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RockfishRetention 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 · Rockfish
- Now
- 586 AM PDT
- Best window
- 7-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.7 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
81Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
86Wind: 2 kt SSEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
55Water temp: 66°F, hotLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.6 ftSeason & habitat · Rockfish
Species seasonality
67Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
San Francisco Groundfish Management Area
Rockfish
Retention open- Daily limit
- 10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- No minimum size limit.
- Season
- Apr 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Shore-based anglers and spear divers are exempt from groundfish seasons and depth limits. All groundfish fishing is prohibited at Cordell Bank. Within the 10-fish RCG limit: no more than 1 copper rockfish, 2 canary rockfish, and 2 vermilion/sunset rockfish. RCG complex: all rockfish, cabezon, and kelp and rock greenlings combined. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat. Yelloweye, cowcod, bronzespotted and quillback rockfish may not be kept.
From CDFW Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations (updated June 23, 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)
- Pacific halibut Retention open (1 per day)
- 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 Rockfish is best here
Peak season for Rockfish · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Small Boat Lagoon
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonRockfish
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, California halibut and surfperch. It is peak season now for striped bass, surfperch, cabezon and rockfish, and shoulder season for California halibut, leopard shark, white seabass and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. California halibut peak from May through August. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Rockfish
- Rockfish live on rocky reefs, pinnacles and kelp from the shoreline out past 300 feet, with black and blue rockfish schooling mid-water over shallow reefs and copper, quillback, yelloweye and vermilion sitting tight to deeper bottom. Drift over the structure with a shrimp fly above a lead-head grub or metal jig, or a squid strip, and reel up a few cranks after touching bottom to cut snags. Use a descending device to release any fish brought up from deep water.
- 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.
- California halibut
- California halibut are ambush feeders that lie on sand or mud bottom, mostly in water shallower than 100 feet and often inside bays, harbors and estuaries. Drift or slow-troll a live anchovy or sardine on a sliding sinker rig, or bounce a swimbait along the bottom over flats, channel edges and sandy areas near structure. Keep the bait within a foot or two of the bottom and give a fish time to turn the bait before setting the hook.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Airport Channel69
Channel · 3.8 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 69
- California halibut 64
- Leopard shark 61
2 kt SSEH 11:29 AM · 5.7 ftL 4:51 PM · 2.1 ft
- San Leandro Bay68
Bay · 4.5 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 68
- Surfperch 65
- California halibut 63
2 kt SSEH 11:31 AM · 5.7 ftL 4:58 PM · 2.1 ft
- Faro Point67
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Rockfish 63
- Cabezon 60
2 kt SSEH 11:37 AM · 6.5 ftL 5:12 PM · 2.2 ft
- Mulford Point67
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Rockfish 63
- Cabezon 60
2 kt SSEH 11:37 AM · 6.5 ftL 5:12 PM · 2.2 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.