ReelCaster

Bodega Bay Fishing Report & Forecast

Today's best window: 8 AM to 11 AM

Do I need a license in Bodega Bay?

View Bodega Bay fishing map

The next 14 days in Bodega Bay

Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCaster

  • Two weeks ahead

    Most forecasts stop at the weekend. This one runs a full 14 days, so you can pick the day before you book the time off.

  • One number, out of 100

    The best score anything in Bodega Bay reaches that day. Green is good, amber is fair, red is slow, and you can read it from across the room.

  • 5,376 scores behind it

    16 spots, every hour of every day, out to 14. This row is the best of them.

Sun
Nov 1
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Nov 9
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Nov 10
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Nov 11
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Nov 12
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Nov 13

Hour by hour today at Mile Rocks

All times PDT

  • One real spot

    A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Mile Rocks, the most fished spot in Bodega Bay, scored for Lingcod.

  • Six readings, one clock

    Tide, current, wind, sea, air and sky, all lined up on the same hour, so you can see what is actually driving the score.

  • Currents, not just tides

    Modelled flow for the water off Bodega Bay, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.

Conditions
Time
9 AM
Now
Score
86
Good
Tide
2.8 ft ▲
Flooding
Current
—
Flood
Wind
3 kn
NW · steady
Sea state
Easy
2 ft @ 11 s W
Air temp
53°
Mild
Weather
Overcast
72% cloud
Hour 9 AM. Score 86 Good. Tide 2.8ft Rising ▲. Current +0.1kn Slack. Wind 3kn NW G5. Sea 2 ft @ 11 s W Easy. Air 52.9°.

The spots people actually fish in Bodega Bay

10 more on the map

  • A year of catch reports

    The order here is how much each mark actually gets fished, not today's guess. The busiest water in Bodega Bay comes first.

  • Today's number too

    Beside each name is the best score that spot reaches today, so you can weigh a proven mark against a good forecast.

  • Every spot has a page

    Its own chart, its own species and its own rules, worked out the same way as everything above.

Every spot we score in Bodega Bay

Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCan

  • Real charted seabed

    Depth soundings, not a stock map. The banks, reefs and drop-offs are where you can see them.

  • 16 spots, all scored

    Every spot we cover around Bodega Bay, each one carrying its own number for today.

  • Point at any of them

    The name, how busy a mark it is, and the tide, sea and seabed at its best hour.

Create custom spots

Our full model on your custom private spots.

  1. Drop a pinAnywhere on the water. The ledge you found, the bay nobody talks about.
  2. Name itYour name for it, not ours. It stays private to your account.
  3. Choose speciesPick what you fish there, and it starts scoring from the next run.

What you can keep in Bodega Bay today

  • LingcodKeep2 a day · min 22"Open at all 15 spots we cover
  • Rockfish (Aggregate)Keep10 a dayOpen at all 8 spots we cover
  • California HalibutKeep2 a day · min 22"Open at all 8 spots we cover
  • HalibutKeep1 a dayOpen at all 6 spots we cover
  • CabezonKeepOpen at all 8 spots we cover
  • Chinook SalmonClosedShut at all 15 spots we cover
  • Dungeness CrabClosedShut at all 1 spot we cover

Rules differ between groundfish management areas and change in season. Check CDFW for the groundfish management area you are fishing before you keep anything.

All 16 spots in Bodega Bay

Every spot we cover around Bodega Bay has its own page, with the tide, the wind and the next 14 days.

That was one day. Pro opens the next fourteen.

Every spot on this map, hour by hour, two weeks out, with alerts when your water crosses the score you set.

$0 today, then $33 USD a year, which is $2.75 a month. Card required, cancel any time.

When to fish Bodega Bay

Each row is shaded against that species' own best month here, so a dark cell means a good month for that fish rather than a comparison between them.

Relative abundance by month for each species around Bodega Bay
SpeciesJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
Chinook Salmon
Lingcod
Rockfish (Aggregate)
California Halibut
Halibut
Dungeness Crab
Cabezon
Coho Salmon

Chinook Salmon: January none, February none, March fair, April excellent, May peak, June peak, July peak, August peak, September fair, October none, November none, December none. Lingcod: January good, February good, March fair, April fair, May fair, June fair, July fair, August good, September good, October good, November good, December good. Rockfish (Aggregate): January fair, February fair, March fair, April fair, May good, June good, July good, August good, September good, October good, November fair, December fair. California Halibut: January none, February poor, March good, April excellent, May peak, June peak, July peak, August peak, September good, October fair, November none, December none. Halibut: January none, February none, March fair, April peak, May peak, June peak, July peak, August peak, September excellent, October poor, November none, December none. Dungeness Crab: January good, February good, March fair, April fair, May fair, June fair, July fair, August fair, September good, October good, November excellent, December excellent. Cabezon: January fair, February good, March fair, April fair, May good, June good, July excellent, August good, September fair, October fair, November fair, December fair. Coho Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April none, May fair, June peak, July peak, August peak, September peak, October peak, November good, December none.

