Welcome to Half Moon BaySportfishing
Join us for world class sportfishing and nature trips
Salmon Season Finalized
The 2026 salmon season off the San Mateo/San Francisco coastline from Point Arena to Pigeon Point has now been finalized. It will be open June 27 to July 22 and August 1 to August 31 or until 34,900 salmon are landed in that zone. It will reopen September 1 to October 31 between 38°02' N. lat. to Pigeon Point or until 20,000 salmon are landed statewide. We have started to put trips for the Queen of Hearts online; if you're interested in a date that's not posted yet, just give us a call and we can get you set up.
The salmon season south of Pigeon Point opened this past Saturday, April 11. It will remain open through August 31 or until 21,800 salmon are landed. In September, the salmon season continues in that zone or until an additional 20,000 salmon are landed statewide.
With only two fishing days since the opener below Pigeon, with some not too nice of ocean conditions, fishing has been tough. Sounds like more bonito have been caught...yes, bonito!...than salmon so far. But the winds have shifted favorably out of the northwest which is what we want to have the salmon turn on. Hopefully today will be the day.
Rockfishing has been great. The deeper water areas continue to crank out some fantastic fish and good numbers of lingcod. It's springtime ocean weather conditions, so be prepared for rain, sun, hot, cold, flat calm, rough and all inbetween. Nice to be back fishing!
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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