Welcome to Half Moon BaySportfishing
Join us for world class sportfishing and nature trips
March 13, 2026 Update
The 2026 rockfishing season opens on Wednesday, April 1. All depth rockfishing continues to be allowed this year off our coastline! That means our standard rockfishing trips may fish wherever the Captain and ocean weather conditions permit. We have posted trips on our reservation site for April, but be patient while we await the final word about the 2026 salmon season after the next fishery management meeting the beginning of April.
SALMON – OPEN AS OF APRIL 11 SOUTH OF PIGEON POINT:
We received confirmation at the conclusion of the March fishery management meetings that the salmon season SOUTH OF PIGEON POINT will open as of Saturday, April 11 with a two fish, 24-inch minimum size limit. The regulations are always confusing this time of year, as week-long fishery management meetings take place in March and April to finalize the salmon seasons. CDFW has not posted this information on their website yet, which makes this even more confusing, but Inseason Action #25 on the federal NOAA website, shows the amendment allowing salmon fishing SOUTH OF PIGEON POINT effective April 11, 2026. Here's the link to that site: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/bulletin/inseason-actions-23-25-ocean-salmon-fisheries-south-cape-falcon-recreational. The final decision on the complete 2026 salmon season should be announced by April 12.
QUEEN OF HEARTS TRIPS:
Trips for April have been posted on our “Book Online” reservation webpage. The Queen of Hearts will begin rockfishing in unrestricted depths beginning March 1, and we will be salmon fishing SOUTH OF PIGEON POINT beginning on April 11. Trips in May and beyond will be added as soon as an announcement is made at the April fishery management meetings. If you’re interested in a full boat charter, just give us a call to grab a date.
AROUND THE HARBOR:
Perch along the coastline, and even though it's pretty early, sounds like a striper is being landed here and there along the coastline. Folks continue to enjoy catching rock crab and an occasional dungeness crab off the fishing pier inside the harbor as well as on the jetty. Pots, hoop nets or snares are all permitted at this point. If you're interested in monkeyface eel, there's loads of them available hidden in the jetty rocks for poke-pole anglers. Dungeness crab is available for purchase from commercial boats in the harbor; last I heard the price is around $10 a pound.
SHOP SCHEDULE:
During March, we are open Wednesdays through Sundays from at least 8am to 4pm. Once we start running fishing trips, our schedule will vary but we’ll always be open at least an hour before departure.
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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