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Striped bassRetention openBay · California
Drakes Bay
38.01°N · 122.92°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 · 11 PM · Striped bass
- Now
- 5010 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High4.8 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Drakes Bay 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
38Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.7 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
49Wind: 1 kt WPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
50Water temp: 57°F, primeLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Near a majorSeas: 6.0 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 today
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
Drakes Bay
- Depth
- 50-80 ft
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · 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 Drakes Bay
Drakes Bay 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 50-80 ft. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are cabezon, kelp greenling and surfperch. It is peak season now for cabezon, surfperch, striped bass and rockfish, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, Chinook salmon, Pacific halibut and white seabass. Cabezon peak from May through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
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.
- 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.
- Kelp greenling
- Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Bull Point65
Cape · 3.6 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 65
- Rockfish 64
- Striped bass 61
1 kt WH 11:18 AM · 4.6 ftL 5:14 PM · 2.0 ft
- Estero De Limantour64
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 64
- Surfperch 63
- Kelp greenling 59
1 kt WL 3:28 PM · 2.4 ftH 9:21 PM · 5.5 ft
- Drakes Estero64
Bay · 2.8 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 64
- Surfperch 64
- Kelp greenling 59
1 kt WL 3:28 PM · 2.4 ftH 9:21 PM · 5.5 ft
- Barries Bay60
Bay · 3.3 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 60
- Chinook salmon 50
- Pacific halibut 48
1 kt WL 3:28 PM · 2.4 ftH 9:21 PM · 5.5 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.