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Pacifica Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 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.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 12:56 AM
Air / High
65 / 65 F
Wind
W 11 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Pacifica lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 65. Tides: high 7:17 AM and 5:27 PM, low 10:57 AM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 68 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

California halibutGood

Prime season: bounce swimbaits and grubs down current seams over 10-40 ft of sand near structure edges, harbor mouths and eelgrass borders. Slow is the whole secret: keep bottom contact.

Rockfish (Pacific)Good

Full season: work kelp edges and pinnacles with 2-4 oz leadheads and plastics. The bigger vermilions and coppers hold tight to the hard bottom below the school.

SurfperchFair

Steady pick in the first trough: sand crabs where you can rake them, 2-inch motor-oil grubs where you cannot. Moving tides fish best: the last two hours of the flood push feeders tight to the sand.

Tomorrow: Similar at 63 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

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

Fri
HIGH7:17 AM4.0 ft
LOW10:57 AM3.4 ft
HIGH5:27 PM6.1 ft
Sat
LOW12:56 AM0.1 ft
HIGH8:42 AM4.3 ft
LOW12:29 PM3.5 ft
HIGH6:41 PM6.2 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp65 F
High / Low65 / 56 F
WindW 11-12 mph
Pressure1014.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain11% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset06:43 / 19:34
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~68 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 65/56 F, wind 12 mph, rain 2%

Fair or better. A 12 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

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: Dec-Apr spawning surf

The Pacific surf's honest wage: barred and redtail surfperch schooling in the wash, paying anglers who read the beach. Steady pick in the first trough: sand crabs where you can rake them, 2-inch motor-oil grubs where you cannot. Moving tides fish best: the last two hours of the flood push feeders tight to the sand.

California halibut illustration

California halibut

Best: Apr-Jul flats and bays

The flatfish that thinks it is a bass: ambushing anchovies over sand from San Diego bays to San Francisco flats. Prime season: bounce swimbaits and grubs down current seams over 10-40 ft of sand near structure edges, harbor mouths and eelgrass borders. Slow is the whole secret: keep bottom contact.

Rockfish (Pacific) illustration

Rockfish (Pacific)

Best: Apr-Oct open season

The Pacific reef's crowd: black, blue, vermilion and twenty cousins stacked on structure, biting like they mean it. Full season: work kelp edges and pinnacles with 2-4 oz leadheads and plastics. The bigger vermilions and coppers hold tight to the hard bottom below the school.

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 68 F (estimated, not a reading).

506070JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~68 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, Sep 3

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. California halibut led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 15 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. California halibut led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. California halibut led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

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