CDFW Ocean Sport Fishing · 2026 regulation year
White seabass regulations · 2026
Plain-English summary of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife sport fishing regulations, current for the 2026 regulation year. This page is paraphrased from the official CDFW source. Always verify against cdfw.ca.gov before keeping anything: regulations change.
The numbers
Minimum size
28 inches total length
Bag · Mar 15 - Jun 15
1 per day
Bag · rest of year
3 per day
Season
Open year-round
The details
Size limit
Sport minimum is 28 inches total length. Undersized fish go back immediately, with as little handling as possible.
Daily bag limit
From March 15 through June 15 the bag drops to 1 white seabass per day; the reduced window protects the spring spawning aggregations. The rest of the year the bag is 3 per day. The bag is per angler, per day.
Season
Open year-round. The March 15 to June 15 window is a reduced-bag period, not a closure.
Licensing
California sport fishing license required for anglers 16 or older. Ocean enhancement stamp required when fishing for marine species south of Point Arguello. Buy at wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing.
What this page does not cover
- Gear-specific rules for spear and dive take. Check CDFW Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations for the full text.
- Special-area rules. Some Marine Protected Areas and state marine reserves prohibit take entirely. Check the area before fishing.
- Commercial regulations. This page is sport-fishing only.
Sources
How regulations work in the GhostFingers Fish app
Every white seabass catch entry checks length against the 28-inch minimum and the date against the reduced-bag window: log a second fish between March 15 and June 15 and the bag counter flags it. The seasonality surfaces in the app lead with the spring window because that is when the kelp-ground aggregations form.
Live regulation overlay on every catch entry.
Undersized warnings, bag counters, closed-season hard gates. No accidental tickets.