OP SABLE // MONTEREY CANYON + BODEGA BAY // DEEP-DROP DOSSIER v2.5
PREPARED FOR: NICK21 SEP 2026RECREATIONAL // SURVEY-CALIBRATED

Theater 1 · Monterey CanyonOperation
Sable

Monterey Bay seabed from NOAA bathymetry. Heat = suspected black cod activity: depth curve calibrated to NOAA trawl-survey CPUE × slope × range from the ramp, MPAs excluded. Dots are the actual survey hauls. Vertical scale ×6.NOAA bathymetry · heat calibrated to trawl-survey CPUE · dots = survey hauls

Suspicion indexlow → high
striped = beyond selected kit's reach
red hatch = closed to bottom fishing
contours every 100 m (bold 500 m)
dots = NOAA trawl-survey hauls 2003–25, red = high sablefish CPUE, grey = none
rings = 5 / 10 nm from the ramp
The 3D theater needs WebGL and script access. The zone coordinates below still work on any chart.
SEC 02

Monterey target zones

Every legal sablefish drop within reach of a small boat sits on the main canyon axis and its walls, 2–11 nautical miles west of the Moss Landing harbor mouth. Depths are from the bathymetry grid; confirm on the sounder before you commit a rig.

Z1 · The Chute primary

36°47.0′–36°48.7′N  121°49.1′–121°52.5′W
2–4 nm from ramp · axis 700–1,300 ft · walls 500–900 ft

The canyon head, directly west of the harbor mouth. Closest true deep water on the California coast. Narrow, steep, and it funnels tidal current, so it's also where you'll lose the bottom first on a big tide.

Drift the axis west-to-east or hold on the north wall shelf-break. Start here on every trip; it's a 15-minute run.

Z2 · Mid-axis primary

36°46.1′–36°48.7′N  121°52.5′–121°55.2′W
4–6 nm from ramp · axis 1,100–1,900 ft · walls 800–1,400 ft

Wider canyon, softer current, and the wall depths line up exactly with the sweet spot for a 1,500-ft kit. If Z1 is blown out by current, slide here.

Hard stop at 121°56.00′W: the Soquel Canyon SMCA's east line. Anything west of it above 36°48′N is off-limits for bottom fishing.

Z3 · South wall secondary

36°45.3′–36°46.7′N  121°52.9′–121°56.1′W
5–7 nm from ramp · band 600–1,500 ft along the wall

A long, fishable slope on the canyon's south side with a gentler gradient, which makes it easier to keep a rig on the bottom. Longer run, less traffic.

Portuguese Ledge SMCA starts at 36°43.00′N; you're well north of it here, but keep the plotter honest.

Z4 · The Gap long run

36°43.5′–36°47.7′N  121°56.4′–122°00.6′W
8–11 nm from ramp · walls 700–1,500 ft · axis 2,000 ft+

The legal corridor between the two MPAs. Both canyon walls carry the depth band, the axis itself is out of reach for anything short of Platinum. Fewer boats, more fuel, and you're a long way from the harbor when the wind comes up.

Boxed in by 36°48.00′N to the north and 36°43.00′N to the south. Plot both lines before you go.

Survey intel · Monterey box NOAA trawl survey 2003–25

The West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey towed this box 172 times with a clean haul; sablefish came up in 72 of them. Presence, median catch rate, and median fish size by depth:

300–600 ft 25% of hauls · 0 kg/ha · 0.8 lb fish (juveniles)
600–900 ft 78% · 2.1 kg/ha · 1.6 lb
900–1,200 ft 83% · 11.5 kg/ha · 2.6 lb
1,200–1,500 ft 100% · 7.6 kg/ha · 2.0 lb
1,500–2,000 ft 100% · 25.2 kg/ha · 2.4 lb
2,000–2,500 ft 100% · 35.3 kg/ha · 2.9 lb
2,500 ft+ 100% · 8.2 kg/ha · 4.3 lb

Read it straight: below 900 ft the fish are always there, density keeps climbing to 2,000–2,500 ft, and the average fish grows with depth. That's the Gold argument as a table. The last few years are strong too: deep hauls in 2022, 2024 and 2025 ran 52, 81 and 38 kg/ha against a long-run median near 15.

Best eater hauls near the zones: 2017 at 36°45.7′N 122°00.9′W, 2,450 ft, 126 kg/ha of ~2.5 lb fish, on the axis inside the Z4 corridor; 2024 at 36°45.4′N 122°15.6′W, 2,800 ft, 81 kg/ha, and 36°43.7′N 122°15.8′W, 3,450 ft, 83 kg/ha, both in the outer canyon. A 2014 haul off Davenport at 426 ft pulled 216 kg/ha of 1-lb juveniles: proof the shelf is a nursery, not a target.

