Share your catch
US

Monterey Bay Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A central California bay inside a national marine sanctuary, with rockfish and lingcod open April through December, a short fall salmon window in 2026 and license-free fishing from Monterey's Wharf II.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
High 9:29 PM
Air / High
65 / 67 F
Wind
NNE 6 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 9413450, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Monterey Bay feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 6 mph, falling pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 67. Tides: high 9:05 AM and 9:29 PM, low 2:44 AM and 3:28 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 65 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:47 AM-11:47 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rockfish (Pacific)Excellent

Much of the open season along the coast falls in this band. Fish through suspended schools of black, blue and other midwater rockfish, and closer to the rocks for vermilion, copper and China rockfish.

Chinook salmonFair

Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 73 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

California requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $64.54 for residents. What a California licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rockfish (pacific) here? Check the size and bag limits with CDFW before you keep anything. The season dates for California, read off the agency, are on the California seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 9413450 (Monterey). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW2:44 AM1.0 ft
HIGH9:05 AM5.1 ft
LOW3:28 PM1.0 ft
HIGH9:29 PM4.4 ft
Sat
LOW3:14 AM1.3 ft
HIGH9:29 AM5.5 ft
LOW4:09 PM0.4 ft
HIGH10:20 PM4.4 ft

Monterey Bay tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp65 F
High / Low67 / 56 F
WindNNE 6-10 mph
Pressure1018.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain16% cloud, 8%
Sunrise / Sunset07:22 / 18:20
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~65 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Monterey Bay this week

Today is the pick of the week on Monterey Bay, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:47 AM-11:47 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM
Minor period
4:11 AM-5:11 AM
Sun
07:22 to 18:20
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 9 mph
Rain chance
8%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Monterey Bay: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rockfish (Pacific) illustration

Rockfish (Pacific)

Seasons and depth limits vary by state and zone

Pacific rockfish are about 60 Sebastes species managed under the federal groundfish plan, from black and blue rockfish schooling over shallow reefs to yelloweye that live more than a century in deep water. Much of the open season along the coast falls in this band. Fish through suspended schools of black, blue and other midwater rockfish, and closer to the rocks for vermilion, copper and China rockfish.

Chinook salmon illustration

Chinook salmon

Seasons follow the runs: spring, summer and fall runs on the West Coast, and late summer into fall in Great Lakes rivers

The largest Pacific salmon, caught by trolling and mooching at sea and by drifting and plunking in rivers as adults return to spawn; also stocked in the Great Lakes. Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

When to come: the Monterey Bay calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rockfish (Pacific)
Chinook salmon
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 65 F (estimated, not a reading).

506070JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~65 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Monterey Bay today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rockfish (Pacific) led the card at good. High of 66 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rockfish (Pacific) led the card at good. High of 67 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rockfish (Pacific) led the card at good. High of 68 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

California requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

California sport fishing license, except on public piers and wharves. CDFW Central Management Area groundfish (rules updated June 23, 2026, read 2026-10-05): closed Jan. 1-Mar. 31; open all depths Apr. 1-Dec. 31. Ocean salmon south of Pigeon Point: Sept. 1-30 in 2026, 2 a day, 20 in. minimum; coho may not be kept. Check CDFW for in-season changes and state marine protected areas.

Access

Monterey: free marina boat ramp and Wharf II hoist; Wharf II fishing promenade (east side). Moss Landing Harbor District North Harbor launch ramps. Santa Cruz Port District launch ramp (closed Oct. 13-14, 2026).

About this water

A bay on the central California coast in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Tide station: NOAA 9413450, Monterey.

Fishing Monterey Bay: the full guide

Bay, canyon and sanctuary

Monterey Bay lies within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, designated by NOAA in 1992, which runs from Rocky Point in Marin to Cambria and reaches known depths of 12,743 feet. The sanctuary counts at least 525 fish species. It allows recreational and commercial fishing; the catch rules themselves come from CDFW and federal fisheries managers.

Rockfish, lingcod and salmon

The bay is in CDFW's Central Groundfish Management Area, from Pigeon Point to Point Conception. Under the 2026 rules, rockfish, cabezon, greenlings and lingcod are closed January 1 through March 31 and open at all depths from April 1 through December 31. Ocean salmon depend on annual federal decisions: in 2026 the area from Pigeon Point south, which includes the bay, had a fall season from September 1 to 30 under a coastwide 20,000-Chinook harvest guideline, with a two-salmon daily limit and a 20-inch minimum.

Wharves and launches

The City of Monterey's Municipal Wharf II, built in 1926, has a 700-foot fishing promenade along the marina's east sea wall, and the city notes that no fishing license is needed for sport fishing from a public pier or wharf in California. Monterey's marina has a free boat ramp plus a token-operated hoist on Wharf II. Moss Landing Harbor District runs launch ramps in its North Harbor, and the Santa Cruz Port District has a launch ramp that will be closed October 13 and 14, 2026, for dredge work.

Common questions

Is there still salmon fishing in Monterey Bay?

Only when federal and state managers open it. In 2026 the area south of Pigeon Point had a fall season from September 1 to 30; check CDFW's ocean salmon page each spring for the next season.

Do I need a license to fish from a wharf?

Not on a public pier or wharf: the City of Monterey points out that California exempts sport fishing from public piers and wharves, and Wharf II has a 700-foot fishing promenade.

When can I keep rockfish and lingcod?

In CDFW's Central Management Area, from April 1 through December 31 at all depths in 2026; they are closed January through March.

Is fishing good at Monterey Bay right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

San Luis Reservoir52 miLake Del Valle69 miPacifica79 miLake Nacimiento80 miLos Vaqueros Reservoir85 miSan Pablo Reservoir93 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 9413450 β€” Monterey
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.6000, -121.8900 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.