San Francisco Bay Fishing Report for October 1, 2025: Tides, Tactics, and Hot Spots

Hey folks, Artificial Lure here with your San Francisco Bay fishing report for Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

Big tides are lining up for strong activity today: first low at 1:31 a.m. at just over half a foot, surging to a 4.46-foot high at 9:21 a.m., another moderate low at 1:55 p.m., and an evening high at 7:20 p.m. peaking out at 5.19 feet. Sunrise hit at 7:05, with sunset to come early at 6:52. Plan your outings around those high-tide swings—fish are on the move and feeding with this much water moving around the Bay, especially mid-morning and just ahead of dusk, according to Tide-Forecast.com.

We’re getting classic early fall weather around the city. It started cool and foggy before burning off, mid-60s at dawn, and by late morning temps should bump up into the low 70s with a light, steady westerly breeze. Shaping up for clear skies and comfortable casting—layers are your friend as always in the Bay.

Fishing action’s been red hot all along the central and north Bay. Yesterday’s party boat logs from Nor Cal Fish Reports and Sportfishing Report show boats returning stuffed—take the Lovely Martha out of San Francisco: 44 lingcod and 220 rockfish for just 22 anglers, and that’s the norm this week. Up in Emeryville, the New Huck Finn and Sea Wolf both posted double limits of lingcod and rockfish averaging nearly two a rod. Berkeley’s California Dawn II brought in 62 lings (up to 17 pounds), 310 rockfish and a mess of sanddab.

It’s prime time for rockfish—brown, canary, vermillion, and blacks, with lingcod always lurking below. The Bay remains slower on halibut, but some keepers are still turning up on steep drops and outside the Gate. Striped bass are making short pushes up the piers near Mission Rock, so pack a rod for a shot at surface schoolers around dusk, especially if the bait balls are in.

The go-to lures for today: big swimbaits in Pacific herring or sardine patterns to tempt those aggressive lingcod, and 3- to 6-ounce metal jigs for deeper drops in the shipping lanes or under the bridge towers. Shrimp flies and rock cod rigs tipped with squid or cut anchovy are filling sacks fast. If you’re working for bass in the shallows—try white swim jigs or smaller shad-imitating crankbaits, like a 1.5-size squarebill, pounded fast right along riprap and rocky pockets, as Yardbarker’s fall bass guide nods.

Want some more action? High-probability hot spots today:
- Seal Rocks and the Marin Coast for limits of mixed rockfish and lings;
- Alcatraz Island’s east side, especially on the outgoing tide pushing bait along the reefs;
- Mission Rock pier and the Berkeley Flats for a chance at fall-run stripers and halibut as they ambush bait washed by tide changes.

Final tip: keep moving if bites slow, the pattern is “find the bait, find the fish.” Cover ground, fish fast, and you’ll go home with fillets for the fryer.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI