Waterlands

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White seabassRetention open

Channel · California

Richmond Harbor Entrance Channel

37.91°N · 122.40°W · Channel · San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge

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Best score today · 8 PM · White seabass

81/100Great
Now
552 PM PDT
Best window
7-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score55Good
Tide3.8 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward SE
Wind2 kn Egusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.5 ft · 8 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherClear13% cloud
Water64°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

San Francisco Groundfish Management Area

IN EFFECT NOW

White seabass

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 28 in, total length. Or twenty and one-half inches alternate length (Section 28.35).
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
CDFW pages disagree on the alternate length: the regulation text says 20.5 inches, the booklet summary table 21.5 inches, and the regional web pages 20 inches. Total length is 28 inches on all of them.

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)
  • 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)
  • Yellowfin tuna Retention open (10 per day)
  • Yellowtail Retention open (10 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When White seabass is best here

Shoulder season for White seabass · 5 more weeks at shoulder

White seabass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for White seabass · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

White seabass in California

Spot profile

Richmond Harbor Entrance Channel

Depth
10-40 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonWhite seabass

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 Richmond Harbor Entrance Channel

Richmond Harbor Entrance Channel is a channel in San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 10-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Sandpiper Spit

    Bar · 1.2 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Rockfish 68
    • Lingcod 62

    2 kt EL 4:36 PM · 2.1 ftH 10:17 PM · 5.7 ft

  • Cypress Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Rockfish 67
    • Lingcod 62

    2 kt EL 4:44 PM · 2.3 ftH 10:28 PM · 5.8 ft

  • Point Potrero Reach

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    67
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 67
    • Lingcod 62
    • Rockfish 62

    2 kt EL 4:36 PM · 2.1 ftH 10:17 PM · 5.7 ft

  • Brickyard Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    66
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 66
    • Rockfish 62
    • White seabass 59

    2 kt EL 4:44 PM · 2.3 ftH 10:28 PM · 5.8 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.