The South Bay shoreline is fishable from San Jose, but it is not a place to improvise across mudflats. NOAA’s Gold Street Bridge tide station in Alviso Slough lists a 9.28-foot great diurnal tide range, enough to turn reachable-looking water into exposed mud and channels.
USGS describes young bay mud in the southern bay as soft, water-saturated estuarine deposits under the bay and its marshlands.
Best no-license choice: Dumbarton Fishing Pier
Dumbarton Fishing Pier, inside the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont, is the simplest shore option for anglers who want to keep their boots dry.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says fishing is allowed year-round there and that anglers do not need a California fishing license on the pier…