Early Summer Stripers and Halibut: Golden Gate Tides and Morning Bite

This is Artificial Lure with your San Francisco Bay fishing report. We’re sitting on a classic early–summer pattern in the Bay: cool marine layer in the morning, modest afternoon wind, and very fishable tides. NOAA’s tide tables for the Golden Gate show a predawn low followed by a solid mid‑morning flood, then another ebb late afternoon. That morning flood is your money window: moving water, bait pushed up onto the flats, and gamefish right behind. Weather-wise, the National Weather Service is calling for upper 50s to low 60s on the water, overcast early, then partial clearing. Typical west to southwest winds building 10–15 knots in the afternoon with a stiff chop in open reaches like the Central Bay and off Alcatraz. Keep an eye out for that classic 2–3 foot wind wave when it pipes up; it’ll dictate where you can comfortably drift or troll. Sunrise is just after 5:45 a.m., sunset right around 8:30 p.m., so you’ve got a long workable day with prime bites at first light and again during that last couple hours before dark. Striped bass have been the headliner. Local reports from charter skippers working the Central Bay, especially around Alcatraz, Crissy, and the North Bar outside the Gate, are showing steady limits on schoolies with a few bigger fish to 15–20 pounds in the mix. Rockfish and lingcod are chewing well on the ocean side when the wind and swell allow runs out toward the Marin and San Mateo coastlines, with mixed bags of blacks, blues, and some solid lings. Inside the Bay, halibut fishing has remained good, especially on the mid‑morning flood. Drifters dragging live bait along the Berkeley Flats, Angel Island, and the South Bay channel edges are reporting several fish per rod on a decent day, with a mix of keepers and shorts. A few scattered leopard sharks and bat rays are also showing for folks soaking bait around Oyster Point, Candlestick, and the San Mateo Bridge. Best baits right now: live anchovies and live shiner perch are still king for halibut and bass. If you can’t get live, fresh dead anchovy or herring strips on a three‑way rig will still produce, especially when the tide is really rolling. For artificials, work 4–6 inch white or chartreuse swimbaits on 1–2 ounce jigheads along the bottom for halibut, and slightly smaller 3–4 inch paddle tails or jerk shads for bass around current breaks, pilings, and rock edges. On the troll, local captains are leaning on anchovy‑pattern minnow plugs and small hair jigs for stripers, and slow‑trolled herring or anchovies behind dodgers for halibut in the South Bay and around Treasure Island. Inshore rockfish and lings outside the Gate are falling for shrimp flies tipped with squid, and 6–8 inch swimbaits in brown, root beer, or motor oil bounced right on the structure. A couple of hot spots to circle on your chart: – The **Berkeley Flats**: productive on that incoming tide for halibut and schoolie stripers. Drift slow, follow the contour, and keep those baits just ticking bottom. – **Alcatraz and Crissy Field**: solid striper action when the current is moving, with a shot at halibut on the edges. Work the rips and color changes, and don’t be afraid to move until you mark bait. Work the tides, stay flexible with the wind, and you should find some life out there. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn