UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Chinook salmonRetention openChannel · California
San Pablo Strait
37.98°N · 122.44°W · Channel · 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
- 501 PM PDT
- Best window
- 7-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing4.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when San Pablo Strait 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 · 1 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
70Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 2 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
40Water temp: 64°F, hotLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.5 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
58Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In 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 today
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
San Pablo Strait
- Depth
- 60-80 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 San Pablo Strait
San Pablo Strait 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 60-80 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are California halibut, striped bass and Pacific halibut. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, rockfish and surfperch, and shoulder season for California halibut, Pacific halibut, lingcod and kelp greenling. California halibut peak from May through August. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Pacific halibut peak from May through July.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Point San Pablo65
Cape · 1.0 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 65
- Striped bass 64
- Cabezon 62
2 kt EL 4:58 PM · 2.1 ftH 10:51 PM · 5.7 ft
- Whiting Rock65
Bar · 1.2 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 65
- Cabezon 62
- Lingcod 60
2 kt EL 4:58 PM · 2.1 ftH 10:51 PM · 5.7 ft
- Invincible Rock65
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 65
- Cabezon 62
- Lingcod 60
2 kt EL 4:58 PM · 2.1 ftH 10:51 PM · 5.7 ft
- Point San Pedro62
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 62
- Striped bass 62
- Rockfish 61
2 kt EL 5:13 PM · 2.0 ftH 11:03 PM · 5.6 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.