Creel Quick answer: California Spiny Lobster is closed in every California region. Read on September 7, 2026; seasons change in-season with days of notice.
How to identify California Spiny Lobster
Named for the forward-pointing spines that cover its body. Unlike a Maine lobster it has no pincers, and instead carries two large antennae. The body has two parts: a carapace, the fused head and thorax the legs attach to, and the abdomen, or tail. Because the tail flexes, only carapace length counts as a measurement, which is why the legal size is written that way.
Also called bug.
Size, range and where it lives
| Size | Half of females can reproduce between 2.5 and 3.1 inches carapace length, below the legal size, so lobsters breed at least once before they are legal to take. Estimates of lifespan run from 30 to 50 years. |
|---|---|
| Range | Endemic to the North American west coast from Monterey, California, south to at least Magdalena Bay, Baja California. The centre of the range is in Mexico; the Southern California Bight population is managed as its own stock. |
| Habitat | Hard seafloor from the intertidal down to about 210 feet, best where rocky reef carries giant kelp. Pier pilings, harbour jetties and artificial reefs work too. They forage at night, which is when they are findable, and move onto shallow reefs in the warm months. |
California Spiny Lobster by region
| Region | Status | Bag limit | Size limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern | Closed | — | — |
Season dates
- Reopens Oct 2, 2026
What it costs to get it wrong
An undersize fish or one over the bag limit runs roughly $430 to $485 in total bail as an infraction, plus a further $71 to $82 for every individual fish over the line. Charged as a misdemeanor the base part is about $958 to $1,095, with the same per-fish amount on top. The range is real: two of the assessments are set county by county.
How California fishing fines are actually calculated →
This page is a snapshot taken on September 7, 2026. Creel re-reads every CDFW regional page daily and shows current status for your region, offline. Always confirm with CDFW before fishing.