Waterlands

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White seabassRetention open

Bay · California

Schooner Bay

38.07°N · 122.94°W · Bay · 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 · 7 PM · White seabass

69/100Great
Now
516 PM PDT
Best window
7-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score51Good
Tide2.2 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward W
Wind4 kn NWgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateRough5.8 ft · 9 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water59°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 Closed (No retention)
  • 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

Schooner Bay

Depth
About 2 ftNearest water
Structure
Bay · Inner · Protected
Season
Shoulder seasonWhite seabass

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Schooner Bay

Schooner Bay is a bay 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 about 2 ft. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are cabezon, striped bass and surfperch. It is peak season now for cabezon, striped bass, surfperch and rockfish, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, kelp greenling, lingcod and white seabass. Cabezon peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Surfperch peak in May and from July 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.
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.
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

  • Drakes Estero

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    70
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 70
    • Cabezon 67
    • Surfperch 66

    4 kt NWH 9:21 PM · 5.5 ftL 4:00 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Creamery Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    68
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 68
    • Cabezon 65
    • Surfperch 62

    4 kt NWH 9:21 PM · 5.5 ftL 4:00 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Bull Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    64
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 64
    • Cabezon 63
    • Rockfish 63

    4 kt NWH 10:30 PM · 5.2 ftL 5:34 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Home Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    62
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 62
    • Cabezon 61
    • Surfperch 59

    4 kt NWH 10:30 PM · 5.2 ftL 5:34 AM · 0.3 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.