© 2026 Morning Update
Tides and Fishing: San Francisco and San Pablo Bay — Monday, October 5, 2026
Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:59:47 GMT · 5:00
https://morningupdate.org/sf-tides-fishing/episodes/sf-tides-fishing-monday-october-5-2026-2026-10-05/

Maya: Good morning, Bay Area anglers, and welcome to Tides and Fishing, San Francisco and San Pablo Bay. It is Monday, October fifth, twenty twenty-six, and I am Maya.
Devon: And I am Devon. The first low tide of the day is already behind us. Maya, what is the water doing today?
Maya: Here are the Noah tide predictions for the central bay at San Francisco. It is a classic mixed semidiurnal day, two unequal highs and two unequal lows. The first low came in at minus zero point zero nine feet at one forty-two this morning, so the tide is on the rise right now.
Devon: A minus low at two in the morning sets up the morning bite nicely.
Maya: It does. The first high is four point nine five feet at nine oh four A M, right when the Emeryville fleet gets to work. Then we fall back to a low of two point seven five feet at two oh three this afternoon, and the day finishes with a high of five point six zero feet at seven forty-nine this evening.
Devon: And San Pablo Bay at Richmond?
Maya: Same pattern, just a touch higher. Low of zero point zero six feet at two twenty this morning, high of five point three zero feet at nine thirty-one A M, second low of two point eight three feet at two forty P M, and a high of five point nine one feet at eight eighteen tonight.
Devon: Are any of these flagged above normal?
Maya: Nothing is flagged. The threshold is seven feet, and the highest number in the whole two-day outlook is five point nine three feet at Richmond tomorrow night. Tides are comfortably normal, no coastal flood concerns. For tomorrow, Tuesday October sixth, expect the same shape at San Francisco: a low of minus zero point zero six feet at two thirty-eight A M, a high of five point two five feet at nine forty-four A M, a low of two point one one feet at three oh two P M, and a high of five point five eight feet at eight fifty-eight P M.
Devon: Tides sorted. Now the part everyone cares about. What is biting?
Maya: It is October and the king salmon are on fire outside the Gate. Yesterday, October fourth, the Emeryville fleet had one of those days. The Here We Go ran a full day trip, six anglers, and came back with six king salmon, that is limits. Lovely Martha posted eighteen salmon for sixteen anglers on Friday, and Hog Heaven reported twenty-three salmon up to thirty pounds, mostly around the Bonita area and up the Marin coast.
Devon: Thirty pound kings in October, and what is the bottom bite doing?
Maya: Strong. The C Gull two took twenty anglers out yesterday and boxed two hundred rockfish and forty lingcod. Happy Hooker had one hundred sixty-six bonito for fifteen anglers, that is limits, plus three quarters limits of rockfish and five lingcod. Bonito are thick right now. And inside the bay, striped bass are the story. Live bait drifters in the central bay are getting good numbers of stripers, with some limit days, and a few halibut mixed in.
Devon: Okay, you have the bite. Now should you go? Marine weather for San Francisco Bay today.
Maya: The headline is simple: no warnings in effect for the bay. The Noah marine forecast calls for variable winds under five knots this morning, becoming west at five to eight knots in the afternoon, under sunny skies. Monday night, west-southwest five to seven knots, going variable and under five after midnight.
Devon: Green light for small boats, especially this morning. Should be glassy.
Maya: One caution though. There is a heat advisory for the Bay shoreline through Wednesday night, with inland temperatures in the nineties and low hundreds. On the water you get the breeze, but bring more water than you think you need and fish the morning hours.
Devon: Now the night sky, for anyone staying out after dark. What is up there tonight?
Maya: It is a great week for night fishing because the moon is barely a player. We are at a thin waning crescent, about a quarter lit, and it does not rise until the early morning hours. Dark skies all evening, which helps the night bite and makes for great stars.
Devon: The Milky Way visible?
Maya: Genuinely. In early October the summer Milky Way still arcs overhead in the early evening. From the middle of the bay, away from the city glow, trace it from the southwest horizon up through Cygnus and the Northern Cross near the top of the sky. Sagittarius sits low in the southwest, and that is the densest part of the band.
Devon: And the marine layer? The bay loves to eat the sky.
Maya: Honest answer: the fog threat is low in the early evening, with the forecast staying sunny into Tuesday. But patchy fog can still slide in after midnight near the Golden Gate and the South Bay. If the sky is clear at ten P M, get out on deck, the stars will be excellent. If the gray blanket is rolling in, the fog is winning.
Devon: Dark sky plus a rising evening tide at seven forty-nine, that is a recipe for the night bite.
Maya: That is the whole picture for Monday, October fifth. Tides normal, salmon limits outside the Gate, bonito wide open, stripers in the bay, calm morning water, and a dark sky full of the Milky Way. Go early, bring water, and have a great day on the water.
Devon: I am Devon, and we will be back tomorrow morning at two with the next tide board and bite report. Tight lines, everyone.