Creel Quick answer: The headline numbers: California halibut 22 inches, white seabass 28, yellowtail 24, lingcod 22, leopard shark 36, kelp and sand bass 14, sheephead 12, surfperch 10½, striped bass 18, ocean salmon 20, Dungeness crab 5¾, rock crab 4, spiny lobster 3¼-inch carapace. Rockfish, cabezon and greenling have no minimum size at all — they are limited by a 10-fish combined bag with sub-limits instead. Bag limits change by region even where the size limit does not.
The whole table
Read off the live CDFW regional regulations on September 5, 2026. Size limits are total length unless noted.
| Species | Size limit | Daily bag | Where the bag changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| California halibut | 22” | 5 | 5 in Central & Southern · 2 in Northern, Mendocino, San Francisco, SF Bay |
| White seabass | 28” | 3 | Same in all regions it is listed |
| Yellowtail | 24” | 10 | Southern Region |
| Lingcod | 22” | 2 | Statewide, but season and depth differ |
| Leopard shark | 36” | 3 | Statewide |
| Kelp, barred sand & spotted sand bass | 14” | 5 | Southern Region |
| California sheephead | 12” | 2 | Central & Southern |
| Striped bass | 18” | 2 | SF Bay |
| Surfperch | 10½” | 20 | Statewide |
| Ocean salmon | 20” | 2 | Statewide, quota seasons by area |
| Rockfish / cabezon / greenling (RCG) | No minimum | 10 combined | Sub-limits inside the 10 — see below |
| Pacific halibut | No minimum | 1 | Quota season by area |
| Dungeness crab | 5¾” across the shell | 10 | Statewide |
| Rock crab | 4” across the shell | 35 | Statewide |
| Spiny lobster | 3¼” carapace | 7 | Southern Region |
| Tunas | No state minimum | — | Federal rules apply to some species |
The rockfish sub-limits, which is where people go wrong
There is no minimum size for any rockfish in California. The fishery is controlled by a 10-fish aggregate across the whole RCG complex — every rockfish species, plus cabezon and greenlings, counted together — with hard sub-limits inside it:
- Copper rockfish — 1 fish
- Canary rockfish — 2 fish
- Vermilion / sunset rockfish — 4 combined in the Northern Management Area, 2 combined everywhere else
- Yelloweye, bronzespotted and cowcod — zero take
Ten fish is legal. Ten fish that happen to include two coppers is not. The aggregate is the part people remember and the sub-limits are the part that gets written up.
Rockfish season, depth limits and areas →
How to measure
Total length means from the tip of the lower jaw with the mouth closed, in a straight line to the tip of the longest lobe of the tail, laid flat. Not along the curve of the body. Not with the tail pinched to a point. Wardens measure it flat, and a fish that makes the number one way and misses it the other is a citation.
Two exceptions worth knowing:
- Spiny lobster is measured by carapace length — rear edge of the eye socket between the horns to the rear edge of the carapace — and it has to be measured in the water, with a fixed-caliper gauge, before the animal comes aboard.
- Dungeness and rock crab are measured across the widest part of the shell, in front of and excluding the points.
What an undersize fish costs
Roughly $430 to $485 in total bail as an infraction, plus $71 to $82 for each individual undersize fish. As a misdemeanor the base part runs about $958 to $1,095, with the same per-fish amount stacked on top.
The per-fish structure is the whole point: one short halibut is one number, a limit of short surfperch is a very different one.
How California fishing fines are actually calculated →
Numbers move, and not on a schedule
Several of these have changed by emergency regulation rather than at the annual booklet revision — the California halibut bag limit north of Point Sur among them. That is the failure mode of a printed table: it was true in March.
Creel reads every CDFW regional page daily and shows the current number for your region, with the change history behind it, cached offline for the boat.
What’s in season in California right now →
Frequently asked questions
What size fish can you keep in California ocean waters?
It is species by species, not one rule. California halibut must be 22 inches, white seabass 28, yellowtail 24, lingcod 22, leopard shark 36, kelp and barred sand bass 14, California sheephead 12, surfperch 10½, and ocean salmon 20. Rockfish, cabezon and greenlings have no minimum size — they are controlled by a combined 10-fish bag with per-species sub-limits inside it instead.
Does the size limit change by region in California?
Size limits are mostly statewide; bag limits are not. California halibut is 22 inches everywhere, but the daily bag is 5 fish in the Central and Southern regions and 2 in the Northern, Mendocino, San Francisco and San Francisco Bay regions. That is the pattern to expect: one measurement, six different daily limits.
How do you measure a fish in California?
Total length unless the rule says otherwise: from the tip of the lower jaw with the mouth closed, in a straight line to the tip of the longest lobe of the tail, laid flat — not along the curve of the body, and not with the tail pinched. Spiny lobster is measured differently, by carapace length, and Dungeness crab across the widest part of the shell in front of and excluding the points.
What is the bag limit for rockfish in California?
10 fish in combination across the whole RCG complex — all rockfish, cabezon and greenlings together — per person. Inside that 10 there are sub-limits: 1 copper rockfish, 2 canary rockfish, and 4 vermilion/sunset combined in the Northern Management Area or 2 combined everywhere else. Yelloweye, bronzespotted and cowcod are zero take.
What is the penalty for keeping an undersize fish in California?
Roughly $430 to $485 in total bail as an infraction, plus a further $71 to $82 for every individual undersize fish. Charged as a misdemeanor instead, the base part runs about $958 to $1,095 with the same per-fish amount on top. That per-fish structure is why a limit of short fish is a very different citation from one short fish.
Which California ocean fish have no size limit?
All rockfish, cabezon and greenlings have no minimum size — the fishery is controlled by the 10-fish combined bag and its sub-limits instead. Pacific halibut has no size minimum either, only a 1-fish daily limit and a quota season. Tunas are open year round in all regions without a size minimum in state regulations, though federal rules apply to some species.