California fishing reports
691 reports for California — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Bay water holds mild as fall rockfish season settles in
Water in the Bay is sitting in the mid-50s, with NOAA CO-OPS station 9418767 reading 54.9°F and station 9416841 reading 57.6°F as of late afternoon on October 21. That range is comfortable for rockfish, which typically stay oriented to structure and bait through the fall. Intel from the Northern California reports we track is thin this week, so conditions are the story. The warmer reading at 9416841 against the cooler 54.9°F at 9418767 points to a modest temperature gradient across the region, and fish often stack up where bait and cooler, cleaner water meet. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater continues to carry strong fall reports from Southern California, including yellowtail and wahoo activity, which shows the warm-water fish pushing in this season, though those catches are far south of Bodega and the Bay.
Delta bass and stripers settle into a cooler fall pattern
Water in the Delta sits in the low 60s, with USGS gauge 11447650 reading 62°F and gauge 381142122015801 reading 63°F on the morning of Oct. 21. That is a comfortable range for fall feeding. Tactical Bassin notes that bass are schooling up and chasing baitfish this time of year, and recommends adding a blade to a swimbait when fish are chasing shad-type forage. Wired 2 Fish also points to fall as the stretch when bass feed heavily ahead of winter.
Delta bass settle into a steady fall pattern on mild water
Delta water is holding at 62°F across all three USGS gauges (11446980, 11446700 and 11447650) as of the morning readings on October 21, a comfortable fall temperature that keeps Largemouth Bass feeding. Gauge 11447650 shows 12,300 cfs, a strong push of moving water that tends to concentrate baitfish along current seams and edges. Tactical Bassin (blog) notes that fall bass are schooling up and chasing baitfish, and says anglers who are not getting bites need to adapt quickly because the window is open now. Their coverage of underspin swimbaits and fall jerkbait presentations fits the pattern we would expect on moving, baitfish-rich water.
Yellowtail and rockfish stay in play across the SoCal Bight
The San Pedro Lobster Combo charter reported by Western Outdoor News went looking for topwater action up the coast before dark, with the story pointing to El Nino-style warm water reshaping the usual rockfish-then-lobster plan. Two NOAA CO-OPS stations are reading warm for late October, 74.3°F at station 9410170 and 72.3°F at station 9410230. That keeps pelagic fish like yellowtail within reach of Southern California boats, while rockfish remain the dependable bottom option when the surface bite is off. Western Outdoor News also noted wahoo abundant enough in local waters that a 108-pound fish came to the scale at the San Diego Marlin Club, a sign of how warm and fish-rich the region is right now.
Delta bass settle into the fall pattern as water cools
Gauge readings near the California Delta show water in the low 60s, a temperature that typically keeps largemouth bass feeding on baitfish before the winter slowdown. One USGS gauge (11447650) reads 62°F with 4,840 cfs of flow, and another (381142122015801) reads 63°F at 176 cfs. Per Tactical Bassin (blog), fall bass are schooling up and chasing baitfish, so the bite rewards anglers who adapt quickly to where those schools sit.
Delta bass settle into a steady fall pattern
Water in the Sacramento-Delta is running in the low 60s this morning. Three USGS gauges (11446980, 11446700, 11447650) read 63, 62 and 62°F at about 3 AM, and gauge 11447650 shows 4,840 cfs. That is a comfortable range for largemouth bass, which should be feeding more actively as the water cools. Tactical Bassin (blog) says fall bass are schooling up and chasing baitfish, so it's worth adapting quickly if the usual spots go quiet. Their pick for fall is a swimbait with a blade (an underspin), because the added flash and vibration help when fish are chasing bait. Fishing the Midwest adds that living green weeds are a good starting point, since baitfish and gamefish move to them as other weeds die back.
Cool coastal water sets the pace for a mid-October window
Water temperatures on the NOAA CO-OPS stations were 55.9°F at station 9418767 and 57.4°F at station 9416841 on the 11:00 UTC readings this morning. That is a narrow spread and a cool, settled range for late October on this coast. Cool water tends to keep bait and predators concentrated and slows fish metabolism, so slower presentations and patient work around structure usually beat fast covering of water.
Eastern Sierra trout settle into fall patterns
Fall conditions have settled over the Eastern Sierra, and the trout that anglers target here are turning to smaller food. Reno Fly Shop's Truckee River guide report describes cooler temperatures pushing trout toward small bugs, including Blue Winged Olives and midges, with a few caddis still around. Their suggested flies lean small and subtle, such as a Pullover BWO, a Griffith Gnat, a BH Zebra Midge and a French Nymph. That is a sensible template for the clear, lower water typical of this time of year on the eastern side of the range.
Delta anglers get a fall window as water cools toward 62°F
Water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is cooling into the low 60s. The gauge near Sacramento (11447650) reads 62°F with about 10,700 cfs moving, and the gauge at 381142122015801 shows 64°F. Fall is the season when baitfish and gamefish pull toward remaining green cover and structure, per Fishing the Midwest's note that finding living weeds is a good starting point as waters cool. NorCal Fish Reports covers the Delta, but nothing in this week's feed gives a species-specific bite to quote, so we are leaning on the readings.
Delta water holds in the low 60s as fall bite builds
Three USGS gauges around the Sacramento area (11446980, 11446700 and 11447650) all reported water temperatures between 62 and 63°F on the evening of October 20. The 11447650 gauge showed 10,700 cfs of flow, a strong, steady current. Cooling water at this level typically pulls bass toward moving water and baitfish. Per Tactical Bassin, fall bass are chasing baitfish, and adding a blade to a swimbait, such as an underspin, gives extra flash and vibration. Fishing the Midwest adds that anglers should look for the last green weeds in fall, since baitfish and gamefish relocate to them as other weeds die off.
Wahoo and yellowfin stir up SoCal as warm water lingers
Warm water is the story in the LA Bight this week. NOAA CO-OPS station 9410170 reads 74.7°F and station 9410230 reads 72.7°F, well above what late October usually brings. Western Outdoor News reports that the San Pedro Lobster Combo charter found yellowfin topwater action, with El Nino shaping the season and three boats working up the coast from the rebuilt docks at Ports O' Call Village. Western Outdoor News also reports a 108-pound wahoo weighed in at the San Diego Marlin Club after a boat fished the 9-mile bank west of Point Loma, and notes that wahoo have been abundant enough in recent weeks to draw wide attention. For the inshore crowd, Western Outdoor News and the So Cal Fish Reports landing pages are the places to check counts before you commit to a boat.
Delta waters cool into prime fall pattern for bass and panfish
Water temperatures across the Delta gauges are sitting in a tight 63 to 64°F range, a comfortable fall band that typically keeps bass feeding and pulls baitfish toward cover. USGS gauge 381142122015801 and gauge 381126121554801 both read 64°F, while USGS gauge 11447650 reads 63°F on 4,350 cfs. Fall bass coverage this week from Tactical Bassin (blog) points to baitfish-chasing fish, with bladed swimbaits and underspins as a way to add flash and vibration. For Smallmouth Bass, that general fall approach applies where fish are chasing bait.