Bay Area Fishing &
Coastal Adventures:
Free Monthly Outdoor Experiences

Yes, San Francisco Bay offers excellent fishing opportunities year-round with diverse species and accessible locations. You can fish from public piers without a license, or from boats and shorelines with proper California fishing licenses. Our Bay Area Coastal Adventures program provides guided fishing experiences at premier locations including Half Moon Bay, Pier 7, and protected bay areas with professional instruction and all necessary equipment.

When fishing from public piers in ocean or bay waters, no fishing license is required according to California regulations. However, fishing from boats, shorelines, or private areas requires a valid California fishing license. Our pier fishing adventures eliminate licensing requirements while providing professional instruction and equipment.

San Francisco Bay offers diverse fishing opportunities including striped bass, halibut, rockfish, sturgeon, salmon, lingcod, and leopard sharks. You can also catch various surfperch species, plus crabs including red rock crab. Sevengill sharks allow for one fish per day with no size limit, while Leopard sharks allow for 3 fish per angler.

Saved By Nature's naturalist guides provide species identification education and sustainable catch-and-release instruction during fishing adventures.

The best fishing times are generally dawn and dusk when fish are most active. Additionally, targeting periods around high or outgoing tides brings in baitfish, attracting larger predatory fish. Halibut fishing is most successful from spring to fall, while Stripers are most abundant from Spring to Fall.

Saved By Nature fishing adventures are scheduled based on optimal tide cycles, and we follow seasonal patterns when different species are most abundant.

Effective baits for San Francisco Bay include anchovies (whole or cut), squid, shrimp (live or frozen), and sand crabs. For pier fishing, anchovies and squid are versatile choices for most species. Drifting and mooching with live bait anchovies for halibut is the most successful fishing method.

Saved By nature's Bay Area Coastal Adventures program provides all bait and tackle with expert guidance on proper techniques for different target species and conditions.

Halibut has no regulatory date restrictions, but the best fishing usually occurs from the spring to fall.

During our seasonal fishing adventures, naturalist guides share optimal timing information and sustainable fishing practices for different species throughout the year.

Key fishing seasons include: Sharks available year-round with no regulatory restrictions, Halibut from spring through fall (best fishing), Stripers most abundant from Spring to Fall, and Salmon generally available July through October. Current salmon regulations typically allow fishing from April through October with daily bag limits of 2 salmon per day.

Saved By Nature's monthly adventures follow these seasonal patterns, ensuring optimal fishing success while teaching participants about fish migration and ecosystem patterns.

Current regulations include: Surfperch limit of 5 fish in San Francisco Bay (compared to 20 in other areas), with redtail surfperch having a 10.5" minimum size limit. Salmon daily bag limit is 2 fish per day. In San Francisco Bay, only one line with not more than three hooks may be used, and on public piers, no more than two rods and lines are allowed.

Our guides provide current regulation education and ensure all participants fish within legal limits.

Our Bay Area Coastal Adventures program welcomes multigenerational families across the San Francisco Bay Area seeking comprehensive coastal recreation experiences. We serve primarily low-income families, BIPOC communities, people with disabilities, and ESL learners who face barriers accessing premium coastal activities. No previous fishing or outdoor experience required - we provide all equipment, instruction, and safety protocols.

All experiences are completely free to participants and families. Program funding covers professional fishing equipment, charter boat services, camping gear, meals, entrance fees, and all specialized equipment. Occasional charter bus transportation provided for select adventures removes additional costs for participating families.

Our comprehensive Bay Area Coastal Adventures program includes pier and charter boat fishing, seasonal crabbing expeditions, guided kayaking, coastal camping and backpacking adventures, charter boat tours for whale watching, and kite flying instruction across diverse environments from Monterey to San Francisco Bay.

Fish from San Francisco Bay contain concentrations of mercury, PCBs, and other chemical contaminants that are above thresholds of concern for human health. The 2011 advisory states that women under 45 years of age and children may eat up to two servings a week of Chinook salmon, brown rockfish, jacksmelt, or red rock crab, OR one serving a week of halibut or white croaker. They should not eat any shark, surfperch, striped bass, or white sturgeon.

Save By Nature provides education about local health advisories, sustainable consumption guidelines, and proper fish handling during our conservation education segments. Our naturalist guides discuss current safety protocols and preparation methods like eating only skinless fillets.

California fishing regulations include specific size limits (like 10.5" minimum for redtail surfperch), seasonal restrictions, and bag limits for various species. In San Francisco Bay, surfperch are limited to 5 fish (compared to 20 elsewhere), and only one line with not more than three hooks may be used. Recent 2025 regulation changes eliminated minimum size limits for cabezon, California scorpionfish, kelp greenling, and rock greenling.

Saved By Nature's fishing adventures include comprehensive education on current regulations, proper measurement techniques, and sustainable catch-and-release practices to ensure compliance and conservation.

Because of heavy contamination by PCBs and the pesticide dieldrin, OEHHA recommends that no one eat any fish or shellfish from the Lauritzen Channel in Richmond Inner Harbor. There are also Groundfish Exclusion Areas that prohibit fishing for groundfish and are designed to protect sensitive coral and sponge populations. Saved By Nature's guides ensure all fishing activities occur in legal, safe areas with current regulation compliance.

From May until October, mussels along the Pacific coast can make you very sick due to biotoxins, so do not eat sport-harvested mussels during these months. Other bivalve shellfish including commercially harvested mussels from certified companies are not included in this quarantine.

Popular and productive locations include Pier 7 in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay for diverse species, and various protected bay areas. Striped bass are a common species reeled in by anglers at Pier 7.

Saved By Nature's Bay Area Coastal Adventures program provides access to premier fishing locations with professional guidance, ensuring participants experience the most productive and safe fishing spots while learning about local marine ecosystems.

Key public piers include Pier 7 in San Francisco, various Half Moon Bay piers, and numerous Bay Area public fishing piers. San Mateo County Environmental Health Services posts Fish Smart signs at fishing locations throughout the county to promote important consumption guidelines.

Saved By Nature's guides are familiar with all major pier fishing locations and select optimal spots based on species, season, and participant experience level.

San Francisco Bay is particularly known for Chinook (King) Salmon, which are prized both recreationally and culturally. Chinook salmon are among the species tested in Bay monitoring programs and are included in consumption advisories.

Saved By Nature's educational programming covers the cultural and ecological significance of salmon in Bay Area waters.

Common species in monitoring programs include striped bass, white sturgeon, shiner surfperch, white croaker, and jacksmelt, which serve as indicator species for Bay health. Anchovies are also extremely abundant and serve as crucial baitfish for larger predatory species.

Saved By Nature's naturalist guides provide detailed species identification and ecology education during fishing adventures.

Unlike commercial fishing charters, our program focuses on comprehensive environmental education, community access for underserved populations, and building long-term connections to coastal conservation. All experiences are completely free, include educational components about marine ecology and sustainability, and welcome participants regardless of fishing experience level.