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Fish City

Tackle Shops in Santa Cruz

2 shops — hours, live bait, and directions.

Updated

Bait and tackle near you in Santa Cruz

2 open shops, 1 with live bait, live bait first.

Santa Cruz sits on the north shore of Monterey Bay, and its two tackle shops both work out of the water's edge. Bayside Marine, in the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor at 333-B Lake Avenue, is the area's full-service shop — a deep rod, reel, and lure inventory staffed by people who fish the bay, with reel and rod repair and a commercial-fishing supply side. It opens at 6 AM daily, and on mornings when the boats are running it puts live anchovies out on the harbor's S dock. A mile west on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz Boat Rental keeps a stocked tackle shop — hooks, line, sinkers, and lures, plus fresh and frozen bait — alongside the 16-foot skiffs it rents for fishing the inner bay. Between them they cover both ends of a Santa Cruz trip: gear and live bait for the harbor fleet, and a walk-on tackle counter and rental boat off the wharf.

Northern Monterey Bay is a year-round bottomfishery with a seasonal pelagic overlay. Rockfish and lingcod hold over the reefs from grounds like the Soquel Hole out toward Davenport, open under California's groundfish rules. California halibut work the sandy flats through the warmer months, sand dabs are a reliable bay fishery, and Dungeness crab is the winter draw once the season opens. Chinook salmon is trolled in spring and summer when the ocean season is open — California's salmon seasons are set each year and have been heavily restricted recently, so confirm the dates before you plan around it. In warm-water years, albacore and the occasional bluefin tuna show on the longer offshore runs. Santa Cruz's party and charter boats run from the harbor and the Municipal Wharf.

Select a shop or scroll the map to find the one closest to where you'll fish.

Shops in Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz on the map

Species to target here

Nearby charters

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Frequently asked questions

  • Which Santa Cruz tackle shop carries live bait?

    Bayside Marine, in the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor, puts live anchovies out on the harbor's S dock on mornings when the boats are running, per its own site. Santa Cruz Boat Rental on the Municipal Wharf carries fresh and frozen bait (sardines, anchovies, squid, shrimp) rather than live. Live-bait supply is tied to the boats, so call ahead the morning of your trip.

  • Where can you buy tackle on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf?

    Santa Cruz Boat Rental, at 15 Municipal Wharf, keeps a stocked tackle shop — hooks, line, sinkers, and lures plus fresh and frozen bait — and rents 16-foot skiffs for fishing the inner bay. Bayside Marine is the other option, a mile east in the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor on Lake Avenue.

  • What fish are in season around Santa Cruz?

    Northern Monterey Bay is a year-round bottomfishery: rockfish and lingcod over the reefs under California's groundfish rules, with California halibut on the sand flats and sand dabs through the warmer months. Dungeness crab is the winter draw once the season opens, Chinook salmon is trolled in spring and summer when the ocean season is open, and albacore shows offshore in warm-water years.

  • Is the salmon season open near Santa Cruz?

    Check before you plan a trip. California's ocean salmon seasons are set each year by state and federal fishery managers and have been heavily restricted or closed in recent years, reopening only in limited windows. Salmon is a spring-and-summer troll fishery off Santa Cruz when it's open — confirm current dates with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

  • Where do Santa Cruz sportfishing boats run from?

    Santa Cruz's party and charter boats run from the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor and the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. The two tackle shops on this page sell gear and bait; the harbor and wharf operators book the boats out onto northern Monterey Bay.