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Leopard sharkRetention openBar · California
Sandpiper Spit
37.91°N · 122.38°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 · Leopard shark
- Now
- 5710 AM PDT
- Best window
- 7-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Sandpiper Spit 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
99Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
85Wind: 1 kt NPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
70Water temp: 64°F, primeLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.6 ftSeason & habitat · Leopard shark
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
San Francisco Groundfish Management Area
Leopard shark
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 36 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Closed in the Groundfish Exclusion Areas off southern California.
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))
- 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 Leopard shark is best here
Shoulder season for Leopard shark · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Sandpiper Spit
- Depth
- 2-30 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonLeopard shark
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 Sandpiper Spit
Sandpiper Spit is a bar in San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth in the nearest water is 2-30 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are striped bass, cabezon and surfperch. It is peak season now for striped bass, cabezon, surfperch and rockfish, and shoulder season for California halibut, white seabass, Chinook salmon and kelp greenling. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Cabezon peak from May through September. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Leopard shark
- Leopard sharks cruise shallow mudflats, sloughs and channel edges in bays, most often in less than 15 feet of water, and follow the flooding tide onto the flats to feed on crabs, worms, clams and small fish. Anchor or fish from shore or a pier with a sliding sinker rig and a chunk of squid, mackerel or ghost shrimp on the bottom. The bite is often better into the evening and at night.
- 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.
- 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
Other spots within an easy run
- Brickyard Cove72
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 72
- Striped bass 68
- California halibut 67
1 kt NH 11:14 AM · 5.3 ftL 4:44 PM · 2.3 ft
- Point Potrero71
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 71
- Surfperch 67
- Cabezon 66
2 kt NWH 11:05 AM · 5.1 ftL 4:36 PM · 2.1 ft
- Point Potrero Reach68
Channel · 0.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 68
- Surfperch 66
- California halibut 65
1 kt NH 11:05 AM · 5.1 ftL 4:36 PM · 2.1 ft
- Harbor Channel64
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: California halibutShoulder season- California halibut 64
- Striped bass 64
- Surfperch 62
2 kt NWH 11:05 AM · 5.1 ftL 4:36 PM · 2.1 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.