Drifting live bait over the rocks is easily the most challenging fishing experience on San Francisco Bay. It takes skipper moxie to put the boat over the high spot, angler skill to bounce a ball up the ledge and teamwork to get the fish in the net.

This high-paced activity is not for everyone. It can be a wild ride, especially mid-bay on a June afternoon. This is a place where size matters – the larger your platform, the more comfortable the ride. A 17-foot vessel with plenty of freeboard is a minimum requirement unless you’re young, hardcore and take pleasure in saltwater showers.

Where It Starts

Movement of striped bass is somewhat predict-able, but in reality no one really knows from one year to the next what to expect. They’ll usually show first in lower San Pablo Bay in March; this is primarily a troll fishery with hair jigs, lipless crank-baits and soft-bodied plastics doing most of the damage around Hamilton Flats, Brickyard and Marin Islands.

Same is true of the South Bay and East Bay flats, where live-bait action often kicks off in April. Places worth a look are anywhere from Emeryville to Albany, the Alameda Rockwall on the east side of the South Bay, and from Coyote Point to Candlestick Point along the western shore. Both trolling and live bait can be winners.

First Stop

As theory goes, stripers work their way downstream after spending most of the winter and spring east of the Carquinez Strait. Brothers and Sisters Islands in lower San Pablo Bay are usually the first stop on the rocks. With more terrain, Brothers is usually the better area, possessing up to four potentially successful drifts.

Though most folks prefer the ebb, the Brothers is both an incoming and outgoing tide spot. Bouncing live bait works best, but tossing a one-ounce hair jig at the rocks and rips can also produce, especially in the fall. Between the islands on both the ebb and flood tides is the most popular drift. There is a high spot between the islands, and fish will feed from about 45 feet up to the high spot at 15 feet.

Key to working this area and other tight locations with very short drifts is keeping the boat moving up to and through the rip. This usually means going through bow first and maneuvering by occasionally kicking the boat into gear. This keeps the boat straight and gives the bait added movement. Once you hit the high spot, and drift is over – total time, less than one minute.

It also means that, unless you have a center console, the skipper is probably not going to drop a line. His job is to manipulate the vessel safely through the narrow slot and bring the boat back around the rip so as not to disturb the fish.

Three other areas around the islands can produce on the outgoing tide. One is near the cable cross on the east side of the large island, and another is on the northwest end of the small island. Both spots form rips and are easy to see.

The third area is a reef located about a quarter-mile south of the small island and east of channel Buoy 18. This is obviously the most difficult to find, and the water is a little deeper, but it can easily be the most productive spot. An example of this is on volume two of the Hooked on Fishing the Golden Gate video with captain Art Roby on the New Huck Finn.

Seen One, You’ve Seen Them All

All the main bay’s rocky areas are worked the same. That means dropping your line in 55 to 60 feet of water and walking an eight-ounce ball to the 35-foot high spot. When the fish cooperate, this action starts around mid June and may last until October when conditions are favorable.

Looking at the mid-bay reefs – the spot known as the Rockpile, or Arch Rock – is closest to San Francisco and almost directly in front of Alcatraz.

Shag Rock is a short distance to the north, and Harding Rock follows along the same line. Blossom Rock is pinpointed by a red buoy found a short distance southeast of Alcatraz. 

Stay in Touch

Staying in contact with the bottom throughout the drift is key to success, and it’s easy to have too much line out if you don’t feel bottom on the initial drop, especially if the current is ripping and the wind is blowing. By the time you realize too much line is out, chances are you’ve moved up the reef into shallower water, and your weight is now snagged on the bottom.

It’s very important to stair-step your weight up the reef, not drag it. As your sinker taps the rocks, slowly move your rod up and down to stay in contact with the bottom while taking in line as it gets shallower. Most of the bites will come as you near the top of the reef.

Once the reef levels off or starts to drop off on the other side, it’s time

to pick up and go around again. I say go around because, out of respect to other anglers and to keep happier fish, don’t go charging back through the rip. It’ll take a little more time to get lined up, but it’s the right thing to

do. In the case of the Brothers, that means going all the way around the island to realign.

Tweaking the Drift

Wind and current can change within a very short time – sometimes from one drift to the next. This calls for constant tweaking of your starting point. Only on the nicest days will you actually see a boiling rip, so you have to know how to find the money spot.

First is a visual lineup. This is the tried-and-true, old-school method. Every one of these locations has a visual lineup. Once you find a starting point, it’s easy enough to mark in the GPS.

Best way to locate the high spot is to follow behind someone who is catching fish and then mark it or learn the lineups. Following behind is im-portant because, first, you are respecting their space, and, second, they will lead you right over the sweet spot. Fishing 100 feet to one side or the other may land you completely off the mark.

