Looking to spend your vacations in California doing fishing? You are in the right place we will show you the best lakes in California for fishing.

California is a West Coast state of the USA. It is also known as Golden state and we are talking about fishing then can’t ignore the golden Trout of California.

Let’s dive into the best lakes in California for fishing.

1. Castaic Lake fishing

 The reservoir formed by Castaic Dam on Castaic creek is known as Castaic Lake. Castaic lake is located in southern California and is best known for trophy largemouth bass fish. Other fishes are also there like rainbow trout, catfish, and crappie.

If you are looking for rainbow trout then the place near the dam will be ideal for you because rainbow trout prefers deep water.

To get trout you need:

Baits and Lures for catching Fishes:

a) Trout:

Spinners, Kastmasters, PowerBait, Nightcrawlers, Panther Martins

b) Catfish:

Nightcrawlers, PowerBait,

c) Bluegill:

Crickets, Meal Worms

2. Lake Tahoe fishing

Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake located at the state line between California and Nevada. This lake is million years old. It is one of the major tourist attractions in California and home to winter sports. Snow and ski resort make a major impact on the economy of the area because it is great tourist attraction.

let’s come to our main topic of fishing. The main fish of lake Tahoe is Lake Trout (Mackinaw). The ideal place to find mackinaw is steep sandy shelves between 120 and 300 feet. The best time to catch Mackinaw is from March to June where you can catch it in high quantity. It also has Rainbow, brown, cutthroat, and silver trout.

Catching Mackinaw fish:

Trolling and jigging.

Find your catching equipment for trolling and jigging.

3. Shasta lake fishing:

Shasta lake is located in Shasta County, California. it is great for water skiing, boating, and fishing. The maximum depth of the lake is 517 feet. There are more than 20 species of fish including Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Salmon Bass, Catfish, and Crappie are found in Shasta Lake.

Fishing in Shasta lake is best in spring and early summer. The spotted bass is the most commonly found in the lake throughout tout year.

Plastic worms, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, and live bait will work best, but depending on the time of year.

You can do fishing from land at Shasta Lake and the area around Shasta Dam also gives great shoreline
access.

4. Lake Almanor fishing:

Lake Almanor is located in northwestern Plumas County, California.  It is produced by Canyon Dam on the North Fork of the Feather River. The ideal time for fishing at Lake Almanor is in Spring when lake water starts getting warm. Trolling and shore fishing is good along the east side and by the dam. More extra places to fish around Almanor Lake are covered by the powerhouse, the jetties at Prattville, and the Hamilton Branch.

Rainbow and brown trout, king salmon, and smallmouth bass fishes are found in Lake Almanor.

5. Fishing in Lake Berryessa:

Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in the Napa County of California. The construction of the Monticello dam is the reason for the formation of Lake Berryessa. Fishing at Berryessa lake can be successful because it is home to warm and cold-water fish species.

Fish species found at Berryessa are catfish, trout, salmon, crappie, bluegill, carp, and Sacramento pikeminnow.

Bass fish is the ultimate game fish of Lake Berryessa because of the technique and skills required to catch this fish. The size of largemouth Bass fish can be around 15-20 inches and smallmouth Bass fish is 12-18 inches. In Summer Bass fish tends to rest in deep water at night but in the morning and evening they move to shallow water spots to feed themselves and it is handy to catch at that time. The most popular way to catch them is by floating plugs and spinnerbaits.

If you are new to fishing then you should look for Catfish because they are abundant in the lake and easy to catch at almost every part of the lake. The average weight of Catfish is 2-4 pounds but don’t be surprised to see catfish weighing up to 20 pounds in deep water. The most popular way to catch is by natural bait. Baits used live worms and chicken liver or anything with a strong odor.

Please keep in mind that there are certain catching limits at the lake to keep the population of certain species stable. You can see the regulations here.

6. Folsom Lake Fishing:

Folsom Lake is located in Northern California. In Summers water is released to maintain the quality of water and the living habitat of fish species. It is good for everything and can be considered a sports lake. Fishes found at Folsom lake are Bass, trout, salmon, bluegill, and catfish.

Famous fishing spots at Folsom lake are Hancock Creek, Jacks Shack, and New York creek cove. You can catch Bass by Plastic worms, Zara spooks, and spinnerbaits.

Crappie can be caught with small minnows, for catfish you need Mackerel and Chicken livers.

 

These were our best lakes in California for fishing you can suggest yours in a comment.