Caveats: the survey tows trawlable slope, not canyon walls, so it says little about Z1 and Z2 directly, and its average fish size includes juveniles that a squid-and-mackerel rig on 9/0 circles won't select. Tap near any dot on the map for that haul's year, depth, rate and fish size.

Skip Carmel Canyon: the deep water south of Point Pinos is largely inside the Point Lobos SMR/SMCA. Skip the outer canyon west of 122°04′W: 3,000 ft+ and a 12-mile run.

SEC 03

Kits

Four loadouts, from a punishment build to a two-rig, sounder-equipped program. Prices are rough US street prices in September 2026, before tax; treat them as a budget bracket, not a quote. Pick a tier on the Monterey map to see how much of the canyon it can actually reach.

Market check, 13 Sep: Daiwa is replacing the Tanacom 1000 with the new 800 and 1200 (jog lever, ~$900–1,000). The clearance Seaborg 1200MJ at $1,445 sold out; the current-gen Seaborg G1200M is $2,099.99 and the Seapower 1200 (~$1,100) is the value pick with the same motor family. The Seaborg G1800M-RJ ($3,400) is a swordfish reel. Skip it.

Every tier carries

  • CA sport fishing license (annual or 1-day)
  • PFDs, VHF radio, PLB or inReach, kill-switch lanyard
  • Float plan left with someone ashore
  • Crimper, sleeves, long pliers, braid scissors, gloves, fish grip
  • Bleeding knife plus a big cooler with ice; bleed and ice immediately
  • Headlamp, seasickness meds taken the night before, sunscreen, hot drink
  • Bait: frozen squid and mackerel, more than you think, bought the day before

Group math

Six people never need six electric reels. On a canyon drift, two or three rigs down at a time is the norm; more than that tangles 1,000 ft of braid. One reel of yours plus a second-hand Tanacom covers a boatload of friends who rotate, and the only thing they chip in for is their share of the charter.

Reach practical max depth before line angle ruins the drop · Haul speed from 1,000 ft · Endurance realistic drops per day · Fish-finding ability to see walls at 1,000 ft (only a 1 kW sounder, which lives in the boat, not on the rod) · Arm fatigue self-explanatory.

The build decided 14 Sep

Reel Daiwa Seaborg G1200M · $2,100
Line J-Braid x8 Grand Multi-Color 80 lb, 1,100 yd, spooled at Tomo's · ~$200
Rod Tanacom Dendoh TNB66MHF-DD, 6′6″ MH · $260 at Tomo's, $210–230 at forzasports on eBay
Power 40Ah LiFePO4 + fused cord + box (~$220) or Daiwa Super Lithium 14.8V (~$400–450)
Terminal 7 ft of 200 lb backbone, three 8″ droppers of 150 lb crimped 24″ apart, 9/0–10/0 circles with glow bead and lumo skirt, 300 lb swivel top, three-way bottom, sinker on 3 ft of 30 lb breakaway, LED at the top swivel
Lead 3–4 lb to 1,500 ft, 5–6 lb past 2,000
Total about $3,150 with LiFePO4, $3,400 with Super Lithium

Backup kit, in order of what actually fails: spare cord and fuses, second battery, four pre-tied rigs and double the sinkers, then the 5′6″ H bent-butt rod ($260) for holder work past 2,000 ft. About $500 for all of it. Not the G1800M-RJ: that's a swordfish reel.

Crew rigs for six

Three rigs on the boat plus one bare spare rod. Two or three lines down at a time is the ceiling on a drift; six people rotate through drops, baiting, gaffing and icing.

New, best price Tanacom 1200 when Walmart's marketplace shows it at $799.99 (MSRP $899.99; it drifts to $846); Tanacom 1000 new at $739.99 on eBay, no returns; Fisherman's Warehouse has the 1000 at $799.99 in stock for pickup
Used Daiwa Tanacom Bull 750 from Japan sellers: fair at $330–400 delivered with cable, "tested working" and free returns; pass on no cable, no returns or $90+ shipping; a documented odometer (km and hours) is worth a premium
Rods TNB66MHF-DD new at $210–230 on eBay from forzasports
Line two 550-yd spools of J-Braid x8 Multi-Color, 50–80 lb, per reel
Per rig ~$720 used, ~$940 new; everyone shares the battery bank

Mixed capacity is fine: every reel here carries 2,000+ ft of line. What matters on a shared drift is the same sinker weight and similar line diameter on every rig so the lines scope at the same angle.

SEC 04

Fleet · Monterey

Nobody on Monterey Bay advertises a black cod trip, and bareboat rentals big enough for the canyon are rare. The realistic move is a private six-pack charter: you bring the electric setup and battery, they bring the hull, the sounder, and the local knowledge. Call, describe the plan, and ask the four questions at the bottom.

