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NauticalNickVisibility Report

More Mesa Beach

Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara County · California

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Entry type
Shore
Parking
Limited
Spearfishing
Legal
Stingray risk
Medium
Water quality
A · tested Sep 4
Difficulty
Beginner
Popular activities
Swim

Today's forecast

As of Sep 11, 11:15 PM PT · latest available
Predicted visibility
6–12
ft
Fair
Medium confidence
0510152030+ ft
Time of day
Today's forecast updates
6 AM
Pending
10 AM
Pending
1 PM
Pending

Dawn is the clearest window — onshore wind picks up by late morning and surface chop stirs the bottom through the afternoon.

What influences the visibility?
Contributing factors
Moderate phytoplankton
0.66 mg/m³
Moderate impact · Neutral for vis
Regional calibration correction
+6ft
Moderate impact · Good for vis
Moderate swell
2.8 ft
Minor swell · Neutral for vis
Short-period chop
5.0 s
Minor chop · Bad for vis
Light wind
6 kt
Minor wind · Neutral for vis
Scripps cam floor
4 ft piling visible on the live pier cam
Minor impact · Good for vis
Ocean Oracle

7-Day Forecast

Forecasts beyond today are Pro-only
Today · Sat
Sep 12
6–12 ft
Fair
Dawn is the clearest window — onshore wind picks up by late morning and surface chop stirs the bottom through the afternoon.
Sun
Sep 13
14
Good
Ocean Oracle Pro
Mon
Sep 14
9
Fair
Ocean Oracle Pro
Tue
Sep 15
16
Excellent
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Wed
Sep 16
19
Excellent
Ocean Oracle Pro
Thu
Sep 17
11
Good
Ocean Oracle Pro
Fri
Sep 18
13
Good
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Map · getting there

34.418° N · 119.799° W
Map of More Mesa Beach
Static map
Address
Santa Barbara County, CA
34.4176° N, 119.7985° W
Parking
No dedicated lot. Park on Vieja Drive or Puente Drive in the residential neighborhood, then walk down Mockingbird Lane. About 3/4 of a mile from Vieja to the sand, including a steep stepped descent down the bluff. A small free lot at South Patterson Avenue is the alternative.
Field notes

About More Mesa Beach

More Mesa Beach sits below More Mesa Open Space, an undeveloped 300-acre coastal bluff between the private Hope Ranch community and Goleta. The beach is one of the largest undeveloped stretches of white sand on the Santa Barbara south coast, and the lack of road access keeps it that way. There are no restrooms or facilities of any kind. The western section has long functioned as an unofficial nude beach, on the practical grounds that the remoteness makes nudity laws unenforceable.

The closest legal parking is on Vieja Drive or Puente Drive, with Mockingbird Lane running about three-quarters of a mile down to the sand, including a steep stepped path down the bluff. A small free lot off South Patterson Avenue is the alternative. The descent is not wheelchair accessible.

The long, open, sandy shoreline with breaking surf and no rock or kelp structure makes this a surf zone biome. Fishing and spearfishing are legal under standard California regulations.

Surf Zone biome illustration
Biome illustration
Biome

Surf Zone

The surf zone biome consists of sandy beaches and breaking waves. The action of surf disturbing the sand and kicking it up exposes marine invertebrates, buried in their shallow dens. This natural exposure of invertebrates attracts all kinds of fish, looking for an easy meal. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.

Learn more in the Biome Glossary
For spearos · for fishing

Target Fish Species

Ocean Oracle Pro
California Halibut
Active May–Oct · sand bottom
Barred Surfperch
Year-round · surf line
Yellowfin Croaker
Summer · shallow troughs
Spotfin Croaker
Aug–Oct · post-storm
Corbina
Late spring–summer
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Spot strategies

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How other Nautilids actually hunt More Mesa Beach: the biome they worked, the gear, the tide and time of day, and what they were after. Post your own and earn XP.
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