map, hour by hour, two weeks out, with alerts when your water crosses the score you set.
$0 today, then $33 USD a year, which is $2.75 a month. Card required, cancel any time.
When to fish Monterey
Each row is shaded against that species' own best month here, so a dark cell means a good month for that fish rather than a comparison between them.
| Species | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lingcod | ||||||||||||
| Chinook Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Blue Rockfish | ||||||||||||
| Copper Rockfish | ||||||||||||
| California Halibut | ||||||||||||
| Rockfish (Aggregate) | ||||||||||||
| Cabezon | ||||||||||||
| Black Rockfish |
Lingcod: January good, February fair, March good, April good, May good, June fair, July fair, August fair, September good, October good, November good, December good. Chinook Salmon: January none, February poor, March excellent, April peak, May peak, June peak, July peak, August good, September none, October none, November none, December none. Blue Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March good, April good, May good, June good, July good, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair. Copper Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March fair, April good, May fair, June fair, July good, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair. California Halibut: January none, February poor, March good, April peak, May peak, June peak, July peak, August peak, September good, October poor, November none, December none. Rockfish (Aggregate): January fair, February fair, March fair, April fair, May good, June good, July good, August good, September good, October good, November fair, December fair. Cabezon: January fair, February good, March good, April good, May good, June fair, July fair, August fair, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair. Black Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March good, April good, May good, June good, July good, August excellent, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair.
- Lingcod. Lingcod are resident year-round on Monterey's rocky reefs, so abundance never hits zero. The spring peak (Mar–May) reflects males guarding nests in shallower structure making them highly concentrated and catchable, and a secondary fall peak (Sep–Oct) follows post-spawn recovery and aggressive feeding before winter, with a mild summer dip as larger fish move deeper.
- Chinook Salmon. Monterey Bay Chinook are ocean-phase fish staging offshore before their Central Valley/Sacramento river runs; abundance builds through spring as fish move inshore chasing anchovy and krill, peaks May–July when mature ocean fish concentrate in the bay before their fall spawning migration, then declines sharply through late summer as fish enter freshwater rivers. Winter is near-absent since the stock is upriver spawning or juveniles are too small to be present in the bay.
- Blue Rockfish. Blue Rockfish are non-migratory residents of Monterey's kelp forests and rocky reefs, so they're present year-round with only modest seasonal shifts. Abundance peaks in spring through early summer (Mar–Jun) when upwelling boosts productivity and juveniles recruit to kelp canopies, with a secondary late-summer bump; winter storms and deeper dispersal slightly reduce nearshore density.
- Copper Rockfish. Copper rockfish are non-migratory, structure-oriented residents in Monterey's rocky reefs and kelp, so abundance stays fairly flat year-round with no true absence. The late-summer through early-fall peak (Aug–Oct) reflects post-spawn recruitment and juveniles/adults concentrating on nearshore reefs as water warms and kelp cover is dense, with a slight winter dip during cooler, stormier conditions.
- California Halibut. California halibut move onto Monterey's shallow sandy flats to spawn and feed as water warms from spring through fall, producing a broad late-spring/early-summer peak (May–July) and a secondary fall bump (Aug–Sep) tied to warm water and abundant baitfish. In cold winter months many fish move deeper and offshore, lowering nearshore abundance but never to zero since some resident fish remain.
- Rockfish (Aggregate). Rockfish are resident, structure-oriented, non-migratory fish present in Monterey's rocky reefs and Monterey Bay Canyon edges all year, so abundance stays broad and flat. A slight summer-to-early-fall bump reflects upwelling-driven productivity, warmer stable conditions, and juvenile recruitment concentrating fish on shallower reefs, while winter storms and cooler water push some fish deeper but never remove the stock.
- Cabezon. Cabezon are resident nearshore reef/kelp fish present year-round in Monterey waters, so abundance never hits zero. The strongest peak falls late winter through spring (Feb–May) when males guard nests in shallow rocky structure and adults concentrate in accessible areas, with a secondary late-summer/early-fall bump; deep-winter and late-fall show slightly lower nearshore presence as some fish hold in deeper structure.
- Black Rockfish. Black rockfish are non-migratory resident reef fish present year-round in Monterey's nearshore rocky waters, so abundance stays broadly near baseline with no true zeros. A mild spring peak reflects post-upwelling aggregation, and the strongest peak in late summer/early fall (Aug–Sep) tracks warmer stable water, abundant baitfish, and juvenile recruitment adding to biomass, with a modest winter dip during storm-driven turbulence.
Before you go
Water around Monterey falls into one area, and the rules can differ between them. California Department of Fish and Wildlife sets them.
- Central
Fishing Monterey
Monterey sits on the central California coast where Monterey Bay meets the open Pacific, giving anglers access to 28 fishing spots spread across rocky headlands, offshore humps, and deeper canyon edges. Lingcod anchor the fishery here, holding through fall and winter from November to January and again from March to May and September to October, while Chinook Salmon move through from March to July and Copper Rockfish peak from July to September. The spots cluster around exposed points and reefs off the outer coast, with several submerged humps rising from deeper water south and southwest of the prominent headlands. Anglers work the rocky structure for lingcod primarily by jigging, targeting fish that hold tight to the reef edges. The fishery runs strongest across the spring and fall months, when salmon and rockfish overlap with the productive lingcod window.