Operator
Boat
Notes
Last Meal Sportfishing primarylastmealsportfishing.com · 408-802-9284 · Capt. Steph Parson
2018 Parker 25′ pilothouse
twin Yamaha 200s · up to 6
GPS, radar, fishfinder, bait well
outriggers & downriggers
Seeker rods, Accurate/Avet reels
$2,000 whole boat, 8 hr, Jul–Dec
Best Monterey platform for six people and three electric rigs. Kids welcome. Sounder wattage not published. Contacted 14 Sep about a deep-drop day and the sounder; reply pending.
Blue Knuckles Sport Fishingblueknucklesfishing.com · Capt. Chris
2019 Parker 23′ pilothouse
single Yamaha 300 · up to 6
radar, sonar, GPS, autopilot
trips from $700
Minutes from the canyon head. Right size for three or four of you; six with electrics is tight on a 23. Sounder wattage not published.
Kahuna Sportfishingkahunasportfishing.com · (831) 633-2564 · owner Carol Jones
50′ Delta, built 1973
rated 25 · 4 bunks
Moss Landing since 1992
open party or private
The weather boat. Runs 12-hour long-range rockfish trips to Lopez Point and fishes reefs to 300 ft; rod rentals and licenses in their shop. Book private and six of you have a 50-foot deck. Sounder unknown, but party boats of this class usually carry commercial-grade Furuno.
Chartle ChartersSanta Cruz lower harbor, S dock slip 25 · 831-336-2244
Taylor-Gene, 34′ Hatteras sportfisher
up to 6 · day and evening trips
A proper sportfisher hull, but an 11-mile run to legal canyon water past the Soquel Canyon SMCA. Ask whether they'll make that run.
Santa Cruz Coastal ChartersCapt. Rodney · via FishingBooker
35′ sportfisher, 1983
up to 6 · head aboard
outriggers & downriggers · from $550
Big, stable, older hull. Same 11-mile run as Chartle. Worth a call if the Moss Landing boats are booked.
Barbarossa FishingSanta Cruz · Capt. Justin · via FishingBooker
25′ · up to 6
from $800
Sixty-plus strong reviews, nearshore and offshore. Same run from the north end; sounder unknown.
Lady Luck SportfishingSanta Cruz · Capt. Christina
20′ Mako center console
up to 3 · $600, 5 hr
Too small for the crew, and the booking site shows the captain canceling two August 2026 trips. not reliable
Chris' Fishing Trips · J&M Sport FishingMonterey, Fisherman's Wharf
party boats
rockfish trips from ~$140
Not deep-drop boats, but they rent gear and sell licenses. A fallback for a rockfish day if the canyon plan falls apart.
Hull
Manufacturer numbers
Who runs it · what it means on deck
Parker 2820 XLD Sport Cabin
28′ hull, 35′9″ LOA · 9′6″ beam · 6,400 lb · 21° deadrise · 232 gal · 600 hp max · 12-person rating
twin F300 test: 25 mph at 12.9 gph, 46 mph top
North Bay's Bigeye. The biggest cockpit on either list, deep-V, and enough fuel for the Cordell run three times over. Six people and three rigs fit with room to walk.
Parker 2520 XLD Sport Cabin
25′4″ hull, 33′1″ LOA · 9′6″ beam · 5,800 lb · 21° deadrise · 179–200 gal · 500 hp max · 12-person rating
twin 200s cruise 25–30 mph
North Bay's Sorta Salty, and the same hull family as Last Meal's 25′ pilothouse. Same beam as the 28 on a shorter cockpit: fine for six, snug for three straight-butt rods on one rail.
Parker 2320 SL Sport Cabin
23′ hull, 30′9″ LOA · 8′6″ beam · 4,100 lb · 21° deadrise · 137 gal · 300 hp max · 10-person rating
Blue Knuckles. A foot narrower and two feet shorter in the cockpit than the 25. Four anglers and two electric rigs is the comfortable load.
Delta 50
50′ × 15′ · built 1973 · rated 25 · 4 bunks
Kahuna. The stable one. When it's 12 kt and lumpy, this is the boat that still goes; with a private booking, six people have a 50-foot rail and a galley.
Parker 28 Sport Cabin (2005), North River 27 Seahawk, Hatteras 34, 35′ sportfisher
Dragonfly: 33′ LOA, 9′6″ beam, twin 250s · Seahawk: welded aluminum hardtop, twin 200s · older glass sportfishers, specs unlisted
The Bodega backups and the Santa Cruz boats. All six-passenger platforms; the Seahawk is the same hull family that was on your own-boat shortlist.

