Early fall chill settles into SF Bay and Bodega waters

What's next

As the moon builds from First Quarter toward Full over the coming week, expect the tidal range to widen, sharpening the push around each low and high — worth watching for anyone working current-dependent structure. Today's early-afternoon low at both stations sets up a rising tide through the evening, typically the better window to fish moving water rather than dead slack.

Weekend anglers should plan around the same early-to-midday low tide cycle, with the better window likely falling on the incoming tide that follows. The outer-coast station's cooler reading points to the seasonal cool-down continuing through the week. Tide times shift by several minutes each day, so check the current prediction before heading out.

Context

Mid-to-late September marks the transition out of peak summer upwelling into the more variable early-fall pattern typical of Northern California, with water temperatures usually beginning a slow decline through November. A two-to-three-degree spread between sheltered and outer-coast readings is typical for this stretch of coast in early fall. Overall, this puts the region on a fairly ordinary seasonal schedule, neither notably early nor late compared with a typical year.