Best time to fish in Santa Cruz
Today, Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · local time (PDT) · California, United States Today, Wed, Oct 28 · PDT- High tides
- 1:01 am and 11:39 am
- Major periods
- 1:51–3:51 am and 2:23–4:23 pm
- Solunar activity
- Medium
- Sun
- 7:28 am–6:15 pm
Today, Wednesday, October 28, the best time to fish in Santa Cruz is 7:30 pm to 8:10 pm, with the 7:10 pm low tide, moonrise and some swell. It's an average day (6/10). The best day this week is Thursday, October 29, at 7/10.
Your day in Santa Cruz at a glance
The strip runs from midnight to midnight, local time. Night in gray, daylight in yellow; the blue curve is the tide; below, the solunar periods and the best windows.
Fishing forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best times | High tides | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 6average day | 7:30–8:10 pm10:40 am–12:40 pm | ▲ 1:01 am ▲ 11:39 am | Waning gibbous |
| Thu 29 | 7good day | 11:30 am–12:30 pm3:30–4:30 pm | ▲ 2:10 am ▲ 12:26 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Fri 30 | 6average day | 7:00–8:00 am5:40–6:30 pm | ▲ 3:26 am ▲ 1:22 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Sat 31 | 6average day | 7:20–8:10 am5:40–6:40 pm | ▲ 4:43 am ▲ 2:30 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Sun 1 | 5average day | 5:00–7:00 am8:00–10:00 am | ▲ 4:46 am ▲ 2:51 pm | Last quarter |
| Mon 2 | 5average day | 5:50–7:10 am4:30–5:20 pm | ▲ 5:35 am ▲ 4:17 pm | Waning crescent |
| Tue 3 | 6average day | 6:10–7:10 am4:40–5:40 pm | ▲ 6:14 am ▲ 5:39 pm | Waning crescent |
Each day's rating comes from the tide, the solunar periods, the light and, when we have the forecast, the weather.
What can you catch in Santa Cruz?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 19 mi of Santa Cruz: black rockfish, lingcod, California halibut, blue shark and kelp bass. October is one of the months when these are seen most: blue shark, kelp bass and barred sand bass.
- Black rockfish Sebastes melanops · fish · 2,028 records Photo: Chad King (SIMoN / MBNMS) · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Lingcod Ophiodon elongatus · fish · 1,701 records Photo: Will Sides · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- California halibut Paralichthys californicus · fish · 1,592 records Photo: Wikimedia Commons · public domain
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Blue shark Prionace glauca · shark · 1,588 records Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Kelp bass Paralabrax clathratus · fish · 1,586 records Photo: Steve Lonhart/MBNMS · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Barred sand bass Paralabrax nebulifer · fish · 1,585 records Photo: NickW557 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Tope shark Galeorhinus galeus · shark · 1,585 records Photo: Anonymous Unknown author · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Yellowtail amberjack Seriola lalandi · fish · 1,585 records Photo: Nholtzha · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
These are sightings and catches recorded since 1970 (reports from divers and anglers, scientific surveys and museum collections), not a promise that you will catch them. The months come from sightings only, adjusted for how many there are each month; hatched months have too few to tell.
Source: GBIF.org, which also gathers OBIS data. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0, from 1,130 datasets (retrieved October 24, 2026). Where the data comes from
Photos: each species' image on Wikidata (Wikimedia Commons) or, if there isn't one, one from GBIF; only licences that allow this use, each with its author and licence.
Piers, ramps and tackle shops nearby
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf 1.1 mi
- Postpile 2.1 mi
- Jetty 1.8 mi
- Garden of Eden 3.8 mi
- Kayaker's Slipway 1.2 mi
- Boat ramp 1.8 mi
- Boat ramp 1.8 mi
- Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor 1.7 mi
- The Gypsy Fish Company 0.7 mi
- Fuel dock 1.8 mi
Within 9.3 mi. A spot may be missing or closed. Open the map on OpenStreetMap · Missing one? Add it to OpenStreetMap
Spots: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps.
