UTERThe best time to fish Monterey Bay is May through September, when king salmon feed on the anchovy, rockfish and lingcod are open on the reefs, and halibut move onto the sand. June is usually the best single month. Winter is quieter but still fishable: barred surfperch work the sandy beaches from Santa Cruz to Monterey, and shore anglers catch rockfish and cabezon from the jetties.
Monterey Bay sits in the middle of Fish Scouter's Central Coast and San Francisco Bay region: Santa Cruz and Capitola on the north side, Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough in the middle, and Monterey and Pacific Grove on the granite south end. Running through it is the Monterey Submarine Canyon, which drops to deep water within a few miles of Moss Landing. That cold, nutrient-rich water is why the bay holds so much bait, and so much fish. The months below come from the Central Coast page of Fish Scouter's season calendar.
Monterey Bay fishing calendar at a glance
| Month | Headline | Top targets |
|---|---|---|
| January | Surf perch; boat groundfish closed | Surfperch, shore rockfish, cabezon |
| February | Surf perch on the incoming | Surfperch |
| March | Perch peak before they drop their young | Surfperch |
| April | Groundfish and salmon open | Rockfish, lingcod, chinook, cabezon |
| May | Kings on the anchovy; first halibut | Chinook, halibut, rockfish, lingcod |
| June | The best all-round month | Chinook, halibut, rockfish, lingcod, white seabass |
| July | Peak halibut and rockfish; albacore offshore in warm years | Halibut, rockfish, chinook, albacore |
| August | Albacore and warm-year white seabass | Albacore, halibut, white seabass, rockfish |
| September | Albacore peak in good years | Albacore, rockfish, lingcod |
| October | Rockfish and lingcod move shallow | Rockfish, lingcod |
| November | Pre-spawn lingcod; perch return | Lingcod, rockfish, surfperch |
| December | Groundfish closes; perch peak | Surfperch, cabezon |
Winter: December to March
Boat groundfish closes for winter on the Central Coast, so winter belongs to the beaches. Barred surfperch fill the troughs at Sunset State Beach, Manresa, Marina, Moss Landing and the Seaside beaches, and they peak twice: December, and again in February and March before the females drop their young. Fish a Carolina rig with a Gulp sandworm, a grub or a piece of sand crab in the trough on the incoming tide, and walk it back slowly.
Shore anglers still catch blue and gopher rockfish from the Monterey and Santa Cruz jetties and the rocky points, and cabezon sit in the rocks and tide pools. Male cabezon guard eggs in winter, so many anglers release them. Check CDFW for which shore rules apply.
Spring: April and May
April
Two openers in one month. Boat groundfish has opened April 1 in recent years: blue, olive and gopher rockfish on the shallow reefs off Monterey and Santa Cruz, and lingcod on the rocks with swimbaits and live sanddabs. Depth limits apply by area. Ocean salmon opened first in the Monterey area in 2026, the first real season after the 2023 to 2025 closures. Troll anchovy-sized hoochies or bait behind a flasher off Moss Landing. Salmon areas close when they reach their harvest limits, so check CDFW the week you go.
May
King salmon feed on the anchovy balls. Find the birds, then troll or mooch a whole anchovy under them. The first halibut show on the sandy bottom. In warm years a few white seabass come in on the squid.
Summer: June to August
June
The best all-round month in the bay. Kings feed on the anchovy schools along the 50 to 150 foot line, getting deeper as the sun gets up. Rockfish and lingcod are on every reef from Santa Cruz to Point Pinos and south down the Big Sur coast. Halibut move onto the Capitola and Seacliff sand. In warm water, white seabass show off Santa Cruz.
July
Rockfish fishing peaks, and halibut are still on the sand. Drift a live anchovy or bounce a swimbait along the bottom in 20 to 60 feet. Kings are still feeding. In warm-water years albacore show 30 to 60 miles offshore, and a few yellowtail and bonito can reach Monterey Bay in El Niño summers.
August
Albacore peak offshore in good years. Troll cedar plugs and feathers along the temperature break, then stop and fish live anchovy when the boat hooks up. White seabass peak in warm years in the Monterey kelp on live squid. Halibut stay on the Capitola and Seacliff sand.
Fall: September to November
September is the best albacore month off the Central Coast in a good year, with the last fish leaving in October before the fall wind. As the water cools, rockfish and lingcod move shallow and feed hard, which makes October one of the best groundfish months. In November, pre-spawn lingcod come into shallow water and get aggressive just before the winter closure. Surf perch come back to the beaches as the first winter swells reshape the sand.
Where to fish Monterey Bay
- Santa Cruz and Capitola: the wharves for perch, small rockfish and summer halibut on the sand; the Capitola and Seacliff flats for halibut by boat or kayak.
- Moss Landing: the harbor mouth and jetties, and the edge of the Monterey Canyon a short run out, for salmon in spring and summer.
- The sandy beaches: Sunset, Manresa, Zmudowski, Marina and Seaside for surf perch in winter and spring, and halibut from the surf on summer mornings.
- Monterey and the Peninsula: the Coast Guard jetty and the breakwater for shore rockfish, and the kelp off the Peninsula for rockfish, lingcod and warm-year seabass by boat.
Monterey Bay has a dense network of marine protected areas, including stretches of the Peninsula shoreline, where fishing is restricted or banned. Check the CDFW MPA maps before you fish a new spot. For the kayak side, see kayak fishing for beginners.
Tides, upwelling and weather
Monterey has a mixed semidiurnal tide, with two unequal highs and lows a day and a range of roughly 4 to 7 feet. The surf perch bite is best on the incoming and around the top of the tide. Rockfish and lingcod drift fishing is easier on the softer tides, when the boat drifts slowly over the reef.
Spring northwesterlies drive strong upwelling along this coast: cold, green water full of krill and anchovy. That cold water is what brings the salmon in. In warm years, the warm offshore water that carries albacore moves close to shore, and white seabass and yellowtail push north past Point Conception. The afternoon wind usually builds in summer, so the morning is the safer, calmer window for small boats and kayaks. Read how wind affects fishing for more.
Rules
California sets salmon, rockfish, lingcod and halibut rules by management area, and they change during the season. Salmon especially can close with little notice. Read the current rules at CDFW ocean regulations before you keep a fish. White sturgeon in San Francisco Bay, to the north, is now catch-and-release only with a report card.
Pick the day with Fish Scouter
We built Fish Scouter for the question this calendar can't answer: which morning this week? We think it's the best app for planning a Monterey Bay trip, because it puts the season calendar, the NOAA tide for the nearest station, the nearest live water temperature, the wind and the seven-day outlook on one screen. It ranks every species for your spot, hour by hour, and tells you why in plain words. Try Fish Scouter free.