Photos: the operators' own galleries have the real boats. North Bay's boats page · Last Meal · Blue Knuckles · Kahuna · Reel Obsession · Pole Dancin'.

ASK BEFORE YOU BOOK1) Is there 12V power on deck, or do I bring my battery?  2) What transducer are you running, and does the bottom hold at 1,200 ft?  3) Will you drift the canyon axis off Moss Landing without a rockfish stop?  4) How many rail holders, and will they take a 6′6″ straight butt?
SOUNDER INTELNo Monterey Bay charter publishes a transducer or wattage; I checked every site, listing, review and fish report. Decode the phone answer: GT51, GT56, HDI or Active Imaging means 600 W; Airmar B175, TM265, B265, B275, "1 kW" or a Furuno FCV means the real thing. The only confirmed 1 kW on either list is North Bay's Bigeye in Bodega. A 600 W boat is still fishable: the contours on this map put you on 1,000 ft without a sounder, and the reel's counter, the multicolor line and a 4-lb sinker tell you when you've landed. What you lose is seeing the wall's ledges and the marks on them.
SEC 05

Insertion · Monterey

Ramp
Cost · access
Run to the fish
Moss Landing North Harbor primaryHarbor District · 7881 Sandholdt Rd · (831) 633-2461
$25/day park & launch, $250/yr
4-lane ramp, adjacent to Hwy 1
fuel dock in harbor
600 ft of water in about 2.5 nm, 1,000 ft in about 4 nm, straight out the jetties. Fifteen minutes from ramp to rig-down. The entrance can get ugly on a big W/NW swell against an ebb; ask harbor ops if in doubt.
Monterey Harborpublic ramp by Wharf 2
public ramp, fee applies
most sheltered water in the bay
About 9–10 nm to the canyon walls, and the route brushes the Portuguese Ledge SMCA. Better shelter in a NW blow; worse commute to the fish.
Santa Cruz Harborpublic ramp
public ramp, fee applies
About 11 nm to legal water on the main axis; the nearest deep branch, Soquel Canyon, is an MPA. Only makes sense if you're already on the north side.

Charter-first decision means this section is for the day a boat question comes back. When it does: the R1T tows any of the 22–25 ft candidates, and the boat lives in a yard near the harbor, not at the house.

SEC 06

Windows

Clock

Trailer in the water 30 minutes before civil dawn, lines down at first light, and off the grounds by noon. The NW sea breeze fills the bay most afternoons from midday on; that's your hard stop, not the fish.

Sablefish don't care about dawn; the bite is bottom-driven. Early matters for the weather, not the fish. On a charter the captain sets the clock; the same logic applies.

Season

Sep–Nov best sea state of the year, warm mornings, fish in the band. Now.
Dec–Feb storm cycles, but the days between fronts are glass.
Mar–Jun the wind machine; short morning windows only.
Jul–Aug fog and chop; mornings still workable.

Tide & current

Tide height is irrelevant at 1,000 ft. Current is everything: the canyon amplifies internal tides, and the head funnels them. Plan drops for the hour either side of high and low water at Monterey (NOAA station 9413450), and avoid new- and full-moon springs if you can pick your day.

Rule: line angle past ~30° means add a pound, shorten the drift, or re-drop. Don't fight it.

Weather feeds

NWS Bay Area marine — coastal waters forecasts: Pigeon Point to Point Pinos (Monterey), Point Arena to Point Reyes (Bodega)
Buoy 46042 — offshore Monterey; the leading indicator
Buoy 46092 — MBARI M1, mid-bay, what you'll actually feel
Buoy 46013 — Bodega Bay; the Cordell run lives and dies by this one
Tides 9413450 — Monterey Harbor

Go

Wind ≤10 kt through 13:00, swell ≤5 ft at ≥10 s, the offshore buoy flat overnight.

Hold

10–15 kt by midday or 6–8 ft mixed swell. Fish Z1 only, one eye on 46092, home by 11.

Abort

15 kt+ in the forecast, 8 ft+ short-period swell, or a building ebb at the Moss Landing entrance. There's always next week.

SEC 07

Op sequence · Monterey

Stage

Charge the battery, crimp four rigs, tie a spare breakaway on every sinker, freeze two blocks of ice, buy bait. Check 46042 trend and the evening coastal forecast; make the go/hold/abort call now, not at 4 a.m.

Insert

Moss Landing. Meet the boat, load two electric rigs and the battery box, radio check on 16, waypoint Z1 loaded. Out the jetties at first light.

Z1 recon

Run west 2.5 nm along the axis. Watch the sounder drop through 600 ft, then 900. Pick a wall or the axis based on the current: a 3-lb sinker holding at 30° is the tell. Rig with squid strips and a mackerel chunk on the bottom hook, light clipped above the swivel.

