Early Summer Stripers and Halibut: Work the Tide Changes for Your Best Shot

This is Artificial Lure with your San Francisco Bay fishing report. We’ve got a classic early summer pattern lining up. The National Weather Service is calling for morning marine layer along the coast, burning off late, with light west winds building to 10–15 knots this afternoon and a typical afternoon chop on the Central and North Bay. Inland temps are warmer, but on the water you’re looking at comfortable 60s, cooler near the Gate. Sunrise is just after 5:45 a.m. and sunset is a bit after 8:30 p.m., so you’ve got a long window to work those tide swings. Local tide tables show a decent pre-dawn incoming, topping out mid‑morning, then a dropping tide through the afternoon into the evening low. That morning flood and the first push of the afternoon ebb should be your money times, especially around structure and channel edges. Striped bass are still the headliner. Party boats and private skiffs working the South Bay, Oyster Point to the San Mateo Bridge, have been reporting solid schoolie action with a few bigger models mixed in. Trollers pulling broken‑back minnows and small chartreuse/white swimbaits along the edge of the main channel have been putting limits together. Shore anglers at Candlestick, Oyster Point, and along the San Leandro shoreline have been picking off bass on pile worms, anchovies, and 4–5 inch paddle‑tail plastics. Halibut fishing remains steady rather than wide‑open, but there are quality fish around. Boats drifting the Berkeley Flats, Crissy Field, and Alcatraz area have been bringing in a mix of keepers and shorts. Live anchovies and shiner perch are still king, but those drifting herring‑pattern swimbaits or white flukes on a light drop‑shot are getting bit, especially on that slower part of the tide. Inside the Gate, around Angel Island and the Rockpile, you’ll find a mix of stripers and halibut with an occasional lingcod if you slide a little deeper. High‑low rigs tipped with squid strips or sardines bounced along the bottom near structure have been producing a mixed bag. Best lures right now: - For stripers: 4–5 inch chartreuse/white or pearl swimbaits, silver spoons, and topwater walkers at first light in the shallows. - For halibut: 4–6 inch smelt or herring‑pattern swimbaits on 1–2 oz heads, white flukes on drop‑shot or Carolina rigs. - For multi‑species bait rigs: simple hi‑los with squid, anchovy, or sardine strips. If you’re fishing bait, bring anchovies, sardines, pile worms, and a little squid. Keep your leaders light and your hooks sharp; the water has decent clarity on the last of the flood, and a clean presentation matters. A couple of local hot spots to think about: - Berkeley Flats: drifting for halibut on the last of the flood and first of the ebb, with a shot at bass roaming the edges. - Oyster Point to San Mateo Bridge: trolling channels for schoolie stripers early, then bait‑soaking from shore or anchored up once the wind comes up. - Bonus call‑out: Crissy Field on a weaker wind morning can be a sleeper for halibut and the stray big striper cruising the beach. Work the tide changes, keep moving until you find clean marks and bait on the meter, and don’t be afraid to downsize your offerings if the bite turns picky. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a Bay 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