About Alcatraz Shoal

Alcatraz Shoal is an outer-exposed sand flat in San Francisco Bay off the eponymous island, running 10 to 35 feet deep. The shoal holds a broad mix of species, including English Sole, Starry Flounder, White Croaker, Leopard Shark, Bat Ray, and Pacific Herring, but two migratory game fish define its calendar: Striped Bass peak from June through October, and Chinook Salmon peak from April through September. Striped Bass respond to trolling with deep-diving plugs, swimbaits, and spoons across the flat, with live bait fishing using shiner perch or anchovies and jigging with metal jigs or bucktail jigs as supporting approaches. Chinook Salmon come to trolling with whole anchovy, spoons, hoochies, and flashers, or to mooching with whole anchovy and sardine. The open, current-swept sand bottom keeps bait moving through the water column, making the shallow-to-moderate depths here workable across changing tides.