Waterlands

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Leopard sharkRetention open

Bay · California

Oakland Outer Harbor

37.81°N · 122.32°W · Bay · San Francisco Bay South of the Bay Bridge

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Best score today · 6 AM · Leopard shark

75/100Great
Now
358 AM PST
Best window
2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing5.1 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 12 · 3 PM

Time3P
Score35Fair
Tide4.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.0 kn · toward N
Wind4 kn Wgusts 8 · steady
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy33% chance of rain
Water65°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

San Francisco Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Leopard shark

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 36 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Closed in the Groundfish Exclusion Areas off southern California.

From CDFW 2026 California Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet (last updated July 17, 2026), read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Albacore tuna Retention open (25 per day)
  • Barred sand bass Retention open (4 per day (5 kelp bass, barred sand bass and spotted sand bass combined))
  • Cabezon Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
  • California halibut Retention open (2 per day)
  • Chinook salmon Closed (No retention)
  • Coho salmon Closed (No retention)
  • Kelp bass Retention open (5 per day (5 kelp bass, barred sand bass and spotted sand bass combined))
  • Kelp greenling Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
  • Lingcod Retention open (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
  • Pacific bluefin tuna Retention open (2 per day)
  • Pacific halibut Retention open (1 per day)
  • Rockfish Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
  • Sablefish Retention open (10 per day)
  • Striped bass Retention open (2 per day)
  • Surfperch Retention open (20 per day)
  • White seabass Retention open (3 per day)
  • Yellowfin tuna Retention open (10 per day)
  • Yellowtail Retention open (10 per day)

Source: CDFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Leopard shark is best here

Out of season for Leopard shark · shoulder season starts in 17 weeks

Leopard shark season by week of the year. Out of season for Leopard shark · shoulder season starts in 17 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Leopard shark in California →

Spot profile

Oakland Outer Harbor

Depth
6-50 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
Season
Off seasonLeopard shark

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Oakland Outer Harbor

Oakland Outer Harbor is a bay in San Francisco Bay South of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 6-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 9 species here; the best right now are kelp greenling, striped bass and lingcod. It is peak season now for kelp greenling and lingcod, and shoulder season for striped bass, surfperch, cabezon and rockfish. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Leopard shark
Leopard sharks cruise shallow mudflats, sloughs and channel edges in bays, most often in less than 15 feet of water, and follow the flooding tide onto the flats to feed on crabs, worms, clams and small fish. Anchor or fish from shore or a pier with a sliding sinker rig and a chunk of squid, mackerel or ghost shrimp on the bottom. The bite is often better into the evening and at night.
Kelp greenling
Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • 73
    Top: Kelp greenlingPeak season
    • Kelp greenling 73
    • Lingcod 69
    • Striped bass 68

    4 kt ESEL 12:22 PM · 2.6 ftH 5:42 PM · 5.4 ft

  • 72
    Top: Kelp greenlingPeak season
    • Kelp greenling 72
    • Lingcod 66
    • Cabezon 64

    4 kt ESEL 12:33 PM · 2.8 ftH 5:54 PM · 5.4 ft

  • Top: Kelp greenlingPeak season
    • Kelp greenling 71
    • Lingcod 69
    • Striped bass 69

    4 kt ESEL 12:22 PM · 2.6 ftH 5:42 PM · 5.4 ft

  • Bar Channel

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    70
    Top: Kelp greenlingPeak season
    • Kelp greenling 70
    • Lingcod 68
    • Striped bass 64

    4 kt ESEL 12:24 PM · 2.7 ftH 5:46 PM · 5.3 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with CDFW before you keep a fish.