McNears Beach Pier & China Camp
San Rafael (San Pablo Bay) · near San Rafael · SF Bay Area
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Best season
- Stripers spring–fall; sturgeon winter; sharks/rays year-round
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- No
- Licence detail
- The McNears Beach County Park pier is public and license-free. Fishing the China Camp SP shoreline or from a boat out of nearby Loch Lomond Marina DOES require a CA license. Park day-use fees apply.
What is here
- Features
- License-free county pier on San Pablo Bay · Edge of the sturgeon/striper grounds · China Camp shoreline nearby · Loch Lomond boat launch
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Fishing detail
- Water type
- pier-jetty
- Water
- brackish
- Methods
- Bait · Sabiki
- Boat
- shore
- Target species
- Striped bass · White sturgeon (catch & release) · Leopard shark & bat ray · Kingfish
- Intl tip
- The McNears pier is license-free; China Camp shore fishing and Loch Lomond boats need a license. Stripers spring–fall, catch-and-release sturgeon in winter, sharks and rays year-round.
The guide
On the Marin shore of San Pablo Bay, the McNears Beach County Park pier offers free, license-free fishing right at the edge of …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to McNears Beach Pier & China Camp — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.998, -122.447