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San Francisco Bay Fishing Report: Late-Fall Highlights and Hot Spots
Good morning, this is Artificial Lure with your San Francisco Bay fishing report for Monday, November 24, 2025.
Out on the water today, we’re seeing a classic late-fall setup—cool, foggy mornings giving way to brisk northwest winds in the afternoon, so the early bite before conditions get breezy remains your best chance. Water temperatures are holding in the mid-50s, ideal for resident bay species. Sunrise hit at 7:00 AM this morning with sunset coming early at 4:52 PM, so daylight is precious—time those tides for best results.
Tidewise, today’s schedule from Tides4Fishing puts your first high at 3:08 AM (4.4 ft), low at 7:02 AM (3.6 ft), another high at 12:52 PM (5.5 ft), and the next low at 8:02 PM (-0.3 ft). That noon high stacks up with part of the minor solunar bite window, making late morning into the early afternoon a smart window for targeting predators along the current seams.
According to Fish Emeryville and the Happy Hooker, rockfish remain thick right now, with boats reporting easy limits of jumbo rockfish and full pots of Dungeness crab just before the season closes. Newcomers and veterans both have been loading the coolers, with a nice mix of species—coppers, browns, and big vermilions taking up most of the catch. Crabbing is lights out, so bring a crab hoop if you’re heading out on a six-pack or private boat.
Closer to the city, FishingReminder notes the bite for striped bass hangs on during these short days, especially around dawn and dusk when the tides are just starting to move. Top producing spots remain Crissy Field, Fort Point, and the Embarcadero piers—hot on a moving tide. Try 3–5 inch paddle-tail swimbaits in shad or anchovy patterns, or bucktail jigs matched to the current. If you prefer bait, live or cut anchovy is still turning heads.
Halibut are slowing down but a few quality fish are showing in the South Bay for patient anglers who drift a herring-pattern plug or bounce a tray anchovy just after sunup on mild wind days. Out by Alcatraz and the Marin Headlands, rockfish and lingcod reports are steady on shrimp flies and dark-colored swimbaits, with the bonus occasional school stripers searching for the last anchovy schools.
Night owls are connecting with leopard sharks and bat rays using squid and other oily baits near piers and channel edges—especially productive around South Beach Harbor and Washerwoman’s Bay.
Want a shore option? Surfperch are biting near troughs on Ocean Beach and Baker Beach, mostly on Gulp sandworms or preserved sandcrabs. Focus on twilight and where the waves break uneven, as that’s where sandbars and holes sit.
For the lure hounds, Berkley’s new late-fall bass releases are flying off the shelves—local anglers recommend the topwater Choppo or the Power Stinger for stripers, and the tried-and-true Gotcha plugs, swimbaits, or curly-tail grubs. Don’t forget to scale your weights to the tide—just heavy enough to tick bottom but not drag to maximize your hookups when current is running.
Hot spots this week:
- Fort Point and Crissy Field for early stripers and a mixed-bag bite
- Emeryville and Berkeley flats for easy rockfish and booming crab hauls
Big thanks for tuning in to the local line—don’t forget to subscribe to keep up with the tides, lures, and late-breaking hot bites.
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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Published on 3 weeks, 5 days ago