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Santa Cruz Fishing

Santa Cruz Fishing

Beautiful beaches and weather make Santa Cruz a popular tourist destination. Fermín de Lasuén from Spain established Mission Santa Cruz in 1791. Some time after the Conquest of California, Santa Cruz was incorporated as a city. In 1907, the city constructed the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and Santa Cruz soon became recognized as a seaside resort community. Monterey Bay and the San Lorenzo River are two major bodies of water, where you can go fishing.

Popular inshore species you may catch while Santa Cruz fishing include Bluefin Tuna, Cabezon, Flounder, Halibut, Lingcod, Rockfish and Sea Bass. King Salmon is a highly sought after fish that you could target nearshore. Other species that you have a good chance of catching while nearshore Santa Cruz fishing are Cabezon, Halibut, and Lingcod. Albacore Tuna and Bluefin Tuna are plentiful much of the season offshore. If you are in Santa Cruz during fall, you may want to head to the mouth of the San Lorenzo River to target Silver Salmon. In 2011, a record White Sea Bass was caught off of the Santa Cruz shore that weighed 79 pounds. It was also one of the largest Sea Bass to be caught on rod and reel.



Santa Cruz Fishing Forecast

Target Species of Fish

Based on historical data for fishing Santa Cruz, you should target one of the following species for this time of year:
  1. Rainbow Trout

  2. Rainbow Trout

    There is a 81.94% catch rate for Rainbow Trout, based on 1411 Rainbow Trout counted.

    Santa Cruz Rainbow Trout Counts Chart
    Rainbow

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ RAINBOW TROUT COUNTS CHART


  3. Halibut

  4. Halibut

    There is a 4.88% catch rate for Halibut, based on 84 Halibut counted.

    Santa Cruz Halibut Counts Chart
    Halibut

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ HALIBUT COUNTS CHART


  5. Lingcod

  6. Lingcod

    There is a 2.67% catch rate for Lingcod, based on 46 Lingcod counted.

    Santa Cruz Lingcod Counts Chart
    Lingcod

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ LINGCOD COUNTS CHART


  7. Bocaccio

  8. Bocaccio

    There is a 1.8% catch rate for Bocaccio, based on 31 Bocaccio counted.

    Santa Cruz Bocaccio Counts Chart
    Bocaccio

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ BOCACCIO COUNTS CHART


  9. Great White Shark

  10. Great White Shark

    There is a 1.34% catch rate for Great White Shark, based on 23 Great White Shark counted.

    Santa Cruz Great White Shark Counts Chart
    Great

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ GREAT WHITE SHARK COUNTS CHART


  11. Coho Salmon

  12. Coho Salmon

    There is a 1.22% catch rate for Coho Salmon, based on 21 Coho Salmon counted.

    Santa Cruz Coho Salmon Counts Chart
    Coho

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ COHO SALMON COUNTS CHART


  13. Anchovy

  14. Anchovy

    There is a 0.64% catch rate for Anchovy, based on 11 Anchovy counted.

    Santa Cruz Anchovy Counts Chart
    Anchovy

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ ANCHOVY COUNTS CHART


  15. Bluegill

  16. Bluegill

    There is a 0.64% catch rate for Bluegill, based on 11 Bluegill counted.

    Santa Cruz Bluegill Counts Chart
    Bluegill

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ BLUEGILL COUNTS CHART


  17. Striped Bass

  18. Striped Bass

    There is a 0.64% catch rate for Striped Bass, based on 11 Striped Bass counted.

    Santa Cruz Striped Bass Counts Chart
    Striped

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ STRIPED BASS COUNTS CHART


  19. Cabezon

  20. Cabezon

    There is a 0.58% catch rate for Cabezon, based on 10 Cabezon counted.

    Santa Cruz Cabezon Counts Chart
    Cabezon

    ENLARGE SANTA CRUZ CABEZON COUNTS CHART


Recommendations above based on 34 species of fish and 1722 fish counted for July around Santa Cruz.

To date, there are 70 species of fish and a total of 91292 fish counted for Santa Cruz and within a 30 mile (48 km) radius since 1/1/1860 (164 years).

Last Update: 7/4/2024 4:56:58 PM

*** PLEASE NOTE ***
Please check local, state/province, and federal laws before fishing for any species found on this site. All data is based on historical data found for this area, and in some cases as far back as the year 1600.

