Maya: Good morning, and welcome to S F Bay Tides and Fishing, your daily tides and fishing report for the San Francisco Bay Area, for Sunday, October fourth, twenty twenty-six. I'm Maya.
Devon: And I'm Devon. Today: tide times for the central bay and San Pablo Bay, a salmon bite that's on fire, light winds, and a night sky worth staying out late for. Let's start with the water.
Maya: Tides today at San Francisco, by the Golden Gate, run a classic mixed pattern, two highs and two lows, nothing extreme. Noah's predictions show a low of minus zero point zero seven feet at twelve thirty-four A M, just barely below the datum in the middle of the night.
Devon: Then the water climbs to a morning high of four point six six feet at eight sixteen A M, drops to a midday low of three point two eight feet at twelve forty-eight P M, and finishes with the big high of the day, five point six five feet, at six thirty-two P M.
Maya: Up in San Pablo Bay, using the Richmond station, the pattern runs about half an hour later and a touch taller. A low of zero point zero six feet at one thirteen A M, then a high of four point nine five feet at eight forty-three A M.
Devon: A midday low of three point three five feet at one twenty-five P M, and the day's top high, five point nine zero feet, at six fifty-eight P M. Both stations stay well under our seven-foot above-normal flag, so no shoreline flooding worries today.
Maya: Tomorrow's nearly a carbon copy. San Francisco highs of four point nine five feet at nine oh four A M and five point six zero feet at seven forty-nine P M, and Richmond highs of five point three zero feet at nine thirty-one A M and five point nine one feet at eight eighteen P M. No extremes.
Devon: Now the fishing, and folks, salmon are the story. Yesterday's counts out of Fish Emeryville had the Diamond boat putting twelve king salmon on the deck for just six anglers.
Maya: The Lovely Martha out of San Francisco finished Friday with eighteen salmon for sixteen anglers, and the skipper said plenty more got away. Hog Heaven Sportfishing reported twenty-three salmon up to thirty pounds.
Devon: James Smith on the California Dawn had both boats on the salmon grounds yesterday in gorgeous weather, and he's running rockfish and bonito combos too. The Lovely Martha has room on a half-day salmon trip tomorrow, but her next full-day salmon trip isn't until Monday, October twelfth.
Maya: The rockfish bite is wide open as well. The C Gull Two out of Emeryville posted two hundred thirty rockfish and forty-six lingcod for twenty-three anglers yesterday, plus a bonus bonito.
Devon: And Chris Smith on the Happy Hooker called it a total massacre, limits of rockfish for nineteen anglers plus one hundred seventy-five bonito. Bass Tub Sportfishing reported phenomenal sand dab fishing with nice grade rockfish and lingcod mixed in.
Maya: The Fish Sniffer's saltwater notes agree, limits of salmon coming over the rails, and they flag S F Fleet Week, October ninth through eleventh, so expect a busy bay and the Blue Angels overhead.
Devon: Honest note: no fresh halibut or striped bass counts in today's reports. Every boat is on salmon, rockfish, and bonito, so that's where the action is.
Maya: Marine weather now. Noah's coastal waters forecast for the bay, issued this morning, is about as friendly as it gets. Today, light and variable winds becoming northwest five to ten knots.
Devon: Tonight, northwest five to ten knots in the evening, going light and variable. Monday, northwest around five knots, building to five to ten in the afternoon, and Tuesday looks about the same.
Maya: No small craft advisory for the bay, so that's a green light for small boats. With winds this light, even the slot by the Gate should stay manageable.
Devon: One heads-up from shore, it's a scorcher on land. A heat advisory covers the whole Bay Area through ten P M tonight, with San Francisco pushing toward eighty-five degrees. Bring water, sunscreen, and a hat, because there's barely a breeze to cool you.
Maya: And now the night sky, for the anglers who stay out late. If you're still on the water after sunset, you've got the best seat in the house. The Summer Triangle, Vega, Deneb, and Altair, is right overhead, and the pale band of the Milky Way runs straight through it. From the darker water up in San Pablo Bay, it really shows.
Devon: The headline act is Saturn, at opposition today: Earth flies right between Saturn and the sun, making it the biggest and brightest of the entire year. Look east after sunset for a steady golden light, highest around midnight. Before dawn, brilliant Jupiter takes over in the eastern sky.
Maya: The moon is a thin waning crescent that doesn't rise until about one forty A M, so the evening sky stays dark. And the fog question, because this is the Bay Area. The Weather Service says the marine layer is squashed flat under this heat, so skies over the bay should stay clear tonight.
Devon: Honest verdict: you'll see stars tonight. The coast near the Gate could catch patchy fog, but the bay looks clear, with Saturn at its best all year.
Maya: That's your Sunday on the bay. Comfortable tides, chewing salmon, light winds, and a sky worth looking up at.
Devon: We'll be back tomorrow morning at five A M with fresh tides and fresh fish counts. Until then, tight lines, and we'll see you on the water.