CENTRAL & NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FISHING MAP
Fishing Hot Spots
From Point Sal and Pismo up past Port San Luis, Morro Bay and Big Sur, around Monterey Bay to Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay, through the Golden Gate into San Francisco Bay, out to the Farallones and Cordell Bank, and north past Bodega Bay, Point Arena, Fort Bragg and Humboldt Bay to the Klamath and Crescent City at the Oregon line. Tap any star or dot to see what it is and what to fish there.
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Fishing & access
Marine chart layers
Parks & rules
Safety: these are planning references. Use current official charts, weather and marine alerts and proper safety equipment before heading out.
Lake guides for this map
Month-by-month patterns, fish, ramps and rules for each water:
Fishing Hot Spots by area
Piers, harbors, rocky points, bays and offshore banks. Tap one to fly to it on the map.
Rockfish on the rocks, salmon offshore and stripers in the bay
Central and Northern California is cold, green water. Rockfish, lingcod, cabezon and kelp greenling live on every reef and rocky point from Morro Bay to Crescent City, and that is what most sport boats fish. Surfperch fill the beaches, and the piers give jacksmelt, perch, kingfish and, in season, Dungeness crab.
King salmon run offshore in summer when the season is open, and up the Klamath and other rivers in fall. San Francisco Bay has its own fishery: striped bass and halibut in summer, and white sturgeon in winter in San Pablo Bay. Albacore come within reach in warm-water years.
You need a California sport fishing license, except on public piers. Salmon seasons and rockfish depth limits change every year, and sturgeon need a report card. There are many marine reserves along this coast where you cannot fish at all. Check the California Department of Fish and Wildlife before you go, and watch the bar crossings at Humboldt, Noyo and Crescent City.
BigJoe’s gear for Central & Northern California
What BigJoe would bring to fish these waters.
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