Updated: Thursday, September 17, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, September 24, 2026
This San Francisco Bay Area fishing report covers mid-September, as fall on the bay gets under way. California halibut are the lead target on the flats and around the islands, and the live-bait drift is the method to plan around. Salmon boats work the final weeks of the ocean season off the Marin coast, and striped bass start their fall feed on bait in the bay and the Delta. Moderate tides make for a manageable drift.
What’s Hitting
Halibut from 8 to 20 pounds sit on the flats around Alcatraz, Angel Island, the Berkeley flats and the Alameda rock wall. Striped bass from schoolie size to the upper teens work the bait in the central bay, along the Marin shoreline and around the Carquinez Strait and the Delta.
Chinook salmon are in the final weeks of the ocean season off Duxbury, Muir Beach and the Marin coast in 40 to 90 feet, with a mixed grade of fish. Rockfish and lingcod are steady along the Marin coast and at the Farallon Islands, sturgeon begin showing in San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bay, and leopard sharks crowd the flats for shore anglers.
Where to Find Them
Drift halibut in 15 to 40 feet on those flats on the moving tide. Target stripers on the bait along the Marin shoreline from Paradise Cay to the Richmond Bridge, in the Carquinez Strait and around the Delta rivers. Salmon sit off Duxbury Reef and Muir Beach in 40 to 90 feet. Work the Marin coast rocks and the Farallons for rockfish and lingcod, and San Pablo and Suisun bays on the moving tide for sturgeon.
Tides & Conditions
Tides between the moons give a longer fishable window on each tide. Bay water runs in the low 60s and the ocean off the Marin coast in the upper 50s. Expect light mornings with the usual afternoon westerly, a 3 to 5-foot ocean swell that stays fishable most days, and morning fog that burns off by mid-morning.
Tackle & Tactics
- Halibut: a live anchovy or shiner perch on a three-way rig with a sliding sinker, drifted along the flats with the tide, on a 7-foot medium rod with 30-pound braid. Trolling a hoochie and anchovy behind a flasher also works.
- Stripers: live bait, a swimbait or a topwater cast to breaking fish, or a trolled plug along the shoreline.
- Salmon: a mooched or trolled anchovy behind a flasher in the top 60 feet.
- Rockfish and lingcod: a swimbait or a jig on the rocks.
- Sturgeon: grass shrimp, ghost shrimp or eel on a sliding sinker rig and a heavy rod.
Local Intel This Week
The Berkeley Marina ramp, the Richmond Marina Bay ramp, the Loch Lomond ramp in San Rafael and the Oyster Point ramp in South San Francisco are the main bay launches. The Fort Baker and Sausalito ramps serve the Marin salmon grounds, and the Martinez and Benicia ramps cover the Carquinez Strait and Suisun Bay. Shore anglers work the Berkeley pier area and the Alameda rock wall for halibut, stripers and sharks, and the Marin and Richmond shorelines for stripers. Salmon have strict season dates. Check current state and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
On the halibut drift, keep the sinker ticking bottom the entire time and let out line as the depth changes. A bait that lifts three feet off the bottom is out of the strike zone, and a halibut on the sand will not come up for it. When you feel the take, give the fish a few seconds before lifting.
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