Waterlands

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White seabassRetention open

Gut · California

Spoonbill Creek

38.05°N · 121.89°W · Gut · 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 · 11 PM · White seabass

84/100Great
Now
5412 PM PDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score54Good
Tide2.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.6 kn · toward ESE
Wind2 kn NNEgusts 10 · steady
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water68°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

Spoonbill Creek

Depth
6-30 ftSlope
Structure
Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 Spoonbill Creek

Spoonbill Creek is a gut in San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the West Delta and the San Francisco Bay north of the Bay Bridge, California. Depth is 6-30 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are surfperch, striped bass and leopard shark. It is peak season now for surfperch, striped bass, rockfish and cabezon, and shoulder season for leopard shark, California halibut, lingcod and Chinook salmon. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October. Leopard shark peak from May through August.

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.
Surfperch
Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
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 Wall

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Surfperch 63
    • Rockfish 61

    2 kt NNEH 2:11 PM · 3.4 ftL 7:51 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Point Wise

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Surfperch 63
    • Rockfish 61

    2 kt NNEH 1:52 PM · 3.8 ftL 7:26 PM · 1.4 ft

  • Point Emmet

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Rockfish 66
    • Cabezon 64

    2 kt NNEH 2:11 PM · 3.4 ftL 7:51 PM · 1.1 ft

  • West Reach

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    67
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 67
    • Leopard shark 65
    • California halibut 63

    2 kt NNEH 2:11 PM · 3.4 ftL 7:51 PM · 1.1 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.