California fishing reports
701 reports for California — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Shoreline stripers keep working the surf near Santa Cruz
Striped bass are still showing along the surf near Santa Cruz, per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, with anglers working the beaches behind moving birds and bait pods rather than blind-casting open water. Water temperatures across the Central Coast are holding in the low-to-mid 60s, 61.9°F at one station and 64.8°F at the other, both normal for late September. Tonight's full moon is stacking up bigger-than-average tidal swings, with a high tide near 10:48am and a low around 4:34pm working through the region today. The window right around those tide changes is where the shoreline bite has reportedly been strongest.
Shoreline stripers keep biting as full moon swings Bay Area tides
San Francisco Bay-area water is running close to 58°F this week, while the reading near Bodega comes in cooler at 54.1°F, a spread consistent with active upwelling pushing along the outer coast. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports shoreline striped bass activity down the coast around Santa Cruz, with anglers working the beach behind diving birds and moving bait, a pattern that typically tracks north with the bait migration this time of year. It's the clearest species signal available this week, and it points to stripers holding tight to structure and bait pods rather than roaming open water.
Stripers Swarm the SoCal Bight in Late-Season Push
NOAA CO-OPS station 9410170 off Los Angeles reads 76.6°F this week, with the Santa Monica station (9410230) running slightly cooler at 73.6°F, both still solidly in the late-summer range for the LA Bight and Channel Islands. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports striped bass swarming throughout the SoCal Bight, a strong showing for the species this late in September. The full moon has tides swinging harder than usual: at the Los Angeles station, the next high lands near 9:29am with the following low around 3:42pm.
Eastern Sierra trout settle into fall transition under a full moon
Eastern Sierra waters are moving into their fall transition this week, with high-elevation lakes and streams cooling as days shorten and summer patterns give way to autumn ones. This week's full moon adds a strong low-light bite window, and cooler mornings typically push feeding activity earlier and later in the day for Brown Trout and Brook Trout holding in these waters.
Shoreline stripers turn on along the Santa Cruz coast
Water along the Central Coast is holding in the low 60s — 62.8°F at Monterey (NOAA CO-OPS station 9413450) and 63.9°F at Port San Luis (NOAA CO-OPS station 9412110). Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports shoreline striper action working the surf and nearshore water around Santa Cruz this week, with bait pushing through Monterey Bay. Tonight's full moon is stacking bigger tidal swings on top of that pattern, which is worth building a trip around rather than fishing on a fixed schedule.
Full Moon Tides Reshape SF Bay and Bodega as Stripers Show South
Both NOAA CO-OPS stations covering San Francisco Bay and Bodega Bay are reading water in the mid-50s (55.8°F at station 9418767, 55°F at 9416841), with a high tide moving through late this evening ahead of a swift ebb toward a low near dawn. That swing lands on a full moon, so expect a stronger-than-usual push between high and low water. To the south, Western Outdoor News reports Allen Bushnell finding shoreline stripers holding tight to the Santa Cruz beaches this week, working the surf line behind bait and diving birds, the same fall pattern anglers working NorCal's inshore structure should be watching for.
Striped bass show along Santa Cruz shoreline as Central Coast cools
NOAA CO-OPS station 9413450 read 62.1°F this morning and station 9412110 read 63.5°F, both holding in the low-to-mid 60s that mark the Central Coast's shift into fall. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports shoreline striped bass activity picking up around Santa Cruz, with fish following bait pushed tight to the beach. Under this week's full moon, tidal swings are running stronger than normal, which tends to sharpen that kind of shoreline feeding.
Striped bass move shallow as big tides push into SF Bay and Bodega
Water temperatures logged this morning span a wide range across the region, 39.4°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 9418767 and 54.1°F at station 9416841, reflecting how sharply water character can shift along this stretch of Northern California coast heading into fall. South along the coast in Santa Cruz, Allen Bushnell's report for Western Outdoor News — Saltwater flagged striped bass working tight to the beach alongside big seabass, with fish following bait and diving birds close to shore.
Striped bass push into the SoCal Bight under a full moon
San Pedro is reading 75.4°F and La Jolla 71.4°F this afternoon (NOAA CO-OPS), a comfortable late-September spread for the LA Bight and Channel Islands. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports striped bass swarming the SoCal Bight over the past several weeks, with sightings pushing out to the Northern Channel Islands, alongside other big predators working the same water. Today's full moon is stacking a strong low tide behind it, due near 3 p.m. at both stations.
Santa Cruz stripers show as Central Coast bait pushes inshore
Water on the Central Coast is holding at 63°F this week, and Western Outdoor News — Saltwater's latest Santa Cruz report has striped bass showing along the shoreline as anglers follow diving birds and moving bait. The same report calls nearshore fishing very good right now, with bigger game reportedly building offshore once conditions settle. For surf and jetty anglers on the Central Coast, steady mid-60s water and bait pushed tight to the beach is exactly the setup that gets stripers feeding close enough to reach from shore.
Stripers moving through Santa Cruz as SF Bay water cools
Water temps at NOAA's San Francisco and Point Reyes-area tide stations are holding in the mid-50s (55.4°F and 55°F) this week, right in range for late September in the Bay Area and Bodega Bay corridor. Per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, captain Allen "Bushy" Bushnell reported shoreline striped bass showing near Santa Cruz this week, with fish following diving birds and bait along the beach, a pattern anglers up the coast into the Bay watch closely this time of year.
Fall transition takes hold across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is holding in the high 60s, with USGS gauges in the western Delta reading 69°F while a station further upstream reports 66°F on a flow of 15,600 cfs. A gauge closer to the confluence logged a sharp reversal, roughly -70,700 cfs, marking a strong flood tide pushing back through this freshwater tidal reach. That kind of swing is typical of the Delta's tidally driven hydrology, where current direction flips with the tide even well inland.