Drop cycle

Free-spool to the bottom, thumb the spool the last 100 ft so the rig lands soft, engage, lift a foot, hold. Two minutes without a tap, bounce it once. Ten minutes, wind up and reposition. Bites feel like weight, not hits; let the circle hooks load and start the motor at half speed, not full: sablefish have soft mouths and full throttle is for bait checks. Bleed, gut, ice.

Decision point

Check 46092 wind. Under 10 kt: one more cycle in Z2 on the way out. Over 10: run home now. The harbor entrance on the ebb is the most dangerous water of the day.

Extract

Rinse the reel with fresh water before the salt dries, pull the battery. Fillet at the harbor cleaning station. Miso-marinate that night; you've earned it.

SEC 08

Rules of engagement

Regulations

  • Sablefish is open year-round at all depths statewide under the 2023 groundfish changes; the shelf-rockfish depth windows don't apply to it.
  • Bag falls under the general finfish rule: 20 combined, no more than 10 of one species. No size limit. Verify in the current CDFW ocean sport fishing booklet before every trip; groundfish rules change in-season.
  • Want rockfish or lingcod on the same trip? Central GMA depth and possession rules apply to those; don't mix a canyon drift with a shelf stop without reading them.
  • Pelagic-only MPAs: Soquel Canyon SMCA and Portuguese Ledge SMCA allow take of pelagic finfish only. Sablefish is groundfish. No drops inside either polygon.
  • Cordell Bank: as of 23 June 2026 the old Groundfish Conservation Area ring is open, and a new Groundfish Exclusion Area over the bank's 50-fathom footprint prohibits all groundfish fishing. The black cod water is on the slope outside it. The GEA on the map uses the legal polygon, which is identical to the Cordell Bank (50-fm isobath) EFHCA in 50 CFR 660.79(r).
Soquel Canyon SMCA · Portuguese Ledge SMCA · NOAA Cordell Bank compliance guide (Jun 2026) · CDFW

Polygons to load

Soquel Canyon SMCA
36°51.00′N 121°56.00′W · 36°51.00′N 122°03.65′W
36°48.00′N 122°02.77′W · 36°48.00′N 121°56.00′W

Portuguese Ledge SMCA
36°43.00′N 121°56.00′W · 36°43.00′N 122°01.30′W
36°41.00′N 122°00.80′W · 36°41.00′N 121°56.00′W

Cordell Bank GEA (50 CFR 660.79(r) footprint, closed)
37°57.62′N 123°24.22′W · 37°57.70′N 123°25.25′W · 37°59.47′N 123°26.63′W · 38°00.24′N 123°27.87′W · 38°00.98′N 123°27.65′W · 38°02.81′N 123°28.75′W · 38°04.26′N 123°29.25′W · 38°04.55′N 123°28.32′W · 38°03.87′N 123°27.69′W · 38°04.27′N 123°26.68′W · 38°02.67′N 123°24.17′W · 38°00.87′N 123°23.15′W · 37°59.32′N 123°22.52′W · 37°58.24′N 123°23.16′W

Former Cordell Bank GCA ring (reference only, opened Jun 2026)
38°03.18′N 123°20.77′W · 38°06.29′N 123°25.03′W · 38°06.34′N 123°29.32′W · 38°04.57′N 123°31.30′W · 38°02.32′N 123°31.07′W · 38°00.00′N 123°28.40′W · 37°58.10′N 123°26.66′W · 37°55.07′N 123°26.81′W · 38°00.00′N 123°23.08′W

The 121°56.00′W meridian is the line that matters most in Monterey: it's the east wall of both no-go boxes. At Cordell the closed area is the bank itself, and the polygon above is the one to load.

SAFETYCoast Guard on VHF 16. Two comms devices, one of them satellite. Kill switch clipped on whenever the motor runs. The Cordell run is 20–28 nm of open Pacific each way, not a bay; that trip is charter-only for this crew.

Theater 2 · Cordell Bank & Bodega CanyonSable
North

Sonoma–Marin shelf from NOAA bathymetry. Heat calibrated to the trawl survey's Bodega numbers, range from Bodega Bay harbor. Red hatch = Cordell Bank GEA, exact coordinates from 50 CFR 660.79(r). Grey ring = former GCA, opened June 2026. Dots are survey hauls.NOAA bathymetry · red = Cordell GEA (exact) · dots = survey hauls

Suspicion indexlow → high
red hatch = Cordell Bank GEA (legal polygon)
grey ring = former GCA, now open
orange boxes = target zones
dots = NOAA trawl-survey hauls 2003–25, red = high sablefish CPUE
rings = 10 / 20 / 30 nm from the harbor
The 3D theater needs WebGL and script access. The zone coordinates below still work on any chart.
SEC 09

Bodega Bay · the zero-gear option

One Bodega Bay operator runs deep-drop black cod trips with the electric reels supplied, on the slope beside Cordell Bank. Six friends split a boat, nobody buys a reel, and you find out who actually likes this before anyone spends $2,000.

