California fishing reports
701 reports for California — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Shoreline striper bite holds up as NorCal water cools into fall
NOAA CO-OPS stations 9418767 and 9416841 are reading 51.1°F and 52.9°F respectively this morning, cool water typical of Northern California's fall transition. Just down the coast at Monterey Bay, Allen "Bushy" Bushnell's report for Western Outdoor News — Saltwater notes solid nearshore fishing around Santa Cruz this week, including striped bass working the shoreline.
Marlin and striper action stretches through the SoCal Bight
Water in the LA Bight is running warm for late September, with NOAA CO-OPS station 9410170 reading 76.8°F and station 9410230 at 73.9°F early this morning. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports marlin sightings scattered throughout the Bight over the past several weeks, extending as far as the Northern Channel Islands, with striped bass and bluefish also showing up on the same grounds. That's an unusual mix for this stretch of coast this late in the season, and it points to warm water still holding offshore structure together.
Stripers show along the coast as Bay Area water cools toward fall
Water temperatures across our two regional tide stations are holding at 56.3°F and 55.4°F this morning, seasonal numbers as Northern California eases toward fall. South along the coast near Santa Cruz, Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports nearshore fishing has been very good this week, with a shoreline striper catch among the highlights and bigger offshore potential once the weather settles. High tide rolls through tonight between roughly 9:30 and 10:20 p.m., with both stations ebbing toward a predawn low near 4 to 5 a.m., a workable window for anyone fishing the last of the outgoing water before first light.
Santa Cruz stripers keep shoreline anglers busy on the Central Coast
Water temperatures along the Central Coast sit in the low-to-mid 60s this week, 61.3°F at Monterey Bay and 63.5°F at Port San Luis per NOAA CO-OPS, typical for late September as surface temps ease off their summer peak. Nearshore fishing has been very good at Santa Cruz, per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, with shoreline striped bass among the notable catches as anglers work the beaches following the birds and bait.
Stripers and blues swarm SoCal Bight amid warm late-summer water
NOAA CO-OPS readings show San Diego (station 9410170) holding at 77.9°F and Los Angeles (station 9410230) at 75°F, keeping the Bight in late-summer territory as the equinox passes. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports stripers and blues swarming throughout the SoCal Bight this week, with captains working the Channel Islands finding some of the best structure-adjacent action in recent memory.
Sacramento-Delta Settles Into Its Early Fall Transition
Late September puts the Sacramento-Delta into its early fall transition, the seasonal turn when cooling surface temperatures and shorter days push baitfish out of the shallow flats and reshuffle where fish stage through the system's channels, cuts and dead-end sloughs. This is typically the stretch when anglers start working the deeper edges where current concentrates baitfish once the afternoon sun loses its grip on the shallows, rather than fishing the skinny water that produced through summer.
Stripers keep working the surf as NorCal shifts toward fall
NOAA CO-OPS station 9418767 logged water temperatures at 57.7°F this morning, while station 9416841 tracked cooler at 53.8°F, a split that lines up with the differences between bay-influenced and open-coast exposure this time of year. To the south at Santa Cruz, Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports shoreline stripers still showing well, with anglers working the surf behind moving birds and bait.
Santa Cruz stripers keep working the surf as bait pushes in
Monterey and Port San Luis tide stations are reading 61.5°F and 62.4°F this morning, keeping the Central Coast in its typical early-fall nearshore window. Off Santa Cruz, Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports shoreline anglers working striped bass along the beaches this week, with one local angler finding fish by tracking diving birds and bait pushed tight to shore. Nearshore fishing has reportedly been good this week per that report, with anglers willing to follow the bait rewarded quickly.
Truckee River turns on as fall cooling arrives
Reno Fly Shop's latest on-the-water reports point to a classic late-summer-into-fall shift on the Truckee River: as water temperatures ease down, the morning bite has been picking up, with activity coming on crayfish and mayfly imitations worked early in the day on both the California and Nevada sides. The shop has been steering anglers upstream toward the CA side, where cooler water is keeping fish more active than stretches still carrying summer heat downstream.
Striper bite holds along Santa Cruz coast as Bay water cools
NOAA CO-OPS stations in San Francisco Bay and Bodega Bay are both reading in the low-to-mid 50s this afternoon (54.3°F and 53.6°F), a clear signal the region is settling into its fall temperature range. Per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, shoreline anglers working the beaches near Santa Cruz are still connecting with striped bass by following diving birds and bait balls, with a recent stretch producing both stripers and a monster seabass from the surf. The same outlet notes stripers and blues swarming further south through the SoCal Bight, a sign the broader coastal migration is active up and down California this week.
Shoreline stripers turn up near Santa Cruz as fall transition begins
Central Coast water is holding in the low-to-mid 60s this week, with our two coastal stations reading 61.5°F and 62.6°F. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports a notable shoreline striped bass catch near Santa Cruz, where a local angler working the surf behind diving birds and bait connected on a solid striper alongside a big seabass. The same report also logs scattered yellowtail activity reaching north toward Point Conception as bonito action spreads through the Bight.
Striped bass working the Santa Cruz surf as fall shift builds
Water temperatures are running a clean fall split across the region: 58.3°F at the SF Bay tide station (9418767) versus a noticeably cooler 53.4°F up at the Bodega-area station (9416841), the kind of gradient that pushes bait, and stripers, tight to the beach. Per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, a shoreline striped bass highlighted a strong week of fishing near Santa Cruz, with anglers working the surf by following birds and bait.