captjim Loc: Antioch Ca

Shark fishing was a mainstay of my charter business for quite some time. Use a rod that you would use for sturgeon. 30-40 lb test line. I use a wire leader about 18" long and a J hook 13/0 size. Sliding sinker on the main line, and 8 - 12 oz. pyramid sinkers. If you want big sharks you must use big baits and hooks. Sharks will hit a variety of baits. This time of year I would use a baitfish called a midshipman. Also called stargazers, or lord fish. They are about the size of a bullhead or slightly larger. They spawn in the bay in the spring. Very slimy and sharks love them. Alternate baits includes mudsuckers, squid, and salmon bellies. Squid will get you more hook-ups on sting rays. Later in the summer I would use salmon bellies more. Where to fish in the bay depends on the tides. On slow moving tides I would hit the deeper areas 45'+.As the tides pick up I would go shallower. If 8 oz won't hold the bottom you need to go shallower. Most of the action will be at the ends of the tides.
When you get a bite do not set the hook fast like a sturgeon, let them run with it like a striper. The longer they run with it the better it will go down their throat. When they are running steadily, lock down reel and wait for the slack to pick up, and set the hook.
Any shark kept to eat, should be gutted as soon as possible. They do not have a urinary tract and emit urine through their skin. This continues even if you bleed them. Another reason is you see what they are eating and can match your bait. Shark is great to eat. My favorite way is to fry in olive oil with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Good luck!!

Spiritof27 Loc: Lincoln, CA

I've heard that those San Pablo Bay strippers can be a real handful.

saw1 Loc: nor cal Windsor

Both the Petaluma and Napa Rivers flow into San Pablo Bay. Guess that's why we like to fish for stripers there so much.

woodguru Loc: El Dorado Ca

Are you fishing for strippers again?

craig42 Loc: Petaluma, ca

Tomales Bay anywhere from shore along Highway # 1 with Marshall being my favorite. The pier that wraps around a little rock at the tip of the Tiburon peninsula at raccoon straight. China camp / Mcnears on San Pablo bay in Marin County. Bolinas lagoon along HWY #1 .There are many more but these have been my favorite for leopard shark. You MUST, MUST clean/ gut remove everything RIGHT AWAY or the urine secreted through I believe the skin will leave a nasty Ammonia taste to the meat making it inedible.

Wrench Loc: Santa Rosa, Ca

My friend hooked one in the Petalma River must have been 2019 using shrimp. Never seem one before. Got a photo somewhere. I' try to find it.

Pete the welder Loc: Guerneville ,ca

To males bay from bank at night . They make good fish and chips

Dandad Loc: Elk Grove, Ca

I am with saw1. Have caught quite a few Leopard Sharks in Tomalas Bay. We use to target them on an out going tide way up in the bay near Inverness. We use a three way swivel with a 12-15 in drop sinker and a 18-20 in. leader and a chunk of squid as bait. We found Keeping the bait off the bottom reduced the amount of Rays we hooked. Lots of action and really fun. Pretty good eating as well.

David Orozco Loc: Galt, CA

While serving and recovering from injures from Vietnam, I recovered on Treasure Island, we would fish off the city side and cast out and set our drag so that the strong tide pulled out squid bait a couple hundred yards out in the bay. We would set our drag and wait. The strike was max, and the battle was on and we would catch huge leapored sharks by the dozen and we would release every catch. Since then I visited Treasure Island and those piers are gone.