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Big Bear Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

SoCal's alpine escape: stocked rainbows, resident largemouth and 6,700-foot air.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
0 cfs
Air / High
72 / 72 F
Wind
SW 14 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 10260400, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Big Bear Lake is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 0 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind SW around 14 mph, rising pressure near 1009 hPa and a high of 72. Water sits around 54 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutGood

Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown troutGood

Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

Tomorrow: Similar at 69 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from CUSHENBURY CANYON C NR LUCERNE VALLEY CA.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 10260400.

-0000 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp72 F
High / Low72 / 51 F
WindSW 14-19 mph
Pressure1008.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:23 / 19:09
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~54 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Clear, 72/51 F, wind 14 mph, rain 0%

Fair or better. A 14 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Big Bear Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

When to come: the Big Bear Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 54 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~54 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Big Bear Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 71 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 71 F, wind to 17 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 69 F, wind to 17 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

California requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

5 trout/day; standard CA warm-water rules. CA license required. Confirm with CDFW.

Access

Public ramps east and west; marina rentals; shore access at Juniper, Boulder Bay, the dam.

About this water

2,970 acres at 6,750 ft in the San Bernardinos, CA. SoCal's mountain-resort fishery.

Fishing Big Bear Lake: the full guide

Mountain lake, metro reach

Big Bear gives Los Angeles a genuine mountain fishery: heavily-stocked rainbows (trolling and bait culture both), largemouth and smallmouth around the docks and rocks, and crawdad-fat fish in a short, bright season. Weekday mornings before the boats wake are the move.

Trout by troll and dough

Stocked rainbows dominate effort: trollers pull flashers at 15-35 ft along the north shore, bait anglers soak dough at Juniper Point and the dam. Holdovers reach 5-plus pounds: the derby scene celebrates them all summer.

The warm-water secret

Big Bear's largemouth and smallmouth get overlooked: docks, boulder piles and the east-end flats produce May-September, with crawdad patterns outperforming everything. Panfish teach kids the game off every marina slip.

Alpine seasons two hours from LA

Big Bear compresses a mountain fishing year into a resort calendar: stocked-and-holdover rainbows on inflated crawlers spring and fall, summer smallmouth on the boulder lines and docks, and the occasional safe-ice winter that turns Stanfield Cutoff into a novelty ice-fishing scene. The trophy wildcard is the lake's cult carp-on-the-fly flats fishery: tailing fish in gin-clear shallows humbling trout anglers all summer.

Common questions

When is Big Bear's trout bite best?

Ice-out through June and again October: cool water keeps fish shallow and real. Midsummer trolls deeper; dawn beats the wake-boat hours everywhere.

Does Big Bear Lake freeze for ice fishing?

Some winters, partially: safe ice is never guaranteed and the marinas post conditions. Treat it as a bonus novelty, not a plan: the open-water trout bite runs all winter anyway.

Is fishing good at Big Bear Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Silverwood Lake23 miLake Perris31 miDiamond Valley Lake40 miNewport Beach71 miOceanside78 miLake Hodges83 mi
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