September is one of the best months on San Francisco Bay, and the first week has delivered. Halibut are still on the bay flats and the ledges, striped bass are feeding on the anchovies from the Berkeley flats to the South Bay, and the rockfish and lingcod fleet is loading up along the Marin and San Mateo coasts. Salmon is a question mark this season — check the current CDFW status before planning a trip.
What’s Hitting
What’s hitting this week: halibut on the Berkeley flats, the Alameda rockwall, and the South Bay ledges, with the trollers and the drifters both finding fish. Striped bass are on the anchovies at the Berkeley flats, the Brothers, the Sausalito pilings, and the South Bay, with the topwater bite showing in the mornings. Rockfish and lingcod are on the Marin coast from Muir Beach to Point Reyes and along the San Mateo coast out of Half Moon Bay, and the lingcod are quality fish. Sturgeon are being caught in San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bay by the anchor-and-wait crowd. Leopard sharks and bat rays are steady in the South Bay for the light-tackle anglers.
Where to Find Them
Halibut on the Berkeley flats, the Alameda rockwall, and the Oyster Point ledges in 15 to 40 feet. Stripers at the Berkeley flats, the Brothers, Raccoon Strait, and the Dumbarton area. Rockfish and lingcod along the Marin coast and the reefs off Pacifica and Half Moon Bay in 60 to 150 feet. Sturgeon in San Pablo Bay near the Pumphouse and China Camp.
Tides & Conditions
Bay temps are in the low 60s and the water is clear on the ocean side. The moving tides are essential in the bay — the halibut and the stripers feed on the current, and the tide change is dead time. The coast has been fishable most mornings with the afternoon wind coming up. Fog is the constant; run with radar and lights.
Tackle & Tactics
Halibut take a live anchovy or a shiner perch on a three-way rig drifted on the flats, or a trolled anchovy behind a flasher. Stripers take a live anchovy, a swimbait, or a topwater on the flats at dawn, and a jig or a bucktail on the pilings. Rockfish and lingcod take a jig, a swimbait, or a bait on a double-dropper on the coastal reefs. Sturgeon take a ghost shrimp or a grass shrimp on the bottom.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: the Berkeley Marina ramp, the Sausalito Clipper Yacht Harbor area ramp, the Oyster Point Marina ramp in South San Francisco, and the Loch Lomond Marina ramp in San Rafael. Fish are concentrating on the bay flats on the moving tide and on the coastal reefs. California striped bass have a slot and a bag limit, halibut a minimum size, and the rockfish and lingcod rules change by depth and season — check current CDFW regulations before keeping fish, and confirm whether any salmon season is open before targeting them.
This Week’s Tip
On the Berkeley flats, the halibut and the stripers are on the same drift — the halibut on the bottom and the bass a few feet up. Run one rod on the bottom and one 3 to 5 feet off it, and you will catch both without moving the boat.
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