Creel Quick answer: Rockfish is open in 5 of the 6 California regions where CDFW regulates it, with a All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit. The bag limit is not the same everywhere, so the table below has the number for each region. Read on September 7, 2026; seasons change in-season with days of notice.
How to identify Rockfish
Rockfish is not a species. It is the genus Sebastes, and California waters hold roughly 60 of them. CDFW sorts them into four groups by the depth they are usually caught at: shallow nearshore (black-and-yellow, China, gopher, grass, kelp), deeper nearshore (black, blue, brown, calico, copper, olive, quillback, treefish), shelf (bocaccio, canary, chilipepper, cowcod, vermilion and others) and slope. The identification that carries a fine is telling apart the species that have their own sub-limit inside the 10-fish aggregate.
Also called rock cod.
Size, range and where it lives
| Size | Varies by species. No rockfish has a minimum size in California, which is not the same as having no limit. |
|---|---|
| Range | The whole California coast, with the species mix changing from north to south and with depth. |
| Habitat | Rocky reef and hard structure, from the rocky intertidal out across the continental shelf and down the slope, depending on the species. |
Rockfish by region
| Region | Status | Bag limit | Size limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern | Open | 10 fish in combination per person, except: Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person Vermilion/sunset rockfish: 4 fish per person combined in Northern Management Area 2 fish per person combined in all other areas Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person | All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit |
| Mendocino | Open | 10 fish in combination per person, except: Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person Vermilion/sunset rockfish: 4 fish per person combined in Northern Management Area 2 fish per person combined in all other areas Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person | All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit |
| San Francisco | Open | 10 fish in combination per person, except: Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person Vermilion/sunset rockfish: 4 fish per person combined in Northern Management Area 2 fish per person combined in all other areas Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person | All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit |
| SF Bay | Open | 10 fish in combination per person, except: Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person Vermilion/sunset rockfish: 4 fish per person combined in Northern Management Area 2 fish per person combined in all other areas Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person | All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit |
| Central | Open | 10 fish in combination per person, except: Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person Vermilion/sunset rockfish: 4 fish per person combined in Northern Management Area 2 fish per person combined in all other areas Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person | All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit |
| Southern | Partial | 10 fish in combination per person, except: Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person Vermilion/sunset rockfish: 4 fish per person combined in Northern Management Area 2 fish per person combined in all other areas Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person | All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit |
Season dates
- Jan 1 - Mar 31: Closed - unlawful to possess in all waters · April 1 - December 31: Open all depths
- Jan 1 - Mar 31: Closed - unlawful to possess in all waters · April 1 - June 30: Open All Depths · July 1 - Sep 30: 50 Fathom - Inshore Only Take is prohibited seaward of the 50 fathom (300 feet) Rockfish Conservation Area boundary line, which is a series of connected waypoints defined in Federal regulations (50 CFR Part 660, Subpart C) · Oct 1 - Dec 31: Closed - unlawful to possess in all waters
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.