  • Chinook Salmon. Chinook are ocean-feeding off Bodega Bay primarily spring through fall, building as fish stage and feed on anchovy/krill from May, peaking June-August when mature fish congregate before their fall river runs. Numbers taper sharply from September into October as fish enter the Sacramento/rivers to spawn, leaving nearshore waters largely empty in winter.
  • Lingcod. Lingcod are resident, non-migratory reef dwellers present year-round in Bodega Bay's rocky bottom and offshore reefs, so abundance never hits zero. The winter (Dec–Mar) nesting season concentrates males guarding egg masses on shallower reefs producing a modest late-winter presence, while the strongest local abundance builds through late summer and early fall (Aug–Oct) as fish feed heavily and post-spawn recruits fill in, with a slight early-summer dip during upwelling turbulence.
  • Rockfish (Aggregate). Rockfish are resident, non-migratory reef and rock-structure fish, so biological abundance stays near baseline year-round with no true absences. A gentle summer-through-early-fall bulge (Jul–Sep) reflects warmer, calmer nearshore conditions concentrating fish on shallower structure and post-recruitment young-of-year swelling local populations, while winter storms disperse and push fish deeper without removing them from Bodega waters.
  • California Halibut. California halibut move into Bodega Bay's shallow sandy flats and estuary mouths as water warms in spring, peaking late spring through early summer (May–July) when they spawn and forage in nearshore waters. Abundance tapers through fall as fish move deeper and offshore with cooling water, staying lowest in cold winter months though never fully absent since this is near the northern edge of their range.
  • Halibut. Pacific (California) halibut migrate into Bodega Bay's shallow sandy flats and nearshore waters as water warms, with a spring buildup and a strong late-summer/early-fall peak (Aug–Sep) driven by anchovy and squid forage. Abundance drops sharply in late fall as fish move offshore to deeper water for winter, leaving a genuine cold-water lull in mid-winter.
  • Dungeness Crab. Dungeness crab are resident year-round in Bodega Bay, so abundance never hits zero; peak biomass occurs in fall (Oct–Nov) after the summer molt when crabs have hardened, filled out, and aggregated in nearshore grounds. Abundance gradually declines through late winter and spring as harvest, natural mortality, and the soft-shell molting period thin the legal-size adult population before rebuilding again into summer and fall.
  • Cabezon. Cabezon are resident nearshore reef fish present year-round in Bodega Bay's rocky habitat, so abundance stays relatively broad and flat. The peak in summer (weeks 25-30, July) reflects post-spawn recovery, warmer settled water, and peak feeding activity, while the late-winter dip (Jan-Feb) corresponds to spawning-guard behavior and reduced roaming when males guard nests.
  • Coho Salmon. Coho off Bodega Bay stage and enter coastal waters as adults primarily in the fall (Sept–Nov) ahead of spawning runs into Russian River tributaries, driving the strong late-Oct/early-Nov peak. A modest spring bump reflects immature/feeder coho and returning jacks in the near-shore upwelling zone, while summer and midwinter show minimal adult ocean presence in this southern-edge range.

Before you go

Management areas

Water around Bodega Bay falls into one area, and the rules can differ between them. California Department of Fish and Wildlife sets them.

  • San Francisco
Licence you need

California sport fishing license

California Department of Fish and Wildlife · 2026

Annual, resident aged 16 or older: $64.54

Ocean Enhancement Validation $7.30, required on an annual license to fish ocean waters south of Point Arguello. A one-day or two-day license does not need it.

One sport fishing license covers ocean and inland water. Anglers 15 and younger need no license. Fishing from a public pier in ocean or bay waters needs no license either.

Do I need a license in Bodega Bay?Buy from California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Fishing Bodega Bay

Bodega Bay sits on the Sonoma County coast north of San Francisco, with 18 fishing spots spread across its rocky headlands and offshore reefs. The area holds strong runs of Chinook Salmon from April through August, with Lingcod peaking from July into February and Coho Salmon following from June through November. The spots cluster around exposed rock structure and submerged humps off the outer coast, where reef and pinnacle terrain draws bottom species while open water supports the salmon fishery. Anglers work the salmon runs by trolling through the spring and summer months, while the reef fishing for lingcod and rockfish carries the fall and winter calendar. Together these waters keep the fishery active across most of the year, shifting focus with the seasons.

Common questions about Bodega Bay

›Do I need a fishing license in Bodega Bay?

Yes. Fishing around Bodega Bay needs the California sport fishing license from California Department of Fish and Wildlife. $64.54 a year for a resident aged 16 or older in 2026. The Ocean Enhancement Validation ($7.30) is required on an annual license to fish ocean waters south of Point Arguello. A one-day or two-day license does not need it. One sport fishing license covers ocean and inland water. Anglers 15 and younger need no license. Fishing from a public pier in ocean or bay waters needs no license either.

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