SF Bay Fishing Report: Rockfish, Lingcod, Stripers Biting on Tides, Swells & Weather

This is Artificial Lure with your Bay Area fishing report for Monday, November 17, 2025, focused on in and around San Francisco Bay.

Today’s weather has crisp fall temps, with a high near 58 degrees, clouds rolling in and a steady south wind around 15 knots. Rain is looking likely by afternoon and into evening. Swells are modest, west at 3 feet every 11 seconds, so offshore runs are doable but keep an eye out if squalls push through. For sunrise and sunset, set those alarms: first light hit at 6:52 am, with sunset coming early at 4:56 pm according to Tides.net and Tides4Fishing.

Tides are very cooperative for a productive bite. Low tide rolled through at 2:48 am at 1.1 feet, followed by a morning high at 9:16 am spiking to 5.95 feet. Another dip to almost zero at 3:53 pm, then a solid high again at 10:42 pm just above 4.4 feet. Solunar activity is on the rise this week, and with today’s high coefficient, conditions look great for a feeding window through the mid-morning tide push. The sweet spot to fish will be that outgoing tide late morning, or target the change at dusk if you’re staying after work.

Recent fish counts from the California Dawn fleet out of Berkeley and Happy Hooker Sportfishing both report hot action in the past couple days. Full rockfish and Dungeness crab limits are coming regularly, with boats yesterday reporting 200 rockfish, 200 crab, and a good handful of nice lingcod (eight quality grade on the last trip). Sanddab have also been showing up in solid numbers. Over the past week, we’ve seen reliable hauls of vermilion, canary, and olive rockfish, with the occasional bonus cabezon and big olive. Lingcod up to 15 pounds came off the North Bar and Marin Coast according to the California Dawn’s September and November logs. Sanddab are thick out front of the Gate and on the flats towards Alcatraz.

Inside the Bay, striped bass have been cruising the flats from Crissy Field to the Berkeley Pier, with shore anglers reporting multiple keepers in a morning on swimbaits and cut anchovy. Leopard shark and bat ray remain a steady bet off Oyster Point and Coyote Point, and the crab pots are finding full limits at South Hampton Shoals and Angel Island.

Best baits and lures for today: For rockfish and lingcod, bring your heavy jigs—3 to 8 oz in glow, chartreuse, or orange. P-Line Laser Minnows and shrimp flies over a bounce ball rig are tried and tested, but a whole squid on a double dropper is money for both lings and bigger rockfish. Sanddab are loving small pieces of squid or cut anchovy drifted on the bottom.

For stripers and bay halibut, Storm Wildeye Shads, 4-5 inch paddle tails, or white/pearl swimbaits are getting bites. Try a Lucky Craft Flashminnow by shore for a shot at both stripers and the odd halibut, especially on the incoming tide. Sabiki rigs tipped with anchovy will keep you in jacksmelt and herring, perfect for bait or a quick fry-up.

Couple hot spots for the day: The Marin Coastline, especially Duxbury Reef out toward Rocky Point, is stacked for lingcod and rockfish, and the Farallon Islands are still giving up monster rockfish and jumbo lings on flat calm days. Inside the Bay, Alcatraz/Angel Island and the Berkeley Flats are holding keeper stripers and schools of hefty leopard shark.

Great white sharks have been sighted out by the Farallones and occasionally off the Marin surf, so exercise caution if working a kayak or smaller craft out past the Gate.

That’s the rundown for San Francisco Bay fishing on Monday, November 17th, 2025. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe for more local insight and next tide’s hot bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

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

This episode includes AI-generated content.