Bay Area Fishing Report: Rockfish Limits, Halibut, and Stripers Feeding in Strong Currents

Artificial Lure here with your Wednesday morning fishing report for San Francisco Bay. We’re starting off around sunrise, which hit at 7:11 am today, with sunset coming in at 6:41 pm. Tides are pushing—a low tide at 4:05 am (0.16 ft), high just before noon at 10:55 am (5.77 ft), another low at 4:30 pm (1.67 ft), and the second high at 10:34 pm (6.07 ft). Big tidal swings mean strong currents, perfect for stirring up bait and turning on fish activity.

Weather’s classic Bay fall—morning fog with a cool bite in the air, light wind building from the northwest through the afternoon. Water temps are sitting in the mid-50s. With a waxing gibbous moon and clear early skies, visibility is up. If you’re itching to get out, hit the first hour of the flood or ebb for prime bite windows, especially as the wind picks up after noon.

Recent catches around the Bay have been solid, especially for rockfish and lingcod. Fish Emeryville’s boats reported back-to-back full limits—Sea Wolf landed 44 lingcod and 220 rockfish for 22 folks, while New Huck Finn tallied 24 lingcod and 120 rockfish from the islands just yesterday. Oakland Anglers II got into halibut, scoring 4 keepers, plus 20 striped bass on a half-day run. The local Argo out of downtown San Francisco hooked up a California halibut and 4 striped bass for two anglers—so the bite’s there if you work for it.

On the bait front, anchovies and sardines are still running thick, so either jig them up for fresh bait or pick up some at the Marina Store—open daily from 6 am. For live bait, anchovy and small herring get results. If you’re fishing the surf, Ocean Beach and Baker Beach have been delivering barred surfperch on gulp sandworms and grubs.

Drag a bucktail jig or a 3–5 inch paddle-tail swimbait through the current seams for stripers, especially at dawn and dusk. Folks trolling slow herring-patterned plugs landed late-season halibut in the central and south Bay when wind and boat traffic eased. Rockfish and lingcod are stacking up heavy around structure—try Berkeley Flats or the north side of Angel Island with lead-head jigs sweetened with squid.

For night owls, leopard sharks and bat rays have been coming to squid and oilier baits near the channel edges and pier pilings. Big tides and lunar phases have those feeders on the move, so set some rods at the old Ferry Building piers or South Harbor—both are producing.

Best hotspots today are Crissy Field for sunrise striper action, Berkeley Marina if you want rockfish and lingcod limits, and the Embarcadero piers for mixed-bag possibilities, especially if you’re shore-bound. Angel Island’s north shore is another reliable spot for boaters—great rockfish and some surprise lingcod still biting deep. Keep your lures just heavy enough to tap the bottom, per Fishingreminder’s tip—it’ll boost your chances in these powerful October currents.

That wraps today’s Bay bite—keep an eye on wind shifts and tidal swings for best results. Thanks for tuning in, don’t forget to subscribe so you’re first to hear about the hottest bites and local tips!

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