"San Francisco Bay Fishing Report: Limits of Rockfish and Lingcod Off the Farallon Islands"

Artificial Lure here with your San Francisco Bay fishing report for Friday, October 24th, 2025. Conditions kicked off cool and crisp, with the marine layer burning off as the morning rolled in. Sunrise hit at 7:26 a.m. and we’ll see sunset at 6:19 p.m., giving anglers nearly 11 hours of prime light on the water. Tidal action is decent today, with a tidal coefficient starting out at a moderate 69, slowly tapering to 60 by evening. That means we’ve got notable tidal swings—expect stronger currents during the early morning and afternoon phases, which should get fish moving in all the right places, especially near prominent structure.

Fishing has been lively across the fleet. According to Nor Cal Fish Reports and party boat dock totals, boats running out of Emeryville, Sausalito, and Half Moon Bay are stacking up excellent catches. Yesterday the Sea Wolf out of Emeryville put 18 anglers on 180 rockfish and 29 keeper lingcod—some pushing 15 pounds. The New Rayann out of Sausalito rounded up 26 hefty lingcod and 130 assorted rockfish for 13 anglers, while Half Moon Bay’s Queen of Hearts put each of its seven anglers on a personal limit of 10 rockfish. Those big counts are rolling in up and down the local coast, with the bulk of the catches coming from the deeper reefs and underwater structure just off the Marin Headlands and the famed Farallon Islands.

In the Bay, the draggers and kayakers are finding nice striped bass runs working rips near Alcatraz and Treasure Island. Reports from a few local regulars suggest schoolie stripers in the 18-24 inch range are taking swimbaits and white hair jigs in the early hours, with higher tides producing more active bites. Live bait, especially anchovies and shiner perch fished on a sliding sinker rig, is a solid bet under the piers or near prominent pilings.

For lures, go bright and bulky during murky conditions—four to six-inch soft plastics in chartreuse or pearl for stripers, and big curly tail grubs or metal jigs in orange, root beer, or blue for the rockfish and lings offshore. Lingcod in particular have been smashing large paddle-tail swimbaits rigged on heavy jigs in 80-120 feet near the island drop-offs. If you’re after halibut in the Bay, drift live anchovies on a halibut rig or try slow-rolling a sardine-patterned swimbait on sandy flats from Oyster Point or the Berkeley Flats.

Your best hot spots today:

- The deep rockpiles around the Farallon Islands for rockfish and lingcod. Boats here are hitting easy limits on both species, with the bycatch including the occasional cabezon.
- Closer to home, the Marin Coast reefs off Tennessee Cove and the Marin Headlands are producing limits for those fishing inshore on smaller private boats or kayaks.
- Inside the Bay, Crissy Field Pier is a top choice for stripers right now, and the oyster beds around Treasure Island continue to give up quality fish with the moving tide.

Weather looks fair—light morning winds, building to a northwest breeze at 10-15 knots this afternoon, with patchy fog offshore but mainly sunny skies over the Bay by midday.

Quick reminders: Watch those tidal swings mid-morning and late afternoon for peak activity, and go heavier on lead for bottom bouncers if you’re fishing deep. As always, check local regs and be mindful of the slot limits for both lingcod and halibut.

Thanks for tuning in to your local San Francisco Bay fishing report with Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe and stay hooked for tomorrow’s update! This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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