California Saltwater Bag and Size Limits: 2026 Rules by Species

Quick answer: California bag and size limits by species

One table, covering the species California charter and party boats actually put in the sack. Bag limits are per person per day unless the row says otherwise, and "no minimum size" means exactly that — there is no length requirement for that species, not that anything goes.

The default rule: 20 fish, and no more than 10 of one kind

Before any species rule applies, California sets a general ocean limit: no more than 20 finfish in combination of all species, with not more than 10 of any one species. That aggregate is the ceiling your whole day fits inside. A per-species bag limit can only make it smaller, never bigger — with one deliberate exception.

That exception is Pacific bluefin tuna. CDFW's special limit is two fish, and those two are taken in addition to the overall general daily bag limit of 20 finfish rather than counted within it. It is the only common California target that sits outside the aggregate.

• General ocean limit: 20 finfish per person per day, no more than 10 of any single species.
• Pacific bluefin tuna: 2 fish, counted on top of the 20 rather than inside it.
• No limit at all on anchovy, jacksmelt, topsmelt, Pacific butterfish (pompano), queenfish, sanddabs, skipjack, jack mackerel, Pacific mackerel, Pacific staghorn sculpin, round herring, Pacific sardine, petrale sole and starry flounder.
• Trout in the ocean: 3 fish, and the take of steelhead rainbow trout in the ocean is prohibited.
• On a permitted multi-day trip you may possess up to three daily bag and possession limits of saltwater finfish, lobster and rock scallops — which is why a three-day long-range trip is not the same arithmetic as three day trips.

Rockfish: one bag limit with four sub-limits inside it

The rockfish bag is not really a rockfish bag. CDFW manages the RCG complex — rockfish, cabezon and greenlings together — at 10 fish in combination per person with no minimum size. Inside that 10, four species are capped separately, and those caps are where anglers get into trouble on a full sack.

Copper rockfish is the tightest at one fish per person. Canary rockfish is two. Vermilion and sunset rockfish are counted together at two per person in most of the state, rising to four in the Northern Management Area. Cowcod is zero, with no retention year-round. Lingcod is not part of the complex at all: it carries its own two-fish bag and a 22-inch total length minimum, which is the single most-searched size limit in California.

• RCG complex (rockfish, cabezon, greenlings): 10 fish in combination, no minimum size.
• Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person.
• Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person.
• Vermilion and sunset rockfish: 2 per person combined, or 4 in the Northern Management Area.
• Cowcod: zero — no retention at any time.
• Lingcod: 2 fish at 22 inches total length, counted separately from the RCG 10.

Season and depth change what you can even target

A bag limit only matters if the fishery is open, and rockfish is the fishery California opens and closes hardest. The RCG complex is closed statewide from January 1 through March 31. From the Central management area north it then opens April 1 and runs at all depths through December 31.

Southern California works on its own calendar. All depths are open April 1 through June 30, the fishery is restricted to inside the 50-fathom line from July 1 through September 30, and the RCG complex closes entirely from October 1 through December 31 — while lingcod flips the other way and may only be taken outside the 50-fathom line for the rest of the year. If you are booking a Southern California boat in the fall, confirm what it is allowed to target before you pay.

Point Sur and Point Conception: where the same fish gets a different limit

Two headlands quietly rewrite the rules. California halibut is a five-fish bag south of Point Sur in Monterey County and a two-fish bag north of it — same 22-inch total length minimum either way, same fish, different number in the sack depending on which port you sailed from. Morro Bay and everything south is on the five-fish side; San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay are on the two.

White seabass is the other one. The bag is three fish at 28 inches total length, except that only one fish may be taken in waters south of Point Conception between March 15 and June 15. That spawning-window restriction lands squarely on spring trips out of San Diego and the Channel Islands, and it is easy to miss because the statewide number is the one everybody quotes.

• California halibut: 5 fish south of Point Sur, 2 fish north, 22 inches total length everywhere.
• White seabass: 3 fish at 28 inches, but 1 fish only south of Point Conception from March 15 through June 15.
• Rockfish season and depth rules are set by management area, and the Southern area behaves differently from the four areas north of it.
• San Francisco Bay runs its own surfperch rule — 5 fish in combination — against 20 in combination on the open coast.

How to measure a fish so it actually counts

Three different measurements appear in California's size limits and they are not interchangeable. Total length runs from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail. Fork length stops at the fork of the tail, so on a forked-tail fish it is always the shorter number. Alternate length is a species-specific measurement CDFW allows as a second option — on barracuda, for example, it is taken from the forehead to the fork of the tail.

Use the wrong method and a legal fish reads short, or worse, a short fish reads legal. Lingcod's 22 inches is total length. Yellowtail's 24 inches is fork length. White seabass gives you a choice of 28 inches total or 20 inches alternate, kelp and sand bass 14 inches total or 10 alternate, and barracuda 28 inches total or 17 alternate.

Two species also allow undersize fish, which surprises people who assume a minimum is absolute. Yellowtail is ten fish at a 24-inch fork length, except that up to five fish under 24 inches may be taken. Pacific bonito works the same way: ten fish at 24 inches fork length or five pounds, with five undersize fish allowed. In both cases the allowance is part of the ten, not extra on top of it.

White sturgeon is catch and release, period

There is no white sturgeon bag limit in California right now because there is no white sturgeon harvest. CDFW puts it plainly: the white sturgeon sport fishery is catch-and-release only and no harvest is permitted. The season runs October 1 through June 30 in most waters, and it is a fight-and-photo fishery, nothing else. Green sturgeon may not be taken or possessed at any time.

• No harvest of white sturgeon — every fish goes back, in season or not.
• Any sturgeon over 60 inches fork length may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately.
• Do not suspend a sturgeon by the gills, mouth or tail alone. Gaffs and lip grippers are prohibited.
• Keep air exposure short and handle the fish with wet hands or gloves to protect its slime coat.
• Season: October 1 through June 30 in most waters, closed July 1 through September 30.

On a charter the crew counts — but the fish are on your license

On a California party boat the deckhands track limits all day, and it is a real part of what the gratuity pays for. They will tell you when the rockfish sack is at ten, which vermilion has to go back, and whether the lingcod on the deck makes 22 inches. Lean on them. Nobody knows the current rule for that day's grounds better than the crew fishing it every morning.

None of that transfers the responsibility. The fish are recorded against your license, and every angler 16 and older needs a valid California sport fishing license — most party boats sell a one-day license right on board. If you want your catch filleted before you are back at the dock, ask the crew first rather than assuming, because what may be filleted at sea varies by species.

Limits move in season — check before you book

California manages several of these fisheries in season, which means a limit that is correct in August can be different by October. Pacific halibut runs against a quota and closes when it is taken. Salmon areas close once their harvest guidelines are reached. Recreational Dungeness crab has been closed since July 31, 2026 and is scheduled to reopen on November 7, 2026 — and "scheduled" is doing real work in that sentence for anyone booking a crab combo.

Before a trip, check CDFW's recreational groundfish summary and the regional ocean regulation page for the water you are fishing. For salmon there is also an Ocean Salmon Regulations Hotline at (707) 576-3429. Then ask the landing — the boat you are sailing on fishes under these rules every day and will usually have the current answer before any website does.

Once you know what you are allowed to keep, the only open question is what the seat costs. Captains discount unsold spots on trips that are already scheduled to leave, which is the cheapest way onto a California boat. Mixed Bag Sportsman collects those open seats, reviews every one before it goes live, and links straight through to the operator's own booking page.