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Bullards Bar Reservoir Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

California’s record spotted bass water: New Bullards Bar produced the state record spotted/Alabama bass, 11 pounds 5 ounces, in 2022.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~62 F est.
Air / High
51 / 67 F
Wind
WNW 1 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Bullards Bar Reservoir is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings cloud cover, wind WNW around 1 mph, falling pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 67. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:44 AM-11:44 AM and 10:13 PM-12:13 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Landlocked salmonExcellent

Spring after ice-out and the fall cool-down are the surface seasons, with fish near shore and at stream mouths feeding on smelt: troll or cast streamers and smelt imitations.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 73 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

California requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $64.54 for residents. What a California licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing landlocked salmon here? Check the size and bag limits with CDFW before you keep anything. The season dates for California, read off the agency, are on the California seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp51 F
High / Low67 / 51 F
WindWNW 1-3 mph
Pressure1017.8 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain77% cloud, 28%
Sunrise / Sunset07:22 / 18:13
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~62 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Bullards Bar Reservoir this week

Today is the pick of the week on Bullards Bar Reservoir, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:44 AM-11:44 AM and 10:13 PM-12:13 AM
Minor period
4:08 AM-5:08 AM
Sun
07:22 to 18:13
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 12 mph
Rain chance
28%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

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

Landlocked salmon illustration

Landlocked salmon

Spring and fall near the surface, deep in summer, and under the ice in winter

Landlocked salmon are Atlantic salmon that complete their whole life in fresh water, feeding mainly on rainbow smelt in cold lakes of Maine and the Northeast. Spring after ice-out and the fall cool-down are the surface seasons, with fish near shore and at stream mouths feeding on smelt: troll or cast streamers and smelt imitations.

When to come: the Bullards Bar Reservoir 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
Landlocked salmon
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 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 Bullards Bar Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 61 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Landlocked salmon led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 74 F, wind to 5 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

California fishing license. CDFW sets special landlocked salmon (kokanee) limits for New Bullards Bar; check current CDFW rules for black bass and kokanee. Motorized boats must pass a free Yuba Water mussel screening before launching.

Access

Cottage Creek launch at Emerald Cove Marina and Dark Day launch; Schoolhouse and Hornswoggle campgrounds; boat-in camping at Madrone Cove and Garden Point.

About this water

A Yuba Water Agency reservoir in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Yuba County, California, about 45 minutes east of Marysville, with 55 miles of shoreline.

Fishing Bullards Bar Reservoir: the full guide

A Yuba Water reservoir

New Bullards Bar Reservoir lies in the Sierra Nevada foothills about 45 minutes east of Marysville on Marysville Road, with 55 miles of shoreline in the Tahoe National Forest. Yuba Water Agency runs the reservoir and works with the U.S. Forest Service on many of its recreation sites.

The record bass

CDFW’s freshwater record for spotted/Alabama bass is an 11-pound 5-ounce fish taken on a lure at New Bullards Bar on February 20, 2022. CDFW lists the record under both species names, so the reservoir’s big “spotted bass” belong to that spotted/Alabama group.

Kokanee

Kokanee are a fishery here as well: CDFW lists New Bullards Bar among a handful of waters with their own daily bag and possession limits for landlocked salmon.

Launching and screening

Boats launch at Cottage Creek beside Emerald Cove Marina, which rents houseboats and small boats, and at Dark Day. Yuba Water requires a free invasive-mussel screening for every motorized boat at both launches, daily from 6 a.m. until 30 minutes after sunset, and the launches close at dusk. Campgrounds include Schoolhouse and Hornswoggle, with boat-in camping at Madrone Cove and Garden Point.

Common questions

Is the record bass from here?

Yes. CDFW’s California record spotted/Alabama bass, 11 pounds 5 ounces, was caught at New Bullards Bar on February 20, 2022.

Do I need a boat inspection?

Yes, for any motorized boat. Yuba Water screens boats free at Cottage Creek/Emerald Cove Marina and Dark Day before launch.

Where can I launch?

At Cottage Creek, next to Emerald Cove Marina, or at Dark Day.

Is fishing good at Bullards Bar Reservoir right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Collins Lake11 miLake Oroville19 miYuba River19 miFeather River24 miFolsom Lake46 miSacramento River50 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.4000, -121.1300 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.