North Bay Fishing Charters the play

Bodega Bay · northbayfishingcharters.com · (415) 408-8019 · dock at 1500 Bay Flat Rd
Offshore rock cod trip, Apr 1–Dec 31 · $350 pp open · $1,950 private, max 6
rods, reels, bait and lead included · Captains Josh Stevens, Ryan Giammona, Billy Wessner

They run deep-drop black cod trips with electric reels near Cordell Bank, fishing 800–1,200 ft, and will target sablefish on a deep-water rockfish trip if the group asks. Their page lists the 10-fish limit and a 2–20 lb range; expect fish around 5 lb, and a bite that's consistent year-round.

F/V Bigeye · Parker 2820XLD — twin Suzuki 300s · 35+ heavy-duty rod holders · full tuna tower · 1 kW multibeam Simrad sonar · 4′ Raymarine open-array radar · electric head · 29 kt cruise, 45 kt max · 200+ mile range · seats 6
Sorta Salty · Parker 2520XLD — twin Suzuki 200s · full Garmin package with radar · electric head · 26 kt cruise · seats 6

Ask for the Bigeye by name: it's the only charter boat on either list with a confirmed 1 kW sounder, and 35 rod holders means three electric rigs fit anywhere. Say "black cod" when you book, not on the dock. Six people at $325 each; nobody brings gear except a cooler.

Black cod page · Boats & crew · Rates

Backups in the same harbor

Reel Obsession Sportfishing · Capt. Ty Taube · (707) 495-2165
Dragonfly, 2005 Parker 28′ Sport Cabin, 33′ overall, 9′6″ beam · twin Yamaha 250s, 40+ kt · dry cabin, head, life raft, EPIRB, bait tank · private $1,800 · also runs Fort Bragg

Pole Dancin' Sportfishing · Capt. John Buergler · (707) 494-9155
2017 27′ North River Seahawk · twin Yamaha 200s · up to 6

Sonoma Coast Adventures · (707) 791-9374 · $325 pp or $1,800 private, max 6, gear included · boat not listed

None advertises electrics or black cod. They're here in case the Bigeye is booked; you'd bring your own reels and treat it like a Monterey day with a longer run. Reel Obsession's Fort Bragg operation is worth a question: the 100-fathom line off Fort Bragg is a known black cod drift.

Every six-pack in the harbor is on the county's Sport Fishing Center directory with a phone number. Bodega Bay is about two hours from Menlo Park; the trip leaves early, so sleep there the night before.

Reel Obsession · Pole Dancin' · Sport Fishing Center directory

B1 · Bodega Canyon primary

38°09.6′–38°19.2′N  123°21.6′–123°30.0′W
15–22 nm from harbor · head and walls 600–1,500 ft

A true canyon cutting the shelf northwest of Cordell Bank, with its head at about 1,250 ft. The walls hold the depth band on both sides and it's the closest legal deep water to the harbor.

B2 · Cordell slope secondary

38°01.2′–38°09.0′N  123°30.0′–123°36.0′W
22–28 nm from harbor · slope 700–1,500 ft, then 3,000 ft+

West and north of the bank the bottom falls from 600 ft to 3,000 ft in under two miles, so the band is a narrow strip. Work it along the contour, not across it. This is where the charter says it fishes.

The bank itself is the Cordell Bank GEA: closed to all groundfish fishing, drawn on the map from the legal coordinates. Everything here is the captain's call; the boxes are for understanding the ground, not for arguing with him.

Survey intel · Bodega box NOAA trawl survey 2003–25

481 clean hauls in this box, sablefish in 296. Presence, median catch rate, and median fish size by depth:

300–600 ft 56% of hauls · 0.2 kg/ha · 1.0 lb fish
600–900 ft 86% · 5.2 kg/ha · 2.4 lb
900–1,200 ft 100% · 13.5 kg/ha · 2.4 lb
1,200–1,500 ft 100% · 13.3 kg/ha · 3.6 lb
1,500–2,000 ft 100% · 14.3 kg/ha · 2.9 lb
2,000–2,500 ft 100% · 9.9 kg/ha · 2.9 lb

The Bodega slope is a plateau from 900 to 2,000 ft, and the charter's 800–1,200 ft sits on its front edge, which is why their gear works there without a 2,000-ft reel. 2022 was a pulse year: deep hauls ran a median of 100 kg/ha, nearly all 2-lb fish, which matches the big recent year classes. Those fish are in the 4–6 lb range now, which is exactly what the operator tells you to expect.

