Santa Barbara, CA fishing times, tides & weather

Spot type

Pier. This page covers Stearns Wharf. CDFW lists it (as "Stearn's Wharf") among Santa Barbara County's public fishing piers ([1]). The City of Santa Barbara's Waterfront Department manages about 252 acres of tidelands and submerged lands, an area that includes the Harbor and Stearns Wharf ([2]).

Public access

• The city calls Stearns Wharf California's oldest working wharf, dating back to 1872 ([3]).
• A city fee document sets hours of operation for all Waterfront Area parking lots, including Stearns Wharf, at 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, including weekends and holidays. These are parking hours; the city does not publish separate hours for fishing on the wharf ([4]).
• Parking on the wharf starts with 90 free minutes, then an hourly fee ([4], [5]). Rates change; check the city's current fee summary.
• A city parking-lot map says no vehicle over 20 feet in length is permitted on Stearns Wharf, and points to Palm Park or Garden Street lots instead ([6]).
• The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center is at 211 Stearns Wharf ([7]).
• A pier-fishing guide (secondary, last modified September 2018) says the narrow inshore section of the wharf is closed to fishing and most fishing happens at the end ([8]). Follow the posted signs on the wharf.
• Status: CDFW notes that landowners may close piers at any time for safety, maintenance or other reasons ([1]). Check the City of Santa Barbara Waterfront Department for current status ([2]). As of 2026-10-16, CDFW lists Stearns Wharf without a closure note ([1]).

Commonly caught species

From a pier-fishing guide (secondary, last modified September 2018) ([8]): California halibut, Pacific and jack mackerel, jacksmelt, white croaker (locally "ronkie"), sand bass, kelp bass, California scorpionfish, various perch, bat rays and shovelnose guitarfish.

Local rules and authority

• License: CDFW says a fishing license is not required when recreationally fishing from a "public pier" in ocean or bay waters, as defined in Section 1.88 of Title 14, CCR: connected to the shoreline, with free, unrestricted public access, and built or functioning mainly for fishing ([1]). All other regulations, including minimum size, bag limits, report cards and seasons, still apply, and there is a per-person gear limit on public piers; see CDFW's page for the details ([1]).
• Regulations: check the current CDFW ocean sport fishing regulations ([9]).
• MPAs nearby: Campus Point SMCA (No-Take) lies along the Goleta coastline about ten miles west of Santa Barbara, per CDFW ([10]). Goleta Slough SMCA (No-Take) protects a wetland system in Santa Barbara County ([11]). Check the CDFW MPA pages for boundaries and rules.
• Eating your catch: OEHHA publishes a statewide advisory for eating fish from California coastal locations without site-specific advice (October 2016) ([12]). Check OEHHA's fish advisories for current advice before eating your catch.

Tide station

• Santa Barbara, CA — NOAA 9411340 ([13], [14]).
• Type: harmonic reference station (prediction type "R", no reference station) ([15]). It is also an active NOAA water-level station (National Water Level Observation Network) that was reporting live water levels on 2026-10-16 ([13], [16]).
• NOAA coordinates: 34.4046, -119.6925, on the Santa Barbara waterfront — the same water as Stearns Wharf ([13]).

Other spots nearby

These are on CDFW's public pier list. Check the operator for current status before you go ([1]).

• Santa Barbara Breakwater (Santa Barbara County)
• Goleta Pier, west of Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara County)
• Ventura Pier, to the southeast (Ventura County)
• Santa Monica Pier (Los Angeles County)

Note updates

• 2026-10-16: Checked against the sources listed below and approved, replacing the earlier draft shown on this page. Statements we couldn't confirm from those sources were taken out, and status lines now carry the date we checked them. Changes from the draft:
  • Stearns Wharf and Waterfront details now use the City of Santa Barbara's wording.
  • Marine protected area descriptions now use CDFW's wording.
  • Removed past-closure news items and an out-of-date Goleta Pier report.
  • Removed an estimated distance to the tide station.

Sources

1. CDFW — Free Fishing Piers, Jetties, and Breakwaters — https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Beach-Fishing — accessed 2026-10-16
2. City of Santa Barbara — Waterfront — https://santabarbaraca.gov/things-do/waterfront — accessed 2026-10-16
3. City of Santa Barbara — About Stearns Wharf — https://santabarbaraca.gov/things-do/waterfront/about-stearns-wharf — accessed 2026-10-16
4. City of Santa Barbara — Waterfront Parking Fees and Hours of Operation (PDF, 2025-07) — https://santabarbaraca.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/Waterfront%20Parking%20Fees%20and%20Hours%20of%20Operation.pdf — accessed 2026-10-16
5. City of Santa Barbara — FY27 Waterfront Rate and Fee Summary (PDF) — https://santabarbaraca.gov/sites/default/files/2026-08/FY27%20Waterfront%20Rate%20and%20Fee%20Summary.pdf — accessed 2026-10-16
6. City of Santa Barbara — Stearns Wharf Parking Lot (PDF) — https://santabarbaraca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Waterfront/Parking%20Lots/Stearns%20Wharf%20Parking%20Lot.pdf — accessed 2026-10-16
7. City of Santa Barbara — Waterfront Visitor Activities — https://santabarbaraca.gov/things-do/waterfront/visitor-activities — accessed 2026-10-16
8. Pier Fishing in California — Stearns Wharf (last modified 2018-09-12) — https://www.pierfishing.com/stearns-wharf/ — accessed 2026-10-16 (secondary)
9. CDFW — Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations — https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations — accessed 2026-10-16
10. CDFW — Campus Point SMCA (No-Take) — https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/MPAs/Campus-Point — accessed 2026-10-16
11. CDFW — Goleta Slough SMCA (No-Take) — https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/MPAs/Goleta-Slough — accessed 2026-10-16
12. OEHHA — Statewide Advisory for Eating Fish from California Coastal Locations Without Site-Specific Advice (PDF, October 2016) — https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/advisories/californiacoastaladvisory110916.pdf — accessed 2026-10-16
13. NOAA CO-OPS metadata API — station 9411340 — https://api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/mdapi/prod/webapi/stations/9411340.json — accessed 2026-10-16
14. NOAA Tides & Currents — Santa Barbara 9411340 station home — https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/stationhome.html?id=9411340 — accessed 2026-10-16
15. NOAA CO-OPS metadata API — 9411340 tide prediction offsets — https://api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/mdapi/prod/webapi/stations/9411340/tidepredoffsets.json — accessed 2026-10-16
16. NOAA CO-OPS data API — 9411340 latest water level — https://api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/api/prod/datagetter?product=water_level&station=9411340&date=latest&datum=MLLW&units=english&time_zone=lst_ldt&format=json&application=fishdatapoint — accessed 2026-10-16