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Chinook salmonRetention openBay · California
Honker Bay
38.07°N · 121.93°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 · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 527 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Honker 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
54Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.9 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 3 kt WSWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC
58Water temp: 66°F, hotLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
54Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
San Francisco Groundfish Management Area
Chinook salmon
Closed- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Sep 1 to Oct 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Closed from Point Arena south to 38°02' N. lat. The fall season is open only from 38°02' N. lat. south to Pigeon Point.
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)
- 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
Honker Bay
- Depth
- About 4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Honker Bay
Honker 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 about 4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, leopard shark and surfperch. It is peak season now for striped bass, surfperch, rockfish and cabezon, and shoulder season for leopard shark, white seabass, Chinook salmon and California halibut. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Leopard shark peak from May through August. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
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.
- 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.
- Leopard shark
- Leopard sharks cruise shallow mudflats, sloughs and channel edges in bays, most often in less than 15 feet of water, and follow the flooding tide onto the flats to feed on crabs, worms, clams and small fish. Anchor or fish from shore or a pier with a sliding sinker rig and a chunk of squid, mackerel or ghost shrimp on the bottom. The bite is often better into the evening and at night.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Point Wall75
Cape · 2.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 75
- White seabass 67
- Rockfish 64
3 kt WSWL 8:04 AM · 0.1 ftH 2:11 PM · 3.4 ft
- Spoonbill Creek73
Gut · 2.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 73
- Surfperch 61
- Lingcod 60
3 kt WSWL 8:04 AM · 0.1 ftH 2:11 PM · 3.4 ft
- Simmons Point72
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 72
- White seabass 63
- Chinook salmon 56
3 kt WSWL 7:37 AM · 0.2 ftH 1:52 PM · 3.8 ft
- Point Wise72
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 72
- White seabass 63
- Rockfish 60
3 kt WSWL 7:37 AM · 0.2 ftH 1:52 PM · 3.8 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.