Waterlands

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Chinook salmonRetention open

Channel · California

Corte Madera Channel

37.94°N · 122.51°W · Channel · San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 PM · Chinook salmon

74/100Great
Now
5211 AM PDT
Best window
7-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding4.6 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 · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score52Good
Tide4.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward NNE
Wind2 kn NEgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateRough4.7 ft · 9 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherPartly cloudy44% cloud
Water63°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

San Francisco Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day (2 salmon combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 20 in, total length
Season
Sep 1 to Oct 31, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Nov 1
Other
Coho may not be kept. Salmon may not be filleted on a boat. No more than two daily bag limits on land, and one daily bag limit on a vessel. NOAA Fisheries can close open days early when the harvest guideline is near. Any salmon except coho. North of Point Conception: no more than two single-point, single-shank barbless hooks and one rod. Between 40°10' N. lat. and Point Conception, when bait fishing by any means other than trolling, use no more than two barbless circle hooks, hard tied no more than 5 inches apart. The 20,000 Chinook fall harvest guideline is shared with the area south of Pigeon Point.

From CDFW 2026 Ocean Salmon Sport Regulations (updated August 19, 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)
  • 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)
  • 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 today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Chinook salmon is best here

Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder

Chinook salmon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Chinook salmon in California →

Spot profile

Corte Madera Channel

Depth
5-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonChinook salmon

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 Corte Madera Channel

Corte Madera Channel is a channel in San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 5-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are surfperch, cabezon and Pacific halibut. It is peak season now for surfperch, cabezon, rockfish and striped bass, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, Chinook salmon, lingcod and kelp greenling. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Cabezon peak from May through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

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.
Surfperch
Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
Cabezon
Cabezon sit in rock crevices, kelp beds and jetty boulders from the intertidal zone to about 100 feet and feed mostly on crabs and small fish. Fish a fish-finder rig with sand shrimp, squid or crab right on the bottom in the rocks, or drag a lead-head grub slowly through the kelp. Expect snags, and do not eat the roe, which is toxic.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • San Rafael Bay

    Bay · 2.1 mi

    70
    Top: SurfperchPeak season
    • Surfperch 70
    • California halibut 67
    • Cabezon 65

    2 kt NEL 4:56 PM · 2.0 ftH 10:43 PM · 5.5 ft

  • Pickleweed Inlet

    Bay · 3.5 mi

    67
    Top: SurfperchPeak season
    • Surfperch 67
    • Cabezon 55
    • Chinook salmon 54

    2 kt NEL 4:27 PM · 2.2 ftH 10:11 PM · 5.4 ft

  • Invincible Rock

    Bar · 3.7 mi

    67
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 67
    • Rockfish 66
    • California halibut 64

    2 kt NEL 4:58 PM · 2.1 ftH 10:51 PM · 5.7 ft

  • Paradise Cay

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    61
    Top: CabezonPeak season
    • Cabezon 61
    • Surfperch 61
    • Chinook salmon 56

    2 kt NEL 4:38 PM · 2.1 ftH 10:29 PM · 5.4 ft

Open in the tide map

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.