Best hauls on the zones: 2022 at 38°10.2′N 123°24.0′W, 833 ft, 106 kg/ha of ~4 lb fish, inside B1's southern edge; 2022 at 38°14.2′N 123°31.3′W, 1,545 ft, 122 kg/ha of ~3 lb fish, on B1's west wall; 2022 at 38°21.7′N 123°35.7′W, 1,388 ft, 122 kg/ha, on the shelf break north of B1. A 2023 haul at 400 ft, 14 nm out, pulled 234 kg/ha of 2-lb fish: young fish on the shelf, not eaters yet, but proof of the numbers coming.

Same caveats as Monterey. On the map, the survey dots show where the tows happened; tap near one for its numbers.

Go

46013 under 10 kt and swell ≤6 ft at long period; the run is 20–28 nm of open coast.

Hold

The operator will call it. If they're running and 46013 shows 15 kt building, expect a rough ride home and a shorter day.

Abort

Small-craft advisory for Point Arena to Point Reyes. Bodega is a wind machine: September 2026 was a total washout for the fleet. October, when the NW gradient relaxes, is the month to book.

SEC WX

Weather · live

Pulled from the National Weather Service each time this page opens: active marine advisories for both theaters, the current Coastal Waters Forecast, the Bay Area radar loop and the GOES-West satellite. Each forecast period is rated against the dossier's go/hold/abort thresholds: go at ≤10 kt and ≤5 ft, hold at ≤15 kt and ≤8 ft, abort above that.

Fetching NWS…

Monterey

PZZ535 Monterey Bay is the zone for Z1–Z4 · PZZ560 / PZZ575 are the outside waters past Pt Pinos and Pigeon Pt

Bodega Bay

PZZ540 Pt Arena–Pt Reyes inshore · PZZ570 the 10–60 nm waters where Cordell sits
NWS KMUX radar loop
NWS radar KMUX (Mt Umunhum), covers both theaters. Rain is rarely the problem here; wind is. If the loop won't load in this viewer, open it at radar.weather.gov.
GOES-West Pacific Southwest GeoColor
GOES-West, Pacific Southwest sector, GeoColor. The marine layer and fog are what to look for over the bay at dawn. Full-size loop.

Buoys

46042 Monterey, 27 nm offshore — the leading indicator
46092 MBARI M1, mid-bay — what you'll feel on the canyon head
46240 Cabrillo Point, nearshore Monterey
46013 Bodega Bay — the Cordell run lives and dies by this one
46214 Point Reyes waverider

The buoy site doesn't allow pages like this one to read its data directly, so these open in a tab. The rule stands: two flat days on 46013 before the Bodega call.

Tides, wind maps, the full text

Tides 9413450 Monterey Harbor
Tides 9415020 Point Reyes, for Bodega
Windy wind and swell maps
Full Coastal Waters Forecast all zones, text
Active advisories Bay Area office
SEC 10

Procurement

Reel and battery online, everything you want to hold in your hand at Hi's Tackle Box in South San Francisco. Order the reel first; stock moves.

Item
Price
Where
Daiwa Seaborg G1200Mcurrent-gen Gold reel · 1,100 yd of 80 lb · 80 lb drag · two-speed · Magsealed
$2,099.99
Tomo's (choose 1200M) · Melton · Charkbait
Daiwa Seapower 1200value Gold · same motor family · 1,100 yd of 80 lb · 108 lb hoist · single-speed
~$1,100
Melton
Daiwa Tanacom 1200 / 800Silver reel · jog lever · 1,000 yd (1200) or 660 yd (800) of 80 lb
$900–1,000
Big Dog Tackle · Tackle World · J&H
JDM Seaborg G1200MJapan import · confirm English LCD · no US warranty
$1,319.99
Bass Tokyo
Daiwa Tanacom Dendoh Deep Drop rodTNB66MHF-DD 6′6″ MH 40–100 lb for the rail; TNB56MHF-DD 5′6″ for a holder; skip the H models
$210–260
Tomo's $259.99, free shipping · Alltackle $239.99 · forzasports on eBay $210–230
J-Braid x8 Grand Multi-Color, 80 lb, 1,100 yd + spoolingcolor change every 10 m for depth and counter calibration; x8 Grand over x12 for abrasion on the walls; no hollow core, no top shot
~$200
Tomo's spools for the cost of the line; ask them to fill to 1/8″ below the rim with straight braid and note the yardage. Fallbacks: two 550-yd spools of J-Braid x8 Multi-Color, or Saltiga Boat Dendoh braid in 1,800 m spools for two reels.
Battery12V 20Ah LiFePO4 + waterproof box, or Daiwa Super Lithium 14.8V for more speed
$100–450
Amazon (LiTime or similar), Bioenno, Daiwa. Name brands only; no-name 14.8V packs aren't worth the fire risk.
Terminal, crimping, rigs, bait150–200 lb mono · 9/0–10/0 circles · glow skirts · 3–5 lb sinkers · swivels · lights · crimper
~$250
Hi's Tackle Box, South San Francisco. Have them crimp four rigs and ask who's been deep-dropping the canyon.
Crew reelsnew Tanacom 1200/1000, or used Tanacom Bull 750 from Japan
$330–800
Tanacom 1000 new $739.99 (eBay, no returns) · Fisherman's Warehouse $799.99, in stock · used Bull 750 search, newest first. Before buying used: cable included, tested working, free returns, odometer if they'll share it. On arrival: run it, freespool, drag, clutch, counter, connector pins.
SEC 11

