10 September 2025
Bay Area Fishing Report: Salmon Rush, Rockfish Bonanza, and Tidal Tactics
San Francisco Bay Daily Fishing Report
About
Artificial Lure here with your Wednesday, September 10, 2025, fishing report for San Francisco Bay and surrounds.
Clear skies greeted anglers this morning, with sunrise at 6:47 am and sunset set for 7:25 pm. We're in a big tide swing today—high tides at 12:55 am and 1:25 pm, low tides at 6:47 am and 7:19 pm. With a tidal coefficient topping 106, these strong currents will be stirring up bait and increasing fish movement, especially near channel edges and jetties. These dynamic tides mean fish are on the prowl—perfect for targeting feeding windows through the day.
Weather is holding steady and beautiful, with light winds making for calm conditions on the Bay. Water temperature trends are stable—nothing too extreme for late summer—so fish are comfortable and active across the flats, rocky points, and deeper pilings.
The big news is SALMON. The recent four-day ocean salmon season (Sept 4–7) brought an absolute flotilla off Point Reyes to Point Sur, and especially outside the Golden Gate. The California Dawn boats, Happy Hooker, and Pacific Dream slammed home a combined 195 salmon up to 31 pounds, just shy of 98 full limits, with chaos and bruisers aplenty. Capt. Trent Slate reported early returns with limits ranging from 12–20 pounds. These short windows had anglers grinning ear to ear, and party-boat seats were gone in a flash. While the salmon season is closed again, that rush of fish has leftovers cruising inside the Bay—so keep the gear ready when the next window opens. According to Nor Cal Fish Reports and Fish Emeryville’s dock totals yesterday, the bite is still solid for bass, rockfish, and catfish, with limits hit on several local party boats.
Rockfish are holding thick on ledges and deep reefs off Alcatraz, Angel Island, and the Marin coastline. Fisherman's Landing reported the Dolphin AM trip brought in 44 rockfish, 14 sheephead, calico bass, cabazon, sandbass, and sculpin—solid variety, and mirrored by local party boats. A mix of big sheepshead and cabezon means dropping baits along rocky structure is paying off.
For tactics and tackle, locals are cleaning up with **swim baits** and **paddle tails** over eelgrass beds, or **shrimp flies** and **dropper-loop rigs** baited with squid and cut anchovy at deeper spots. If you’re after bass and striper, bust out **hairraisers**, **poppers**, or **chartreuse minnow plugs** around shadow lines at dawn and dusk—sunrise and sunset bites are especially lively with today’s strong tides.
For bait, **live anchovies** and **pile worms** are prime—rig them weightless on inshore flats for picky stripers or drift them deeper for big rockfish. Night anglers will get extra action using underwater fishing lights to pull bait balls closer, amplifying the bite on bay bridges and rocky outcroppings.
Hot spots to check today:
- **Berkeley Flats and South Hampton Shoal**: prime for bass, halibut, and lingering salmon. Drifting live bait here during the outgoing tide is money.
- **Alcatraz Island’s North Reef**: deep structure draws big rockfish and cabezon. Jig heavy and be ready for a mixed bag.
- **Fort Point to Crissy Field**: jetty action for stripers, plus early morning topwater fun with poppers.
Remember, with today’s moon and tides, expect most action right before and after the peak highs and lows. Fish those transition windows to maximize your catch rate!
Thanks for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe for all your Bay Area angling updates and the latest fish counts. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
Clear skies greeted anglers this morning, with sunrise at 6:47 am and sunset set for 7:25 pm. We're in a big tide swing today—high tides at 12:55 am and 1:25 pm, low tides at 6:47 am and 7:19 pm. With a tidal coefficient topping 106, these strong currents will be stirring up bait and increasing fish movement, especially near channel edges and jetties. These dynamic tides mean fish are on the prowl—perfect for targeting feeding windows through the day.
Weather is holding steady and beautiful, with light winds making for calm conditions on the Bay. Water temperature trends are stable—nothing too extreme for late summer—so fish are comfortable and active across the flats, rocky points, and deeper pilings.
The big news is SALMON. The recent four-day ocean salmon season (Sept 4–7) brought an absolute flotilla off Point Reyes to Point Sur, and especially outside the Golden Gate. The California Dawn boats, Happy Hooker, and Pacific Dream slammed home a combined 195 salmon up to 31 pounds, just shy of 98 full limits, with chaos and bruisers aplenty. Capt. Trent Slate reported early returns with limits ranging from 12–20 pounds. These short windows had anglers grinning ear to ear, and party-boat seats were gone in a flash. While the salmon season is closed again, that rush of fish has leftovers cruising inside the Bay—so keep the gear ready when the next window opens. According to Nor Cal Fish Reports and Fish Emeryville’s dock totals yesterday, the bite is still solid for bass, rockfish, and catfish, with limits hit on several local party boats.
Rockfish are holding thick on ledges and deep reefs off Alcatraz, Angel Island, and the Marin coastline. Fisherman's Landing reported the Dolphin AM trip brought in 44 rockfish, 14 sheephead, calico bass, cabazon, sandbass, and sculpin—solid variety, and mirrored by local party boats. A mix of big sheepshead and cabezon means dropping baits along rocky structure is paying off.
For tactics and tackle, locals are cleaning up with **swim baits** and **paddle tails** over eelgrass beds, or **shrimp flies** and **dropper-loop rigs** baited with squid and cut anchovy at deeper spots. If you’re after bass and striper, bust out **hairraisers**, **poppers**, or **chartreuse minnow plugs** around shadow lines at dawn and dusk—sunrise and sunset bites are especially lively with today’s strong tides.
For bait, **live anchovies** and **pile worms** are prime—rig them weightless on inshore flats for picky stripers or drift them deeper for big rockfish. Night anglers will get extra action using underwater fishing lights to pull bait balls closer, amplifying the bite on bay bridges and rocky outcroppings.
Hot spots to check today:
- **Berkeley Flats and South Hampton Shoal**: prime for bass, halibut, and lingering salmon. Drifting live bait here during the outgoing tide is money.
- **Alcatraz Island’s North Reef**: deep structure draws big rockfish and cabezon. Jig heavy and be ready for a mixed bag.
- **Fort Point to Crissy Field**: jetty action for stripers, plus early morning topwater fun with poppers.
Remember, with today’s moon and tides, expect most action right before and after the peak highs and lows. Fish those transition windows to maximize your catch rate!
Thanks for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe for all your Bay Area angling updates and the latest fish counts. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn