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Pacifica Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

San Francisco's surf-fishing porch: striped bass in the Pacific wash, a pier built for crabs and salmon water beyond the fog line.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
High 10:37 PM
Air / High
65 / 67 F
Wind
NNE 4 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 9414290, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Pacifica feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNE around 4 mph, falling pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 67. Tides: high 10:12 AM and 10:37 PM, low 3:34 AM and 4:18 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 65 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:50 AM-11:50 AM and 10:18 PM-12:18 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rockfish (Pacific)Excellent

Much of the open season along the coast falls in this band. Fish through suspended schools of black, blue and other midwater rockfish, and closer to the rocks for vermilion, copper and China rockfish.

SurfperchGood

Fall through spring is the peak on both the central (October to June) and southern (September to May) California coasts, per the state beach guides. Fish sand crabs, worms or Carolina-rigged grubs near crab beds and bar edges.

California halibutGood

The catch drops after October as halibut move to deeper water (CDFW). Fish deeper channels and nearshore sand and slow the drift.

Tomorrow: Similar at 71 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

California requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $64.54 for residents. What a California licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing surfperch here? Check the size and bag limits with CDFW before you keep anything. The season dates for California, read off the agency, are on the California seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 9414290 (San Francisco, Golden Gate). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW3:34 AM0.9 ft
HIGH10:12 AM5.6 ft
LOW4:18 PM0.9 ft
HIGH10:37 PM4.9 ft
Sat
LOW4:09 AM1.3 ft
HIGH10:39 AM5.9 ft
LOW4:55 PM0.2 ft
HIGH11:31 PM5.0 ft

Pacifica tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp65 F
High / Low67 / 53 F
WindNNE 4-8 mph
Pressure1018.7 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain79% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset07:26 / 18:21
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~65 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Pacifica this week

Today is the pick of the week on Pacifica, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:50 AM-11:50 AM and 10:18 PM-12:18 AM
Minor period
4:14 AM-5:14 AM
Sun
07:26 to 18:21
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 8 mph
Rain chance
2%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Pacifica: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Surfperch illustration

Surfperch

Best: Oct-Jun central CA, Sep-May southern CA

Barred and redtail surfperch are the large perches of Pacific sandy beaches: barred from northern California into Baja, redtail from Vancouver Island to San Luis Obispo County, overlapping along central California. Fall through spring is the peak on both the central (October to June) and southern (September to May) California coasts, per the state beach guides. Fish sand crabs, worms or Carolina-rigged grubs near crab beds and bar edges.

California halibut illustration

California halibut

Best: Apr-Oct, peaking in summer (CDFW)

California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) is a large flatfish of sand and mud bottoms in bays, estuaries and shallow coastal water, an ambush predator that lifts off the bottom to take anchovies and squid. The catch drops after October as halibut move to deeper water (CDFW). Fish deeper channels and nearshore sand and slow the drift.

Rockfish (Pacific) illustration

Rockfish (Pacific)

Seasons and depth limits vary by state and zone

Pacific rockfish are about 60 Sebastes species managed under the federal groundfish plan, from black and blue rockfish schooling over shallow reefs to yelloweye that live more than a century in deep water. Much of the open season along the coast falls in this band. Fish through suspended schools of black, blue and other midwater rockfish, and closer to the rocks for vermilion, copper and China rockfish.

When to come: the Pacifica calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Surfperch
California halibut
Rockfish (Pacific)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 65 F (estimated, not a reading).

506070JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~65 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Pacifica today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rockfish (Pacific) led the card at good. High of 62 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rockfish (Pacific) led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rockfish (Pacific) led the card at good. High of 68 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

California requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

California license from shore/beach; NO license required on the public pier. Striped bass 18-inch minimum, 2/day. Crab seasons and rockfish zones: check CDFW.

Access

Pacifica Municipal Pier (free), Linda Mar and Sharp Park beach lots, Mori Point trail access.

About this water

Coastal town on the San Mateo bluffs south of San Francisco. The Bay Area's surf-casting capital.

Fishing Pacifica: the full guide

The city's wild beach

Pacifica hangs on the coast fifteen minutes from San Francisco and fishes like another planet: Linda Mar and Sharp Park beaches run classic Pacific surf structure (bars, troughs, rips) holding barred surfperch all year and: the anomaly that makes the town famous: striped bass in the ocean wash. July-September, bait pushed along the beach brings stripers into the first trough: Hawg Slayers and big grubs at dawn, fog as standard equipment.

The pier

Pacifica Municipal Pier (Sharp Park) is a working stand: Dungeness and rock crab pots over the rail in season, kingfish and perch on bottom rigs, jacksmelt schools for the sabiki crowd, and salmon within casting legend when anchovies ball against the beach in strong years. No license needed on a public pier: it is the region's most legitimate free fishing.

Reading Pacifica's water

The beach rearranges with every winter swell: scout at low tide and fish the incoming. Rips vent through the bars at the corners: perch stack their edges, stripers patrol their heads. Calm, green water fishes best; brown post-storm churn means wait two days. The kelp edges off Rockaway and Mori Point hold black rockfish for casters on the calmest mornings.

Seasons in the fog

Winter-spring: big barred surfperch on sand crabs, crabbing from the pier. Summer: the striper watch at dawn, halibut rumors off Linda Mar on flat days, salmon fleets trolling the horizon. Fall: perch rebuilding, the odd striper straggler, and the cleanest water of the year. Wetsuit-clad regulars fish it all: the water never warms past cold.

Common questions

Can you really catch striped bass in the ocean at Pacifica?

Yes: summer schools chase bait along the beaches: it is California's signature ocean-surf striper fishery. Dawn patrol with big swimbaits in the trough: the window is July-September and fog is your friend.

Do I need a license on the Pacifica Pier?

No: California exempts public piers from license requirements: crab nets and rods welcome. Beach and rock fishing DO require the license: the sand line is the boundary.

Is fishing good at Pacifica right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

San Pablo Reservoir24 miLake Del Valle43 miLos Vaqueros Reservoir43 miCalifornia Delta55 miBodega Bay56 miPutah Creek65 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 9414290 β€” San Francisco, Golden Gate
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 11 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 37.6330, -122.4900 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.