San Francisco Bay Fishing Report: Stripers, Halibut & More Amid Ideal October Conditions

This is Artificial Lure coming to you with your Tuesday, October 28th fishing report for San Francisco Bay.

First light cracked the eastern sky at 7:29 AM, with sunset set for 6:12 PM. Expect 10 hours and 44 minutes of daylight today, giving you a solid window to get in on some steady October action. Marine weather brings classic Bay conditions: cool morning fog lingering after sunrise, with northwest winds ramping up by early afternoon. Water temps are running in the mid-50s, perfect for energetic predators pushing bait along the usual shorelines.

Today's tides are moderate, with the tidal coefficient starting at 41 and trending lower through the day, meaning currents will be mild and workable for most shore and pier anglers. Early and late hours around each ebb and flood will be your golden ticket; slack periods will be slow. Watch for birds working—anchovy schools are still thick inshore and that's bringing game fish to the party.

As for fish activity: the striped bass bite has been hot all week from Crissy Field down to the Embarcadero piers. This morning’s party boat counts from Lady K and Lovely Martha show limits on stripers, with 34 landed by 17 anglers on the morning trip alone, and 6 to a boat on the half-day runs—strong numbers for late October. Halibut are still trickling in, with the Argo reporting 4 nice California halibut and one bonus striper on the docks yesterday afternoon. Halibut are running sporadic but decent size for those slow-trolling herring or dragging live anchovy.

On the night shift, leopard sharks and bat rays are responding well to squid and oily cut baits fished near channel edges and pilings—San Francisco and South Beach Harbor piers are putting up some good fights after dark. And don’t sleep on surfperch: Ocean Beach and Baker Beach have been producing steady barred surfperch in recent days, especially on gulp-style grubs and sandworms in the troughs between sets when the surf calms.

Dungeness crab hopefuls will have to wait—the commercial season’s delayed until New Year’s due to whale entanglement risk and too much domoic acid in local shellfish. Recreational crab remains closed north of the Sonoma/Mendocino line, so check the regs before tossing traps.

If you’re looking to match the hatch, 3–5 inch paddle-tail swimbaits in natural anchovy or shad colors are landing stripers early and late. Bucktail jigs tipped with a tiny strip of squid or anchovy are also dynamite. Bait-wise, live anchovy is your best bet for stripers and halibut, while surfperch are keyed in on sandworms or gulp grubs. For the big sharks and rays, nothing beats a chunk of freshly cut squid.

A couple of local hot spots—hit the Center Street Wharf early before the crowds, or give Pier 15 a try in the mid-morning. Mission Bay, China Basin, and South Beach Harbor are prime for multispecies action, especially when the tide’s on the move. If you’re out for surfperch, target those troughs at Ocean Beach right at dawn or just before sunset. Don’t overlook the Embarcadero piers for stripers; they’ve been stacked as long as the bait is around.

Remember, in the Bay, dialing in your lure weight to just barely tick the bottom makes all the difference when those strong tides are running—too heavy and you’ll drag, too light and you’ll wash out. Keep an eye on bird activity and surface dimples to locate bait schools and increase your chances with the larger predators.

That wraps up today’s fishing report for San Francisco Bay! Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe for more angling updates, tips, and local insight. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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