ReelCaster

Today's best fishing in Santa Cruz: 7 AM to 10 AM

This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Santa Cruz.

The next 14 days in Santa Cruz

Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCaster

  • Two 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 Santa Cruz 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.

Tue
Sep 15
Wed
Sep 16
Thu
Sep 17
Fri
Sep 18
Sat
Sep 19
Sun
Sep 20
Mon
Sep 21
Tue
Sep 22
Wed
Sep 23
Thu
Sep 24
Fri
Sep 25
Sat
Sep 26

Hour by hour today at Hump 1.8 km S of Mitchell Cove

All times PDT

  • One real spot

    A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Hump 1.8 km S of Mitchell Cove, the most fished mark in Santa Cruz, 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 Santa Cruz, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.

Conditions
Time
12 AM
Now
Score
24
Tough
Tide
4.7 ft ▼
Ebbing
Current
—
Ebb
Wind
4 kn
WNW · gusty
Sea state
Rough
3.8 ft
Air temp
60°
Mild
Weather
Clear
0% cloud
Hour 12 AM. Score 24 Tough. Tide 4.7ft Falling ▼. Current -0.1kn Slack. Wind 4kn WNW G13. Sea 3.8ft Rough. Air 60.3°.

The spots people actually fish in Santa Cruz

  • A year of catch reports

    The order here is how much each mark actually gets fished, not today's guess. The busiest water in Santa Cruz 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.

Every spot we score in Santa Cruz

Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCan

  • Real charted seabed

    Depth soundings, not a stock map. The banks, reefs and drop-offs are where you can see them.

  • 6 marks, all scored

    Every spot we cover around Santa Cruz, 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.

  1. Drop a pinAnywhere on the water. The ledge you found, the bay nobody talks about.
  2. Name itYour name for it, not ours. It stays private to your account.
  3. Choose speciesPick what you fish there, and it starts scoring from the next run.

What you can keep in Santa Cruz today

  • LingcodKeep2 a day · min 22"Open at all 6 spots we cover
  • California HalibutKeep5 a day · min 22"Open at all 4 spots we cover
  • Copper RockfishKeep1 a dayOpen at all 5 spots we cover
  • CabezonKeep10 a dayOpen at all 4 spots we cover
  • Chinook SalmonClosedShut at all 6 spots we cover
  • Black RockfishClosedShut at all 4 spots we cover
  • Blue 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.

Start your 7-day free trial

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When to fish Santa Cruz

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.

Relative abundance by month for each species around Santa Cruz
SpeciesJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
Chinook Salmon
Lingcod
California Halibut
Copper Rockfish
Black Rockfish
Blue Rockfish
Cabezon

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. Lingcod: January good, February good, March fair, April fair, May fair, June fair, July fair, August fair, September good, October good, November good, December good. California Halibut: January none, February poor, March good, April excellent, May peak, June peak, July peak, August excellent, September good, October poor, November poor, December none. Copper 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. Black Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March fair, April fair, May good, June good, July good, August good, September good, October good, November fair, December fair. Blue Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March good, April good, May good, June good, July good, August good, September fair, October fair, November fair, December fair. Cabezon: January fair, February fair, March good, April good, May good, June good, July fair, August good, September fair, October fair, November fair, December fair.

  • Chinook Salmon. Monterey Bay Chinook off Santa Cruz build as ocean-feeding adults stage over spring, with abundance peaking in May–June when bait (anchovy/krill) concentrates and mature fish hold before their fall river run. Numbers taper through summer as fish move north/toward the Sacramento system, and drop to near-absence in fall/winter when the stock has entered freshwater or dispersed offshore.
  • Lingcod. Lingcod are resident groundfish present year-round on Santa Cruz reefs and rocky structure, so abundance stays near baseline with no true absence. The strongest peak falls in fall (Sept–Oct) as post-spawn adults fatten and move onto shallower reefs, with a secondary rise in spring; the modest late-winter dip reflects mature males guarding nests in deeper rocky lairs and being spread thinner across the fishery.
  • California Halibut. California halibut move into shallow Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay flats as water warms, with a strong spring build (April–June) tied to spawning aggregations and a second late-summer peak (August–September) when warm water and anchovy/smelt bait concentrate fish inshore. Winter sees fish disperse to deeper, cooler water, lowering shallow-water abundance but never to zero since halibut remain a year-round resident of the bay.
  • Copper Rockfish. Copper rockfish are resident, non-migratory reef dwellers in Monterey Bay, so abundance stays relatively flat year-round with no true biological absence. Slight peaks in late spring and late summer reflect adult aggregation over nearshore rocky reefs during calm, productive upwelling-fed months, with modest winter lows as some fish shift deeper during storm-driven turbulence.
  • Black Rockfish. Black rockfish are resident, non-migratory reef fish present in Santa Cruz waters year-round, so the curve stays broad and flat near baseline. A modest summer peak (July–August) reflects nearshore concentration and upwelling-driven productivity that keeps fish shallow and aggregated, with slightly lower winter presence as some fish move to deeper structure during heavy swell.
  • Blue Rockfish. Blue Rockfish are resident, non-migratory nearshore reef fish present year-round in Santa Cruz waters, so the curve stays broad and never hits zero. Abundance peaks late spring through summer (weeks 13-24) when upwelling drives kelp/plankton productivity, schools tighten over reefs, and juvenile recruitment boosts numbers; winter storms disperse fish and lower observable density slightly.
  • Cabezon. Cabezon are resident, non-migratory reef fish present year-round in Santa Cruz rocky nearshore waters, so abundance stays fairly flat with no true zeros. The clear spring peak (Apr–May) reflects nest-guarding males aggregating in shallow structure to protect egg masses, with a secondary late-summer/early-fall bump as young recruit and adults feed heavily; deep winter shows the mildest dip as some fish move slightly deeper in colder, stormier water.

Before you go

Management areas

Water around Santa Cruz falls into one area, and the rules can differ between them. California Department of Fish and Wildlife sets them.

  • Central

Fishing Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz sits on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, where the coastline transitions from exposed rocky headlands into deeper offshore structure. The area holds Chinook Salmon through their March to July peak, followed by Lingcod from September into February and Copper Rockfish across the spring and summer months from March to September. The eight spots here range from nearshore points and breakwater edges to a series of offshore humps that rise off the outer coast, giving anglers both structured bottom and open water to work. Chinook are targeted primarily by trolling as fish move through the bay in late spring and early summer. The fishery carries through much of the year, shifting from salmon in the warmer months to rockfish and lingcod as fall and winter set in.

Nearby