The Bay in late August is a fog-and-tide fishery. Mornings often start socked in, the afternoon wind comes up on schedule, and everything worth doing happens on a moving tide in between. Halibut are still on the flats, the stripers have spread through the Bay, and the coastal bottom fishing outside the Gate has been dependable when the ocean allows.
What’s Hitting
California halibut are a primary target and remain on the shallow sand flats through the warm months, taken by drifting live bait across the bottom.
Striped bass are the other mainstay, holding on the Bay structure — bridge pilings, rockpiles, the shipping channel edges and the shorelines — and are most active on the moving tide. Outside the Gate, rockfish and lingcod are on the coastal reefs in good numbers. Salmon availability varies year to year under tight regulation, and there are sharks and rays throughout the Bay for anglers who want a hard pull.
Where to Find Them
Halibut are on the sand flats off Crissy Field, Berkeley, the Alameda and Oakland shorelines, and the Marin flats. Drift the shallow sand in 10 to 40 feet.
Stripers hold around the Bay Bridge and Richmond Bridge pilings, Alcatraz, Angel Island, the Berkeley Flats and the rockpiles throughout the central Bay. Outside the Golden Gate, the reefs along the Marin coast and toward the Farallones hold rockfish and lingcod. The South Bay shorelines and sloughs hold sharks, rays and the occasional striper.
Tides & Conditions
Water is cold here year-round by most anglers’ standards, and the summer fog is a fixture — expect a gray morning that burns off around midday, then a hard afternoon westerly through the Gate.
Tidal exchange is powerful in this system and it drives everything. Fish the moving water and be careful about the Gate and the Potato Patch on a big ebb against a westerly swell, which is a genuinely dangerous combination. Plan to be back inside before the afternoon wind fills in.
Tackle & Tactics
For halibut, drift a live anchovy or shiner on a sliding sinker rig across the sand, or work a swimbait on a leadhead slowly along the bottom. The bite is subtle — a halibut often just feels like weight, so give it a moment before coming tight.
Bay stripers take a live bait drifted near structure, a swimbait on a leadhead, or a jig worked on the pilings and rockpiles on the tide. Outside, rockfish and lingcod come on shrimp flies, heavy jigs and swimbaits fished on the reefs. Bring more weight than you think you need for the current out there.
Local Intel This Week
Access: the Berkeley Marina and Emeryville ramps, the Richmond and Loch Lomond ramps in Marin and Contra Costa, the Oyster Point ramp on the peninsula, and the Sausalito ramps. Shore anglers have good access at the Berkeley Pier area, Fort Baker, Candlestick Point and the Pacifica Pier for the coast.
Fish are concentrating on the sand flats for halibut and around Bay structure for stripers on moving tides. California manages salmon, rockfish and lingcod with seasons, depth constraints and area closures that change annually and can shift in season, and halibut and striped bass carry their own size and bag limits. Check current CDFW regulations and any in-season announcements before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
Drift speed decides your halibut day. If the tide is pushing you faster than about a knot and a half, your bait is skating above fish that will not chase in cold water. Deploy a drift sock and slow down, or wait for the softer end of the tide stage. The identical drift that produced nothing at full speed will produce fish at half of it.
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