Intel · watch and read

How to start deep-sea fishing for black codA black cod trip that compares electric and manual reels side by side. Watch this first; it's the argument for the Silver kit in twelve minutes.youtube.com/watch?v=sZqHA2k3Dng Black cod fishing with Capt. Stu WeathersAboard the F/V El Tiburon: how a commercial black cod harvest works. Useful for seeing where the fish live and how they're handled the moment they hit the deck.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBkIa2M5dD4 Black cod from 2,000 ft, JuneauSixty seconds of what the fish looks like coming over the rail from nearly 2,000 ft. The Alaska version of the same game.youtube.com/shorts/-mB5bdVLxyk How to catch sablefish (Island Fisherman)The BC playbook: find canyon edges and fish the flats and gradual slopes at the top in 500–600 ft before the drop, and don't bring fish up at full throttle; sablefish have softer mouths. Their rig is a 5/0 treble with a 7/0 J-hook trailer on 100 lb mono, an alternative to circles.islandfishermanmagazine.com NorCal deep-drop thread (BD Outdoors)Locals working it out: around 800 ft is the sweet spot for larger fish, 2–6 lb weights, big circle hooks dressed with hootchies and squid, and a water-activated light on every rig. One angler drifting the 100-fathom line out of Fort Bragg found the school.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/black-cod.813556 Proof of life: Moss Landing black cod reportAllen Bushnell's Monterey Bay column from October 2024: anglers dropping deep into the canyons out of Moss Landing bringing in black cod from past 500 ft, with flatfish on the canyon edges. Private boats, not charters. Bushnell writes the local fish column and is the one human source who'd know which captains have done it.norcalfishreports.com Plan B fish: Sea Harvest dock marketThe Deyerle family's wholesale-to-the-public market on the docks at 7532 Sandholdt Road, open 8–3 weekdays, sells black cod straight off their boats and keeps a tub of live ones. A commercial black cod skipper on the same dock is the best local intel in the harbor, and if the day goes badly, the kid still gets her fish.ediblemontereybay.com California black cod deep-drop guideRegs, depths and the standard rig in one page. Their framing: black cod start around 400 ft but the core population is at 600–1,500 ft; fish at 300 ft and you catch rockfish.fishcity.app/species/black-cod
SEC 12

Decision log

BOATNot buying. A 22–25 ft pilothouse or aluminum hardtop ($60–150k, $6–15k a year) doesn't pencil against $1,000 charter days. Revisit only if this becomes a 12-day-a-year habit. If it does: the R1T tows it, and it lives in a yard near the harbor.
SEQUENCEBodega Bay first, on the charter's electric reels, with the crew. Monterey second, with your own reel, once you know you like it.
REELGold is justified if you'll fish a few times a season and want the deeper water eventually. Seaborg G1200M if you want two-speed and sealed bearings; Seapower 1200 if you want the motor without the price. Not the G1800M-RJ.
CREW GEARTwo electric rigs for six people. Friends pay for the boat split, not for reels.
WEATHERFall windows, first light to noon, decision made the evening before from the buoys, not at 4 a.m.
OUTREACHLast Meal contacted 14 Sep about a deep-drop day and their sounder. Pending. If the answer names a Furuno or an Airmar transducer, book on the spot.
BODEGACalled North Bay 21 Sep: every September trip cancelled for weather. Point Arena–Point Reyes has run small craft advisories all month, NW 15–25 kt and 7–10 ft seas. Rebook for October and get on their cancellation list; go when buoy 46013 shows two flat days. Meanwhile the southern waters are light, so Monterey is the September theater.
RODSThree electric rigs plus one spare rod covers six people. Rail-holder count and spacing is the question that decides two lines or three.
FAMILYThe harbor at Moss Landing when the boat comes in, the fish on the dock, and cooking it that night. A first boat trip at five or six on a big party boat with a bathroom; deep-drop much later.