How we work out the best time
We score every moment of the day, every 10 minutes, with simple rules anglers have used for decades:
- Tide: 2 to 3.5 points in the hour before and the hour after each high and low tide. Spring tides (high coefficient) score more, because the water moves faster.
- Solunar: 2.5 points in the major periods (moon overhead or underfoot) and 1.5 in the minor ones (moonrise and moonset).
- Light: 2 points at dawn and dusk, from first light to the end of the morning golden hour and from the evening golden hour to the end of twilight.
- Weather: falling pressure adds 1 point and rising pressure takes 1 away; wind takes points away from force 4 (about 12 mph), up to 5 points in a gale; waves of 1.6 ft to 4.9 ft add half a point (they stir up the water) and from 8.2 ft they take points away (up to 4).
- Best windows: the stretches of 40 minutes to 3 hours with the most points, at least an hour apart.
- Day's rating out of 10: the best window (up to 5), the moon (up to 2, near new or full moon), the tide coefficient (up to 2) and whether a solunar period lines up with sunrise or sunset (1). Without a tide, we score out of 8 and scale it to 10. Good weather adds up to 1 point and bad weather pulls it down.
Today: best window 2.7 of 5, moon 1 of 2, coefficient 1.5 of 2 and lineup 0 of 1; the weather adds 0.5.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: fish don't read tide tables. Always check the sea conditions and local fishing rules before you go.
Learn more
Fishing rules in Santa Cruz
Licenses, size limits, bag limits and closed seasons are set by the authorities and change often. We don't copy them here: check the official website before you go.
Questions about fishing in Santa Cruz
What's the best time to fish in Santa Cruz today?
7:30 pm to 8:10 pm, with the 7:10 pm low tide, moonrise and some swell. Also 10:40 am to 12:40 pm and 2:20 pm to 4:20 pm. Today's rating: 6/10 (average day).
What about tomorrow? When's the best time to fish in Santa Cruz?
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 29: 11:30 am to 12:30 pm, with a rating of 7/10.
Which day this week is best for fishing in Santa Cruz?
Thursday, October 29, at 7/10. Its best window is 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.
What can you catch in Santa Cruz?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 19 mi of Santa Cruz: black rockfish, lingcod, California halibut, blue shark and kelp bass. October is one of the months when these are seen most: blue shark, kelp bass and barred sand bass. These are sightings and catches recorded in GBIF and OBIS, not a promise that you will catch them.
When are the solunar periods in Santa Cruz today?
Major: 1:51–3:51 am and 2:23–4:23 pm. Minor: 10:09–11:09 am and 7:34–8:34 pm. Solunar activity today: medium.
Does the tide affect fishing in Santa Cruz?
Yes. Today high tide is at 1:01 am and 11:39 am and low tide at 5:19 am and 7:10 pm, with a tide coefficient of 85 (average tides). The hours around each tide change tend to fish best, because moving water carries food.
How is the rating worked out?
From the tide, the solunar periods, the light at dawn and dusk, the moon phase and, when we have the forecast, the pressure, the wind and the waves. Each factor gives a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
Does it take the weather into account?
Yes. During today's best window: steady pressure (29.97 inHg), light offshore wind (7 mph) and some swell (4.7 ft waves) to stir the water. Strong wind and big waves lower the rating; falling pressure raises it a little.
What are the fishing rules in Santa Cruz?
Recreational fishing rules in Santa Cruz (licenses, size limits, bag limits and closed seasons) are set by the authorities: California Department of Fish and Wildlife; offshore, NOAA Fisheries. They change often: check the official website before you go.
More about Santa Cruz today
Our own calculation: tide from Santa Cruz (NOAA), sun and moon with astronomy-engine and, when available, weather and sea from Open-Meteo (ECMWF, NOAA GFS and Copernicus Marine, CC BY 4.0). Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database)