As the wind and current velocity change, adjust by dropping a little north or south of the original successful starting point. Making shorter drifts starting in 50 or 55 feet of water will allow the weight to reach bottom more easily. Drift time on all these spots is about one minute.

Teamwork

Coordination between captain and crew is vital for success. You’ve got 60 seconds to drop the line, find bottom and work your way through the sweet spot. A lively anchovy in hand and on the hook is a must before the skipper says, “Let ‘em down.”

Everyone should be hooked up and ready to drop as you’re approaching the spot. If the crew is really on the ball, someone will have put a bait on the captain’s hook too. This will allow the skipper a quick shot on most spots.

Change bait on every drift. Anchovies purchased at Fisherman’s Wharf and the Berkeley Marina are most often the enticement to choice, but shiner perch also work very well. Pin the anchovy from the bottom jaw through the tip of the nose. Shiners are most often attached crossways through the nostrils.

Gear

Don’t leave home short on extra rigs, and keep the leader material within arm’s reach when working the rocks. Popping off a weight from a 15-pound test dropper is quite common, so most of your tying will come from adding new dropper lines and sinkers. The more rookies you have on board, the more weights and terminal gear you’re going to need.

Striper leaders need be no more than five feet long of stiff 30-pound test. The same length works well with halibut. Longer leaders have a tendency to get hung up, and the five- foot leader makes it easier to scoop the fish. Dropper line off the three-way swivel should be about 12 inches of 15- to 17-pound test. Longer is okay but it tends to get in the way when scooping a fish.

It’s your choice to either tie a loop on the end of the dropper for the weight, or use a small snap. If using the leader strictly for main bay stripers on the rocks, go with

the loop, or directly tie the ball to the dropper.

On the main line, 20- to 25-pound test mono is standard over the reefs. Remember to use a dropper that is at least five pounds lighter than the main line; otherwise, you’re defeating the purpose of the dropper.

Any reel with a decent drag will work. A high-speed gear ratio is helpful when trying to keep a fish out of the rocks. The rod should have a medium-action tapered tip with en-ough backbone to put a good set into the fish. There’s a lot of line stretch between you and the fish, so a good hard set is greatly beneficial to lining the box.

Time and Tides

When it comes to bay fishing, timing is everything, and that timing has everything to do with tides and current. Success-ful striper catching is keyed to current. Rips you see mid bay or other similar locations are formed by upwelling of water hitting a high spot. Fish are always going to be stacked in front of the rip.

Optimum tides for striper depend on where you’re fishing, but, generally, a 4.5-foot difference or greater is best on the incoming tide locations – Rockpile, Shag Rock, Harding Rock, Blossom Rock, Raccoon Strait and the Brothers. Shag Rock, Blossom Rock and the Brothers can be fished successfully on both tides. The key is having enough current to form the rip.

Ebb tide locales like the South Tower (no longer legal to fish), and Yellow Bluff are best with a slower current. The key to Yellow Bluff is seeing the rip, which can get nasty for such a small spot.

At the Rockpile, an example of a prime June day would be a low tide of minus 0.7 feet at 5:43 a.m. rising to a high of 4.3 at 1:14 p.m. You’d like a higher tide (up to six feet), but there should be enough current to make the fish bite. Prime time would start about 11 a.m. and last until the current slows at about 12:30 p.m.

Raccoon Strait is a great spot for the small-boater, but, for some reason, it hasn’t produced the way it once did. It’s protected from the wind and easy to work. An obvious rip forms near Angel Island. Mid rip is usually the more productive spot in 40 to 45 feet of water. The bottom is relatively clean, and an occasional halibut will add spice.

Stick and Move

Rockpile, Shag Rock and Harding Rock are all relatively close. If the bite is slow at one, move to the other. Unless a location is going off big-time, try and avoid the crowd by sliding from spot to spot. Generally, most traffic will be where the party boats are parked. Learn to use your nose, and find these spots on your own.

Here’s the lineup for the Rockpile: The east/west lineup is Alcatraz covering Treasure Island, and you can use the southern tip of Alcatraz with the Bay Bridge to be more specific.

Looking north, line up Harding Rock buoy and the white building in Tiburon. Keep in mind this is an incoming tide spot; when the buoy gets past Belvedere Point, the drift is just about over. Total drift time is about one minute.

Versatility

On the bay, the key to success is versatility. You’ve got to be flexible and willing to move as conditions dictate. If the current is too slow for bass, spend the time chasing halibut. Crissy Field and Angel Island are two solid spots to scratch out a fish. East Bay flats is another area where you can almost always get a bite or two. Finding bait is the key to any one of these locations. If there’s no bait, your chances of finding fish narrow considerably.

See It Live

For more information on fishing San Francisco Bay, check out

the award-winning DVD series Hooked on Fishing the Golden Gate.

Go to AlureProductions.com for information.