View full Santa Cruz Fishing Forecast to see all species.

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Top Santa Cruz Fishing Spots

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The Top 10 Fishing Spots for Santa Cruz are the following:

  1. Soquel Hole
    Soquel Hole 36.52.00 / 121.57.00 Popular King Salmon and Silver Salmon hole for trolling and drifting. 


  2. Mulligan Hill
    Mulligan Hill 36.44.98 / 121.52.


  3. Soldier’s Club
    Soldier’s Club 36.41.14 / 121.52.28


  4. 601 South Rock
    601 South Rock 36.55.00 / 122.01.00


  5. Adams Reef


  6. Three Trees


  7. Manresa State Beach


  8. Three Trees


  9. Moonglow Point


  10. Park Reef Kelp


View more Top Santa Cruz Fishing Spots


Latest Santa Cruz Fishing Reports

  • June 23
    Wonderful day for our local potluck today. Fish were biting good too. 1st time on the ocean and first fish ever is Ami from Villanova PA with just a couple fish from her limi


  • June 22
    Afternoon potluck and the boys had a blast. Came in with happy campers and their rockcod. The post June 22 appeared first on Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz Fishing Charters.


  • June 21
    Great weather today for Jurassic Park. As soon as we dropped in our lines 13 year-old Julian hooked into nice big fish. After getting our cod we came in closer to port for ha


  • June 19 – afternoon trip
    Wind picked up for our afternoon local potluck trip. Headed to closer fishing grounds and dropped in our lines and wham! Fish are biting! Got all our fish and return early. G


  • June 19 – morning trip
    Weather was great for our local potluck trip and the bite was wide open! Got our fish and lots of laughs too. Great family from Utah and Colorado to fish with. The post June


  • June 18
    Another trip up to Jurassic Park and the water was much nicer. Fish were biting good too! Got our rockcod and headed home. The post June 18 appeared first on Monterey Bay and


  • June 17
    Pretty windy for our Jurassic trip but we got rockcod to bite. The post June 17 appeared first on Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz Fishing Charters.


  • June 15
    Up the coast again for Jurassic Park. Water was pretty bad today and made fishing pretty difficult. As soon as we dropped in the fish bite was on! Came in closer to fish hali


  • June 14
    Out to the Jurassic grounds today. We had a small window of weather so we needed to catch as fast as we could and get out of there before the winds showed up. No problem as s


  • June 12
    Ran a bit offshore for our local potluck today. Water is still a little bumpy from the recent weather. As soon as we dropped in our lines it was a wide open bite! Got our fis


View Santa Cruz Fishing Reports

Top Santa Cruz Bait & Tackle Stores

  1. Coyote Discount Bait & Tackle
    A local tackle shop with deep roots in the fishing community for over 40 years. Swing by and test our knowledge!

  2. Fisherman's Warehouse
    In 1982 we started as one small store, Delta Bait & Tackle, in Manteca, California. Since then, we’ve changed our name and grown into the largest tackle outfitter in Northern California. At Fisherman’s Warehouse you’ll find our staff are experien

  3. Sportsmen's Supply


View more Santa Cruz Bait & Tackle Stores

Top Santa Cruz Fishing Charters & Guides

  1. Monterey Bay Charters
    MEGA-BITE is the premier 6-pack charter boat located in the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor and we fish the Monterey Bay. We provide all types of charters aboard our spacious 32x12 foot 630 horsepower Sport Sedan. We can take up to six people fishing for sa

  2. Capitola and Santa Cruz Boat Rentals
    Santa Cruz Boat Rentals and Capitola Boat and Bait have the only motorized ocean skiffs for rent on Monterey Bay, so if you want to get out there, you want to come here! Our shops are located on the Santa Cruz and Capitola wharves, making them the pe

  3. Fish On Sportfishing


View more Santa Cruz Charters & Guides

Top Santa Cruz Marinas

View more Santa Cruz Marinas

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Download Santa Cruz Fishing Spots

Latest Fishing Spots

Brook Trout

Brook Trout

Brook Trout

Brook Trout

Brook Trout

Brook Trout

Coho Salmon

Coho Salmon

Coho Salmon

Coho Salmon

View more Santa Cruz Fishing Spots

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