Late September Sizzle: Rockfish, Tuna & More Off the Pacific Coast

Artificial Lure here with your Pacific coast fishing report for September 20th, 2025, covering the salty stretches in and around California’s mighty Pacific. Let’s get right to what matters most—conditions, catches, baits, and those prime hot spots. First light came in at 6:51 AM today, with the sun planning a dip at 7:05 PM. We just had a high tide at 3:26 AM, swinging to a low at 9:30 AM, so as you’re heading out this morning, you’ll be riding that outgoing tide—a prime window for many of our favorite nearshore species, then we see another high at 3:40 PM. This kind of tide swing kicks up bait and gets fish hunting, especially around rocky structure and kelp lines, so timing your casts could make a big difference (tide-forecast.com). As for weather, expect cool, light overcast along much of NorCal and central coast, with morning fog burning off late and a breeze picking up in the early afternoon. Swell is steady out of the northwest with moderate chop—a typical late-September pattern, so pack an extra layer and check your drift if you’re on a small boat. Now, about the fishing: It’s been lights out for bottomfish this week. Out of Berkeley, California Dawn II reported 52 lingcod up to 26 pounds, along with 260 rockfish and a mess of sanddab on their full-day run just yesterday. Farther south in Monterey, Chris’ Fishing Trips’ boat “Check Mate” landed 10 lingcod and a hefty 240 rockfish for 24 anglers. If you’re targeting these, stick with heavy metal: **chrome or rootbeer swim jigs, large shrimp flies, and sanddab or squid strips as bait** are putting fish on the deck (Nor Cal Fish Reports, norcalfishreports.com). Down in San Diego waters, it’s still all about the tuna. Fisherman’s Landing reported the Liberty and Pacific Queen both coming back with **limits of bluefin tuna**—these fish running up to 100 pounds for some lucky sticks. Standouts are classic **sardine flylined on 30-50lb fluorocarbon**, but those big foamers have also been smashing flat-fall jigs and poppers, especially late in the afternoon (Fisherman's Landing). Other notables include heaps of sculpin, sheephead, whitefish, and the odd striped bass in SF Bay, with boats like TigerFish and Pacific Dream stacking up solid mixed bags. If you want bass or the odd halibut, try live anchovies or shiner perch, especially in current seams near piers and channel edges (Nor Cal Fish Reports, 976-TUNA). For surf and jetty anglers, the leopard sharks, perch, and occasional halibut are active around Pacifica and Santa Cruz—**gulp! camo sandworms, Lucky Craft surf pointers**, and natural baits like anchovies or squid chunks are your best bets. Hot spots to consider: - **The Farallon Islands**: For outstanding rockfish and lingcod limits—plan a boat trip. - **Monterey Bay, near Point Pinos**: Lingcod and big vermillion rockfish are thick on rocky shelves and reefs. - **The 9-Mile Bank and outer edges off San Diego**: Bluefin tuna schools with some big bruisers mixed in, best hit by priv This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.