Creel Quick answer: Open now. The 2026–27 California spiny lobster season opened at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 2, 2026 and closes at 11:59:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17, 2027. The rule is 6 p.m. on the Friday preceding the first Wednesday in October, through the first Wednesday after March 15. The daily bag limit is 7 lobsters per person, minimum size 3¼-inch carapace measured in the water, hoop nets or bare hands only, and every angler needs a sport fishing license plus a $12.70 Spiny Lobster Report Card.
California spiny lobster (“bugs” to locals) has one of the most anticipated openers of the year, and one of the most enforcement-heavy. Here is how the whole season works, from opening night to the report card deadline that outlives it.
Season dates
The recreational season opens at 6:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the first Wednesday in October and closes at 11:59:59 p.m. on the first Wednesday after March 15.
For 2026–27 that is 6:00 p.m. Friday, October 2, 2026 through 11:59:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, 2027. The season is open now.
Half the internet says the opener is Saturday. It is not: the first Wednesday in October 2026 was October 7, so the Friday before it was October 2, and the fishery went live at dusk. That evening start is deliberate, and it is why the harbors in Long Beach, Dana Point, Oceanside and Mission Bay empty out on Friday afternoon rather than Saturday morning.
Spiny lobster is a Southern Region fishery in practice. The range runs from about Point Conception south to the Mexican border, plus the Channel Islands. North of Point Conception you will not find them in numbers, whatever the regulation permits.
The rules
| Rule | |
|---|---|
| Opens | 6:00 p.m. Friday, October 2, 2026 |
| Closes | 11:59:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, 2027 |
| Bag limit | 7 per person per day, and 7 in possession |
| Size | 3¼-inch minimum carapace, measured in the water |
| Gear | Hoop nets or bare hands. No spears, gaffs, traps or hooked devices |
| Hoop nets | 5 per person, 10 per vessel, south of Point Arguello |
| Gauge | Required. Carry one and check before keeping |
| Licence | Sport fishing licence, plus Ocean Enhancement Validation south of Point Arguello |
| Report card | $12.70 Spiny Lobster Report Card, filled in as you fish |
| Card due | Returned or reported online by April 30, 2027 |
Undersized lobster must go back immediately, at the point of capture. Bringing a short lobster to the boat “to measure later” is itself a violation. Tail-only possession is also illegal in the field: lobsters stay whole until you are ashore.
Hoop netting vs diving
Hoop nets are fished from piers, jetties and boats, mostly at night. Divers take lobster strictly by hand, usually on night dives when bugs walk out of the reef. Both methods share the same season, bag limit, size rule and report card.
The report card
The Spiny Lobster Report Card is where most accidental violations happen:
- The month, day, location code and gear code go in before you fish; the count goes in when you stop. A blank card with lobsters in the bag is its own offence.
- Every person taking lobster needs their own card, including divers.
- Cards must be returned or reported online by April 30 after the season. Miss it and you pay a non-return fee (about $21.60) with your next card.
What wardens actually write
Fishing inside an MPA. Only 7 of the 62 Southern California MPAs allow lobster take, and several of the closed ones wrap around exactly the rocky structure that holds lobster: Point Vicente, Abalone Cove, Laguna Beach, Swami’s, Matlahuayl. In the dark is a bad time to be estimating a boundary from memory. Here is which MPAs allow lobster take, all 62 of them.
Measuring on the boat. The gauge comes out in the water. A lobster brought over the rail, measured on deck and thrown back is still a take of an undersize lobster.
A blank report card. See above. It is separate from anything about the lobsters themselves.
Eight in the bag. The eighth lobster is not a rounding error. Excess-of-bag offences carry a base fine plus a per-animal surcharge, so the total climbs with every extra one.
What it costs to be wrong
The Judicial Council’s uniform bail schedule sets what a Fish and Game citation actually costs, and it is not the small “base fine” you see quoted. Two of the assessments stacked on top are set county by county, so the same offence is a different number in Ventura than in San Diego. For an undersize or over-limit invertebrate you are looking at roughly $430 to $485 as an infraction, with a per-animal amount on top, and a misdemeanor filing is roughly double.
See how California fishing fines are calculated →
Is lobster safe to eat?
Spiny lobster is not one of the species OEHHA restricts in California coastal waters, but the hepatopancreas (the soft green “tomalley” in the body cavity) concentrates contaminants and domoic acid, and health agencies advise against eating it. Discard it and eat the tail.
CDPH also runs a shellfish safety programme through the season and can issue county warnings on short notice. That is a different system from the lobster season, and it can land mid-season.
Check tonight’s status in Creel
Creel shows spiny lobster’s live status for your region, the 7-bug limit, the 3¼” carapace rule, the report card requirement and what a citation costs on one screen, plus California’s full MPA map so you can confirm the reef you are hooping is not a no-take zone. It updates daily from CDFW and works offline, because there is no signal past the breakwater.
Always confirm current regulations with CDFW before taking lobster. Emergency closures and MPA boundaries are enforced hard in this fishery.
Frequently asked questions
How many lobsters are you allowed to catch in California?
Seven spiny lobsters per person per day, and no more than seven in possession at any time. There is no boat limit that lets one person carry another person’s share. Every lobster must measure at least 3¼ inches across the carapace, and a short lobster must be released immediately at the spot of capture.
When does California lobster season close?
At 11:59:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17, 2027, the first Wednesday after March 15. Take is unlawful from that moment until the next opener at 6 p.m. on the Friday before the first Wednesday in October 2027.
Do I need a report card for lobster in California?
Yes. Everyone taking or attempting to take spiny lobster needs a Spiny Lobster Report Card ($12.70 in 2026) in addition to a fishing license, including divers and anyone tending a hoop net. Fill it in as you fish, not at the ramp, and return or report it online by April 30, 2027, or you pay a non-return fee with next season’s card.
Can you use a net or a spear to catch California lobster?
Hoop nets and bare hands only. Spears are illegal for spiny lobster anywhere in California, and so is any device that can pierce, penetrate or crush the shell. Divers take them by hand. South of Point Arguello the hoop net cap is 5 per person and 10 per vessel.
How do you measure a California spiny lobster?
Carapace length: from the rear edge of the eye socket between the horns, in a straight line down the midline, to the rear edge of the carapace. Minimum 3¼ inches. Carry a fixed-caliper gauge and measure each lobster while it is still in the water. Measuring on deck is itself the violation people get cited for.
Are California spiny lobsters good to eat?
Very. Spiny lobster is prized for its sweet tail meat (it has no large claws like Maine lobster). Discard the tomalley, the soft green hepatopancreas in the body, because it concentrates contaminants and domoic acid. Most of the legal catch comes from Southern California reefs and jetties between Point Conception and the border.