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Chinook salmonRetention openCape · California
Point Palo Alto
38.07°N · 121.97°W · Cape · 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
- 605 PM PDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Point Palo Alto 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
79Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 3 kt NWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
56Water temp: 70°F, hotLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
65Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Chinook salmon is best here
Last week of shoulder season for Chinook salmon · the off season next
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Point Palo Alto
- Depth
- 7-35 ftSlope
- Structure
- Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Point Palo Alto
Point Palo Alto is a cape in San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 7-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, rockfish and lingcod. It is peak season now for striped bass, rockfish, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for lingcod, Chinook salmon, white seabass and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Suisun Bay80
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 80
- Rockfish 64
- Chinook salmon 61
3 kt NWL 6:46 PM · 1.4 ftH 12:30 AM · 4.4 ft
- Middle Point78
Cape · 1.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 78
- Rockfish 69
- Lingcod 65
3 kt NWL 6:46 PM · 1.4 ftH 12:30 AM · 4.4 ft
- East Reach77
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 77
- Lingcod 65
- Rockfish 64
3 kt NWL 7:26 PM · 1.4 ftH 12:59 AM · 4.1 ft
- West Reach76
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 76
- Lingcod 65
- Rockfish 64
3 kt NWL 6:46 PM · 1.4 ftH 12:30 AM · 4.4 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.