Big Bites, Limit Catches, and Tidal Trends - Your Pacific Coast Fishing Update

Pacific tides are in our favor this Saturday, September 27th. We saw a low tide in the early morning around 2:22 AM, followed by a high at 7:39 AM—the perfect time to be out working jigs tight to structure or drifting a live bait near the kelp. Another low rolls in at 1:45 PM, and sunset’s set for 6:54 PM, giving us plenty of cooling, productive light into those evening hours. Sunrise was at 6:58 AM, and it’s shaping up to be a crisp, partly cloudy morning with stable barometric pressure—ideal for all you early risers looking for a hot bite, especially after a week where marine winds have calmed some[2]. Let’s dive into the catch: up north near Berkeley, California Dawn Sportfishing and the New Easy Rider have both been hammering bottom fish. On the 26th, boats reported hauls of 50 lingcod up to 22 pounds, stacked rockfish (250 on the best boats), and piles of sanddab. Lingcod are showing solid size and aggression, making swimbaits in blue and white, glow, or root beer killer—you want something meaty and a bit flashy for these brutes[1]. Emeryville’s New Huck Finn and Sea Wolf also got into strong numbers: 24 lingcod, 120 rockfish for Huck Finn, and Sea Wolf with 20 lingcod, 100 rockfish. Monterey saw lighter lingcod counts, but rockfish remain steady. If you're near those rocky pinnacles or steep drop-offs, now’s the time to drop jigs and squid-tipped setups down deep[1]. Moving south, San Diego’s bite is electric. Fisherman's Landing reports that Pacific Queen, Pacific Dawn, and Constitution have all posted LIMITS of yellowfin tuna, with the Islander returning with 176 yellowfin for 28 anglers. Boats have also been seeing bluefin, dorado, and yellowtail in the counts. The San Diego landed bluefin to 120 pounds, while the local New Seaforth half-day trips keep serving up yellowtail, rockfish, sculpin, bonito and the occasional halibut. The twilight shift absolutely loaded up on bonito[4][7][9]. If you’re going long range or offshore, stick to heavier fluorocarbon leaders and run flat-fall or knife jigs in blue, pink, and green for both bluefin and yellowfin. Trolling cedar plugs and using live sardines—brined and lively—still gets the most consistent tuna hits. Bonito, yellowtail, and calicos are loving smaller irons (surface and sliding), and a well-presented fly-lined sardine will entice the pickier fish near boil zones. If you can nab live squid, especially early and late, that’s always money for targeting white seabass or bigger halibut[9]. In the surf and nearshore, anglers tossing hard lures and spinners are still finding a few late-season coho and plenty of hungry rockfish, according to Pacific Angler’s latest review. Small, flashy spoons like the Gibbs Koho or custom flash-flies have been hot for aggressive takes. Don't overlook your soft plastics for surfperch and corbina on the sand, especially at dawn[3]. For hot spots, here’s what’s catching fire: - **North Bar/Alameda Rockpiles** (Berkeley/Emeryville): Big lingcod and limit- This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.