Fishing in Morro Bay, CA
This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Morro Bay.
The next 14 days in Morro Bay
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 Morro Bay reaches that day. Green is good, amber is fair, red is slow, and you can read it from across the room.
2,016 scores behind it
6 spots, every hour of every day, out to 14. This row is the best of them.
Every spot we score in Morro Bay
Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCanReal charted seabed
Depth soundings, not a stock map. The banks, reefs and drop-offs are where you can see them.
0 of 6 marks scored
Every spot we cover around Morro Bay, 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 Morro Bay today
- LingcodKeep2 a day · min 22"Open at all 5 spots we cover
- California HalibutKeep5 a day · min 22"Open at all 4 spots we cover
- California SheepheadKeep2 a day · min 12"Open at all 3 spots we cover
- Copper RockfishKeep1 a dayOpen at all 3 spots we cover
- Chinook SalmonClosedShut at all 5 spots we cover
- Blue RockfishClosedShut at all 4 spots we cover
- Black RockfishClosedShut at all 3 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 Morro Bay
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 | ||||||||||||
| California Halibut | ||||||||||||
| Blue Rockfish | ||||||||||||
| California Sheephead | ||||||||||||
| Black Rockfish | ||||||||||||
| Copper Rockfish |
Lingcod: January good, February good, March good, April fair, May fair, June fair, July fair, August fair, September good, October good, November good, December good. Chinook Salmon: January none, February none, March excellent, April peak, May peak, June peak, July peak, August fair, September none, October none, November none, December none. California Halibut: January poor, February poor, March good, April excellent, May excellent, June excellent, July peak, August peak, September good, October fair, November poor, December none. Blue Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March good, April good, May excellent, June good, July good, August good, September fair, October fair, November fair, December fair. California Sheephead: January fair, February fair, March fair, April good, May good, June fair, July good, August excellent, September excellent, October good, November fair, December fair. Black Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March fair, April good, May good, June good, July excellent, August excellent, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair. Copper Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March fair, April good, May fair, June good, July good, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair.
- Lingcod. Lingcod are resident reef fish present year-round on Morro Bay's rocky structure, so the curve never hits zero. Abundance peaks in fall (Sept–Nov) when adults move shallower to nest and guard eggs on nearshore reefs, with a secondary late-winter/early-spring bump (Feb–Apr) as spawning females aggregate; a mild summer dip reflects some post-spawn dispersal to deeper water.
- Chinook Salmon. Central California Chinook (Morro Bay/San Luis Obispo coast) are ocean-present as feeding adults staging before migrating to the Sacramento/San Joaquin systems, peaking late May through July when upwelling concentrates baitfish and pre-spawn fish stack along the coast. Abundance tapers through late summer as fish move north to the Golden Gate/river mouths, and winter weeks are near-absent since these stocks have entered freshwater to spawn.
- California Halibut. California Halibut move into Morro Bay's shallow flats and estuary to spawn as water warms from spring through early fall, producing a broad late-spring peak (May-June) and a stronger late-summer/early-fall peak (Aug-Sep) driven by warm inshore temps and baitfish concentrations. Winter cooling pushes fish to deeper offshore water, lowering nearshore abundance but never to zero since they remain a year-round resident of the region.
- Blue Rockfish. Blue rockfish are non-migratory nearshore residents around Morro Bay's reefs and kelp beds, so abundance stays broad and flat year-round with no true biological absence. A gentle spring peak (April–May) tracks post-spawn aggregation and productive upwelling drawing baitfish inshore, with a secondary late-summer bump; winter storms and cooler water slightly disperse fish deeper, producing the modest cold-season dip.
- California Sheephead. California Sheephead are resident reef fish near Morro Bay and present year-round, so the curve stays broad rather than showing migratory gaps. Slight peaks occur in late spring (spawning aggregations May–June) and late summer/early fall (warmest water, peak activity and reef density Aug–Sep), with winter lows reflecting reduced movement in colder water.
- Black Rockfish. Black Rockfish are resident, structure-oriented reef fish present year-round off Morro Bay with no true migration, so abundance stays fairly flat. Modest peaks in late spring through early fall reflect upwelling-driven productivity, warmer nearshore water, and post-spawn fish moving to shallower reefs; slight winter dips reflect fish holding deeper during storms and cold water.
- Copper Rockfish. Copper rockfish are resident, non-migratory nearshore reef dwellers around Morro Bay, so abundance stays broadly stable year-round rather than showing sharp runs. A late-summer through early-fall peak (Aug–Oct) reflects warmer, settled water that concentrates fish on shallow reefs plus recruitment of young-of-year, while winter storms and cooler upwelling-disrupted conditions slightly reduce catchable density in Jan–Feb.
Before you go
Water around Morro Bay falls into one area, and the rules can differ between them. California Department of Fish and Wildlife sets them.
- Central
Fishing Morro Bay
Morro Bay sits on California's central coast, with its ten fishing spots spread across reefs, rocky headlands, and offshore structure between Cambria and Diablo Canyon. California Halibut anchors the summer fishery with a June through August peak, while California Sheephead holds strong from August into October and Chinook Salmon runs from March through July. The spots cluster around exposed rock formations and outer-coast reefs, where drift fishing works well for halibut over sandy patches near the structure. Bottom-dwelling species like Sheephead and Lingcod concentrate around the harder reef features, with Lingcod turning on from September into March. The fishery carries through most of the year, shifting from spring salmon to summer halibut and into the fall and winter rockfish and Lingcod window.