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Pacific halibutRetention openBay · California
Small Boat Lagoon
37.69°N · 122.19°W · Bay · San Francisco Bay South of the Bay Bridge
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Pacific halibut
- Now
- 4912 AM PDT
- Best window
- 7-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing5.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Small Boat Lagoon scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 12 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
76Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 5 kt SPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
43Water temp: 66°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.8 ftSeason & habitat · Pacific halibut
Species seasonality
49Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
San Francisco Groundfish Management Area
Pacific halibut
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- 1 in possession
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Apr 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Closes early if the quota for south of Point Arena is reached. Check the CDFW Pacific halibut page before fishing. When angling, no more than one line with two hooks. The 2026 booklet (Section 28.20) still says the season ends November 15 statewide. CDFW web pages and the 2026 federal rule (91 FR 23369) keep south of Point Arena open through December 31.
From CDFW Current Ocean Recreational Fishing Regulations, San Francisco Region (updated September 1, 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 Retention open (2 per day (2 salmon combined))
- 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))
- Leopard shark Retention open (3 per day)
- Lingcod Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Pacific bluefin tuna Retention open (2 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 Pacific halibut is best here
Shoulder season for Pacific halibut · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Small Boat Lagoon
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonPacific halibut
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 Small Boat Lagoon
Small Boat Lagoon is a bay in San Francisco Bay South of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, white seabass and surfperch. It is peak season now for striped bass, surfperch, rockfish and cabezon, and shoulder season for white seabass, California halibut, leopard shark and lingcod. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Pacific halibut
- Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.
- 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.
- White seabass
- White seabass hold along kelp bed edges and over nearby sand where market squid gather, usually in 20 to 80 feet of water and shallower as the water warms. Fish a live squid on a dropper loop or fly-line a sardine near the kelp at dawn, dusk and after dark, especially around the spring full moon. Tagged fish spend most of their time in 52 to 66 degree water.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Airport Channel81
Channel · 3.8 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 81
- White seabass 64
- Leopard shark 62
5 kt SL 4:39 AM · 0.3 ftH 11:29 AM · 5.7 ft
- Faro Point80
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 80
- White seabass 69
- Rockfish 66
5 kt SL 5:07 AM · 0.4 ftH 11:37 AM · 6.5 ft
- Mulford Point80
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 80
- White seabass 69
- Rockfish 66
5 kt SL 5:07 AM · 0.4 ftH 11:37 AM · 6.5 ft
- San Leandro Bay80
Bay · 4.5 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 80
- White seabass 69
- Surfperch 64
5 kt SL 4:46 AM · 0.3 ftH 11:31 AM · 5.7 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.