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Chinook salmonRetention openBar · California
Rat Rock
38.00°N · 122.46°W · Bar · 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 · 8 PM · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 568 AM PDT
- Best window
- 7-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.2 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Rat Rock 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 · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
98Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
82Wind: 1 kt WNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
72Water temp: 64°F, hotLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.6 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of 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
Rat Rock
- Depth
- 4-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 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, white seabass and striped bass. It is peak season now for rockfish, striped bass, cabezon and surfperch, and shoulder season for white seabass, lingcod, California halibut and kelp greenling. Rockfish peak from May through September. 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.
- White seabass
- White seabass hold along kelp bed edges and over nearby sand where market squid gather, usually in 20 to 80 feet of water and shallower as the water warms. Fish a live squid on a dropper loop or fly-line a sardine near the kelp at dawn, dusk and after dark, especially around the spring full moon. Tagged fish spend most of their time in 52 to 66 degree water.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- China Camp Point78
Cape · 0.0 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 78
- White seabass 72
- Rockfish 70
1 kt WNWH 11:51 AM · 5.0 ftL 5:13 PM · 2.0 ft
- Point San Pedro78
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 78
- White seabass 72
- Rockfish 71
1 kt WNWH 11:51 AM · 5.0 ftL 5:13 PM · 2.0 ft
- San Pablo Strait76
Channel · 2.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 76
- California halibut 67
- Lingcod 66
1 kt WNWH 11:51 AM · 5.0 ftL 5:13 PM · 2.0 ft
- San Rafael Bay72
Bay · 2.9 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 72
- Surfperch 70
- California halibut 68
1 kt WNWH 11:31 AM · 4.9 ftL 4:56 PM · 2.0 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.