FISHING BASS LAKE
Bass Lake, California, is a premier multi-species fishing destination in the Sierra National Forest. Because it is a warm-water reservoir with depths reaching nearly 100 feet, it offers a rare combination of excellent trout, salmon, and bass fishing throughout the year.
Rules & Licensing
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Requirements: Anyone aged 16 or older must possess a valid California Sport Fishing License to fish the lake.
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Where to Buy: You can purchase a license directly online via the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website, or locally at Bass Lake Boat Rentals
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Permitted Methods: Fish must be caught using a standard hook and line.
Top Fishing Locations & Hotspots
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The Dam Area (Deep Water): The deepest zones near the Crane Valley Dam are the top spots for Kokanee salmon and trout. Trolling with down riggers around Wishon Boat Ramp and Fawn Point delivers the best results.
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The Jet Ski Area: Located near the dam, this area features submerged standing trees where Kokanee love to hold.
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Docks at bass Lake Boat Rentals: The shallower waters are highly productive for bass, bluegill, and crappie. ($5 per person fishing)
Strategic Fishing Tips
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The 5-MPH Early Window: The best time to fish is before 8:00 AM. The entire lake enforces a strict 5-mph speed limit early in the morning. This keeps the waters perfectly calm and ideal for shoreline or shallow angling before recreational boaters arrive.
Black Spotted Bass
A solid bass fishing setup starts with a medium to medium-heavy rod paired with a spinning or baitcasting reel and 8–15 lb test line. Popular and effective lures include:
Soft plastic worms and creature baits
Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits
Crankbaits and jerkbaits
Topwater lures such as frogs and poppers
Bass are ambush predators and often hold near structure such as submerged vegetation, fallen trees, docks, and rocky shorelines. Casting near cover and working lures slowly along edges can increase success. Seasonal patterns also influence bass location—fish often move shallow in spring, seek deeper or shaded water in summer, and feed heavily in fall.
Rainbow Trout
Most Rainbow fishing is done during the spring to early summer, then the water gets too warm and drives the remainder of the trout to deeper water or the creek areas with cool oxygenated water feeding in the lake. Rainbows average 12 to 16 inches with some hold over trout going 16-22 inches caught each year. Fishing from shore by the Sheriff’s tower, day use areas, the Falls, Brown’s ditch and by the dam with floating bait or night crawlers can produce limits in the winter to early summer. Boat anglers will pull a wide variety of lures tipped with night crawlers behind a dodger and trolls in the top 20 feet of water. Once summer sets in and the lake temp goes up the fish go deeper for 58 degree and below water.
Large Mouth Bass
A solid bass fishing setup starts with a medium to medium-heavy rod paired with a spinning or baitcasting reel and 8–15 lb test line. Popular and effective lures include:
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Soft plastic worms and creature baits
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Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits
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Crankbaits and jerkbaits
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Topwater lures such as frogs and poppers
Bass are ambush predators and often hold near structure such as submerged vegetation, fallen trees, docks, and rocky shorelines. Casting near cover and working lures slowly along edges can increase success. Seasonal patterns also influence bass location—fish often move shallow in spring, seek deeper or shaded water in summer, and feed heavily in fall.
Crappie
A platter of fresh, flaky "white perch" is reason enough to spend a day on the water but the fishing is a reward in itself. The slower pace of dabbling jigs is a return to the kick-back days of summer vacation. A spinning rod loaded with six-pound line and a suitable spinner or jig is a productive way to fish for Crappie.
Catfish
Cats hold in big holes by day and move onto the flats above them and across from them by night. Anglers generally will do best by venturing out after hours and fishing flats with cut or stink baits. Catfish up to 22 pounds have been caught in Bass Lake.
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Bluegill
Bluegill can be found along most of the shoreline around the lake. Kids of all ages enjoy catching them off the docks. A small spinning rod or Snoopy pole with pieces of nightcrawlers, redworms, mealworms, grubs, or nymphs are all good bait for bluegill. Use a small hook, #10, and suspend the bait from a bobber. Fish the bottom in shallows and around the docks.
Kokanee Salmon
Kokanee Salmon are an open water fish that can be caught by trolling from a boat with lead core line or down riggers to get to the depth they hold. Kokanee can be found from The Pines to the dam in water 40 feet and deeper. Kokanee have a soft mouth that hooks can tear free from easily, so a light action rod or snubbers are used with light steady pressure to land fish. Brightly colored lures tipped with "white shoe peg" corn behind a 4/0 dodger is the most productive method for taking Kokanee.
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Carp
Carp can be found in the top 5 feet of water roaming in schools. While carp may not be the greatest eating fish, they are truly great fighters. The carp in Bass Lake average around 6 pounds. The best baits by far are sweet corn and simple bread dough. The bread dough is made by moistening a few slices of any kind of bread with water and kneading it until it becomes the right texture to put on a hook. Always fish with some slack in your line and watch for any movement in the line. It is imperative that you have slack in the line because if the fish feels even the slightest resistance it will immediately drop the bait.