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Chinook salmonRetention open

Bar · California

Presidio Shoal

37.82°N · 122.46°W · Bar · San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge

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Species here · tap to switch

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Best score today · 8 PM · Chinook salmon

71/100Great

Now: 436 AM PDT
Best window: 6-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now: Flooding1.3 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Fri · 77

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time6ANOW

Score43Fair

Tide1.3 ft ▲Flooding

CurrentSlack0.0 kn

Wind2 kn SSEgusts 4 · steady

Sea stateRough5.1 ft · 9 s

Air temp56°Mild

WeatherMostly cloudy52% cloud

Water65°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

NOW

10A

11A

12P

10P

11P

12A

1.8

1.3

0.5

○0.0

0.4

1.6

2.4

1.9

1.0

○0.1

1.1

1.9

1.6

0.7

○0.0

0.3

1.3

1.8

1.3

0.4

○0.0

0.4

1.3

116

138

148

159

158

136

104

5.3

5.2

5.1

4.9

4.8

4.7

4.6

4.5

4.4

4.3

65°

64°

Hour

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 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

Chinook salmon in California →

Spot profile

Presidio Shoal

Depth: 50-120 ftDrop-off
Structure: Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · drop-off
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 Presidio Shoal

Presidio Shoal is a bar in San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 50-120 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, lingcod and striped bass. It is peak season now for rockfish, striped bass, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for lingcod, Pacific halibut, white seabass and Chinook salmon. Rockfish peak from May through September. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October.

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.
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.
Lingcod: Lingcod ambush prey from rock outcrops, reef edges and kelp where current runs, most often in 30 to 300 feet, and males move shallow to guard nests in winter. Drift over the reef bouncing a lead-head swimbait or metal jig on the bottom, or fish herring or squid on a heavy leader, since their teeth cut light line. From jetties and rocky shore, work bait or jigs along the rocks on the incoming tide.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →

Arch Rock
Bar · 1.3 mi
67
Top: RockfishPeak season
- Rockfish 67
- White seabass 64
- Lingcod 63
2 kt SSEH 11:03 AM · 4.9 ftL 4:24 PM · 2.2 ft
Golden Gate
Channel · 1.2 mi
66
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 66
- Rockfish 63
- Lingcod 59
2 kt SSEH 10:49 AM · 4.9 ftL 4:06 PM · 2.2 ft
Anita Rock
Bar · 0.0 mi
62
Top: RockfishPeak season
- Rockfish 62
- Lingcod 58
- White seabass 57
2 kt SSEH 10:49 AM · 4.9 ftL 4:06 PM · 2.2 ft
Alcatraz Shoal
Bar · 1.4 mi
62
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 62
- Rockfish 59
- Pacific halibut 56
2 kt SSEH 11:03 AM · 4.9 ftL 4:24 PM · 2.2 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.