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Best score today · 8 PM · California halibut

76/100Great

Now: 647 AM PDT
Best window: 7-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now: Flooding1.2 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Tue · 79

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time7ANOW

Score64Good

Tide1.2 ft ▲Flooding

CurrentSlack0.1 kn

Wind1 kn Wgusts 4 · steady

Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 8 s

Air temp54°Cool

WeatherOvercast100% cloud

Water64°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

4A

5A

6A

NOW

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

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39

45

58

64

66

60

56

60

63

60

54

48

43

52

61

66

64

54

55

62

61

56

46

41

2.4

1.2

○0.2

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0.8

1.7

2.1

1.6

0.7

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0.3

1.4

1.9

1.2

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1.1

1.9

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0.8

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1.4

2.7

51

41

51

61

72

60

51

41

31

32

42

52

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.4

1.5

64°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

San Francisco Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

California halibut

Retention open

Daily limit: 2 per day
Possession: 2 in possession
Size: Minimum 22 in, total length
Season: No closed season on file
Annual quota: Not published

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))
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)
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 California halibut is best here

Shoulder season for California halibut · 5 more weeks at shoulder

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

California halibut in California →

Spot profile

Rat Rock

Depth: 4-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure: Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · flat bottom
Season: Shoulder seasonCalifornia halibut

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 Rat Rock

Rat Rock 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 4-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are rockfish, cabezon and lingcod. It is peak season now for rockfish, cabezon, striped bass and surfperch, and shoulder season for lingcod, white seabass, California halibut and kelp greenling. Rockfish peak from May through September. Cabezon peak from May through September. Lingcod peak from April through May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

California halibut: California halibut are ambush feeders that lie on sand or mud bottom, mostly in water shallower than 100 feet and often inside bays, harbors and estuaries. Drift or slow-troll a live anchovy or sardine on a sliding sinker rig, or bounce a swimbait along the bottom over flats, channel edges and sandy areas near structure. Keep the bait within a foot or two of the bottom and give a fish time to turn the bait before setting the hook.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

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China Camp Point
Cape · 0.0 mi
73
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 73
- Rockfish 68
- White seabass 66
1 kt WH 11:51 AM · 5.0 ftL 5:13 PM · 2.0 ft
Point San Pedro
Cape · 1.5 mi
73
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 73
- Rockfish 69
- White seabass 67
1 kt WH 11:51 AM · 5.0 ftL 5:13 PM · 2.0 ft
San Pablo Strait
Channel · 2.3 mi
70
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 70
- California halibut 65
- Lingcod 63
1 kt WH 11:51 AM · 5.0 ftL 5:13 PM · 2.0 ft
San Rafael Bay
Bay · 2.9 mi
70
Top: Striped bassPeak season
- Striped bass 70
- Surfperch 68
- California halibut 67
1 kt WH 11:31 AM · 4.9 ftL 4:56 PM · 2.0 ft