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BoatGroundfish Management Area CentralLingcod · Open

Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light

36.96°N · 122.00°W

BoatGroundfish Management Area CentralLingcod · Open

Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light Fishing Forecast

Updated today

Lingcod fishing at Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light looks good today.
The best time to go is 7 AM to 7 PM, with the tide flooding.

ReelCaster scores every hour at Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light from 0 to 100, reading the tide, current, wind and weather for Lingcod. The higher the score, the better your odds. Green means go.

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Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light, on the live map

Every spot is scored for today, out of 100. Green is worth the trip, amber is fair, red is slow.

Species

tap to switch species
Best score for the day · 9 AM
87/100
GOOD

Now 87 · 11 AM PDT

BEST WINDOW
7 AM-7 PM
Tide flooding
CDFW · Groundfish Management Area Central · Lingcod openRegulations ↗2 per day · min 22"

14-Day Forecast

Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCaster
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24-Hour Conditions

All times PDT

Tap or drag to read any hour

Conditions
Time
11 AM
Now
Score
87
Good
Tide
4.1 ft ▲
Flooding
Current
—
Flood
Wind
1 kn
S · steady
Sea state
Easy
2.5 ft @ 12 s SW
Air temp
63°
Mild
Weather
Overcast
100% cloud
Hour 11 AM. Score 87 Good. Tide 4.1ft Rising ▲. Current +0.7kn Flood. Wind 1kn S G5. Sea 2.5 ft @ 12 s SW Easy. Air 63.1°.

Why this score

Current
0.2 kn light
Prime

Current regulations

In effect now

What you can keep at this spot today

Lingcod
Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 22"
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Open all depths Apr 1–Dec 31. §28.27. Daily bag limit 2 fish per person. Minimum size 22 inches (55.9 cm) total length. Filleting aboard vessel: minimum 14 inches in length with entire skin attached. Descending device required aboard vessel per §27.20(b)(2).
Season
Apr 1 to Dec 31
Other species here
Leopard Shark Retention openCalifornia Halibut Retention openBlack Rockfish Retention openBlue Rockfish Retention openBat Ray Retention openCabezon Retention openChinook Salmon Closed
Always check with CDFW ↗

Source: CDFW · Groundfish Management Area Central · synced today

Seasonality

52-week view · today highlighted

When Lingcod is best at this spot

Shoulder seasonShoulder season for Lingcod
~8 more weeks in shoulder
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Peak seasonShoulder seasonOff seasonClosed

SPOT PROFILE

DEPTH
20-200 ft
Rock
STRUCTURE
Drop Off
Outer Exposed

About Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light

Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light marks an outer, exposed rock drop-off along the Santa Cruz waterfront, where the bottom falls from around 20 feet to 200 feet. The structure holds a strong rockfish population, with Blue Rockfish peaking March through August and Black Rockfish from May through September, both worked with jigging using metal jigs, swimbaits, and shrimp flies, or with bait fishing on squid and anchovies. Lingcod stack up over the same rocky ledges from September through February and respond to jigging with metal jigs and swimbaits or live bait such as live sanddabs and mackerel. Chinook Salmon move through the exposed outer water from March into July and are taken by trolling anchovies, spoons, and hoochies behind flashers, while California Halibut spread across the sandier margins from April through August on drifted live anchovies and smelt. Cabezon fill out the rock structure with a spring peak from March through June, taken on shrimp flies, metal jigs, and squid strips.

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Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light is one of the spots we track around Santa Cruz. More spots in Santa Cruz · All of California.

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