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Striped bassRetention openBay · California
Big Break
38.02°N · 121.71°W · Bay · San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Striped bass
- Now
- 777 AM PDT
- Best window
- 6-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Break 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
59Wind: 3 kt WPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
90Water temp: 66°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.0 ftSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
San Francisco Groundfish Management Area
Striped bass
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 18 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Angling, spearfishing or bow and arrow only. No sinker over 4 pounds, no power-driven gurdy or winch, no snagging. The CDFW San Francisco Bay District page states the same limits for the bay: two fish, 18 inches total length.
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 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)
- Rockfish Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
- Sablefish Retention open (10 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 Striped bass is best here
Peak season for Striped bass · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Break
- Depth
- 3-5 ft
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposed
- Season
- Peak seasonStriped bass
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Big Break
Big Break is a bay in San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 3-5 ft. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, white seabass and Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, surfperch and cabezon, and shoulder season for white seabass, Chinook salmon, leopard shark and lingcod. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Chinook salmon peak from June through August.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Chinook salmon
- Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Oulton Point80
Cape · 6.5 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 80
- White seabass 74
- Rockfish 70
3 kt WL 9:15 AM · 0.3 ftH 3:31 PM · 2.2 ft
- Antioch Point75
Cape · 6.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 75
- White seabass 68
- Chinook salmon 61
3 kt WL 8:09 AM · -0.0 ftH 2:14 PM · 3.4 ft
- Antioch Reach74
Channel · 4.8 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 74
- White seabass 61
- Chinook salmon 59
3 kt WL 8:09 AM · -0.0 ftH 2:14 PM · 3.4 ft
- Santa Clara Shoal73
Bar · 6.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 73
- White seabass 66
- Rockfish 65
3 kt WL 9:15 AM · 0.3 ftH 3:31 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.