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Best score today · 8 PM · Lingcod

77/100Great

Now: 575 AM PDT
Best window: 7-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now: Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time5ANOW

Score57Good

Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding

CurrentEbb0.6 kn · toward SSE

Wind2 kn Sgusts 5 · steady

Sea stateLight chop1.7 ft · 8 s

Air temp55°Cool

WeatherOvercast100% cloud

Water64°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

2A

3A

4A

NOW

6A

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

56

50

57

63

67

69

66

60

55

57

62

66

61

55

56

64

69

67

58

55

57

62

64

2.0

2.1

1.5

0.6

○0.1

0.7

1.4

1.6

1.0

○0.2

○0.1

0.7

1.3

0.6

○0.1

0.2

1.1

1.5

1.1

0.3

○0.0

0.6

63

52

51

41

51

61

72

71

60

61

51

42

31

32

43

53

1.8

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.4

1.5

64°

65°

64°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

San Francisco Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Lingcod

Retention open

Daily limit: 2 per day
Possession: Not published
Size: Minimum 22 in, total length
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. A descending device must be aboard when fishing from a boat.

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)
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)

Always check with CDFW ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: CDFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Lingcod is best here

Shoulder season for Lingcod · 1 more week at shoulder

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Lingcod in California →

Spot profile

Castro Rocks

Depth: 5-50 ftDrop-off
Structure: Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · drop-off
Season: Shoulder seasonLingcod

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 Castro Rocks

Castro Rocks is a bar in San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 5-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, white seabass and striped bass. It is peak season now for rockfish, striped bass, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for white seabass, lingcod, Pacific halibut and California halibut. Rockfish peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Lingcod: Lingcod ambush prey from rock outcrops, reef edges and kelp where current runs, most often in 30 to 300 feet, and males move shallow to guard nests in winter. Drift over the reef bouncing a lead-head swimbait or metal jig on the bottom, or fish herring or squid on a heavy leader, since their teeth cut light line. From jetties and rocky shore, work bait or jigs along the rocks on the incoming tide.
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.
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

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Southampton Shoal Channel
Channel · 1.3 mi
65
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 65
- Surfperch 56
- Leopard shark 55
2 kt SH 11:14 AM · 5.3 ftL 4:44 PM · 2.3 ft
Point Orient
Cape · 1.8 mi
65
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 65
- White seabass 58
- Surfperch 51
2 kt SH 11:39 AM · 5.1 ftL 4:58 PM · 2.1 ft
Point Molate
Cape · 1.0 mi
61
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 61
- Rockfish 53
- White seabass 53
2 kt SH 11:39 AM · 5.1 ftL 4:58 PM · 2.1 ft
Cypress Point
Cape · 1.6 mi
61
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 61
- Rockfish 55
- White seabass 54
2 kt SH 11:14 AM · 5.3 ftL 4:44 PM · 2.3 ft