About Lighthouse Field Hump

Lighthouse Field Hump is an outer-exposed rocky pinnacle off Santa Cruz, California, rising through water that runs 80 to 180 feet deep. The structure holds lingcod, which peak from September through February, alongside copper rockfish that turn on from March through September and cabezon that fish well March through June and again in August. Anglers work the rock with jigging using metal jigs, swimbaits, and lead-head jigs for lingcod, while bottom fishing with shrimp flies, squid strips, and metal jigs targets copper rockfish over the same reef. Chinook salmon move through from March into July and respond to trolling with anchovies, spoons, hoochies, and flashers above the pinnacle. The broken rock and abrupt depth changes concentrate fish along the high points, making the shallower crest and its edges the primary structure to cover.