Welcome to Half Moon BaySportfishing
Join us for world class sportfishing and nature trips
September 18 Shop Update
ROCKFISH: All depth rockfishing now allowed off our coastline!
The state and federal fishery management groups have both approved changes to the rockfishing off our coastline effective September 18, 2025 to no depth restrictions through the end of the year! That means fishing the Deep Reef is in play as well as fishing as deep or as shallow as we'd like. DFW should be updating their regulations online within a few days to reflect the changes.
SALMON: It's official: salmon fishing is closed for the rest of the year as the 7,500 fall harvest guideline has been met.
News about a salmon season in 2026 will be discussed in fishery management meetings beginning in February 2026.
AROUND THE HARBOR: Perch along the coastline, and squid and anchovies are showing up outside the harbor. Folks continue to enjoy catching rock crab off the fishing pier inside the harbor as well as on the jetty. Recreational dungeness crab season is closed until the first Saturday in November but the rock crab season is open all year using either hoop nets or snares. If you're interested in monkeyface eel, there's loads of them available hidden in the jetty rocks for poke-pole anglers. Striper fishing along the beaches has slowed down but there are still a few being landed here and there. Halibut have moved in with some good size fish in the mix.
QUEEN OF HEARTS TRIPS: The Queen of Hearts is rockfishing up and down our coastline in unrestricted depths through September and October. We are now taking reservations for Dungeness crab and rockfishing trips beginning on November 1 through the end of the year.
SHOP SCHEDULE: We are open Wednesdays through Sundays from at least 8am to 4pm. We will open at 6am if the Queen of Hearts is going out or if the weather looks good on a Saturday or Sunday. Monday and Tuesdays will be closed unless the QH is going out; on those days we'll be open from 6am to 7am ONLY or 9am to 10am ONLY.
Welcome to Half Moon Bay Sportfishing and Tackle, located on the coast about 20 miles south of San Francisco, the only stop you have to make for the fishing adventure of a lifetime! We have the supplies you need for a fantastic day on the water onboard the charterboats that book through our shop as well as all the basic gear, bait, and tackle you need for a great trip on your own boat or from the shore. You can also purchase day and annual fishing licenses as well as commercial fishing and hunting licenses at our shop. Our staff has unsurpased knowledge of gear and techniques for salmon, rockfishing, surf fishing, Dungeness crab and other various species of ocean dwellers that live in our part of the ocean.
Got Bait?
We've always had a complete array of the best bait that's available for sale in our shop that is constantly rotated to be as fresh as possible. But now we've gone one step further...Half Moon Bay Sportfishing is one of the first bait and tackle shops in California to own its own frozen bait vending machine available outside our front door 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Even when the shop is closed or we're crazy busy getting our charterboat customers out first thing in the morning, you can purchase your frozen bait from the machine using either cash or credit cards and get on out to the water quickly and easily.
Charterboat Trips
Half Moon Bay Sportfishing and Tackle is proud to be the booking agent for the vessel Queen of Hearts, which has taken more people fishing out of Half Moon Bay than any other boat, hands down, since 1990. The Queen of Hearts is Coast Guard licensed and inspected, insured, well maintained, and has an impeccable safety record. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in March 2020 when the stay at home orders were established, we discontinued booking any other vessels other than the Queen of Hearts through our shop.
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