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Chinook salmonRetention openBay · California
Half Moon Bay
37.48°N · 122.47°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 · 6 PM · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 466 AM PDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Half Moon 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
80Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
86Wind: 2 kt SSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
23Water temp: 66°F, hotLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 7.3 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
San Francisco Groundfish Management Area
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)
Source: CDFW · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Chinook salmon is best here
Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Half Moon Bay
- Depth
- 35-50 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · slope
- 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 Half Moon Bay
Half Moon 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 35-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are surfperch, rockfish and lingcod. It is peak season now for surfperch, rockfish, cabezon and striped bass, and shoulder season for lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific halibut and California halibut. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Rockfish peak from May through September. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.
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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Kings Rock62
Bar · 0.9 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 62
- Lingcod 57
- Surfperch 52
2 kt SSWH 9:50 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:22 PM · 2.1 ft
- Southeast Reef62
Bar · 1.0 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 62
- Lingcod 57
- Surfperch 50
2 kt SSWH 9:50 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:22 PM · 2.1 ft
- Wash Rock62
Bar · 1.1 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 62
- Lingcod 57
- Surfperch 48
2 kt SSWH 9:50 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:22 PM · 2.1 ft
- Whaleman Harbor58
Bay · 2.7 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 58
- Surfperch 58
- Lingcod 54
2 kt SSWH 9:50 AM · 4.7 ftL 3:22 PM · 2.1 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.