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Clear Lake Fishing Report

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

California's bass factory: the oldest natural lake in North America and pound-for-pound its heaviest bass water.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Gauge
3.12 ft
Air / High
69 / 75 F
Wind
N 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 11450000, 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.

Clear Lake serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The gauge reads 3.12 ft, easing 0.26 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 75. Water sits around 84 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: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassFair

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 78 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 CLEAR LK A LAKEPORT CA.

Gauge height, last 30 days

USGS gauge 11450000.

3.273.633.983.12 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp69 F
High / Low75 / 50 F
WindN 6-6 mph
Pressure1012.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:43 / 19:37
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 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 · Partly cloudy, 75/50 F, wind 13 mph, rain 0%

Fair or better. A 13 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Clear 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
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 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 Clear Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 73 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 72 F, wind to 13 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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 license. Bass: 12-inch minimum, 5 per day (most release everything). Confirm with CDFW.

Access

Library Park (Lakeport), Redbud Park, Clearlake Oaks and Lucerne ramps.

About this water

43,785 acres, Lake County, CA. Oldest natural lake in North America (~480,000 years).

Fishing Clear Lake: the full guide

An ancient, fertile machine

Clear Lake has been a lake for nearly half a million years, and its volcanic-soil fertility shows: 43,000 acres of tules, docks and rock that produce the heaviest five-fish bags in the country almost every spring. Ten-pounders are annual news; five-fish limits over 40 lb have won events here.

How to fish it

Spring: sight-fishing and reaction baits around tules and docks as huge females push shallow. Summer: deep rock piles and dock shade, big swimbaits over offshore structure. Fall-winter: jerkbaits and umbrella rigs when bait balls stack. The north end runs shallow and stained; the south arms (Redbud) hold the deeper structure. Catfish and crappie fisheries are underrated too.

Reading a living lake

Clear Lake's fertility is the whole story: cyanobacteria blooms, bait clouds, and tule banks make water clarity swing weekly, and the bass follow the comfort zones. Spring sight-fishing happens in the clear windows; summer fish tuck under matted weed and docks (punch rigs, frogs); fall's shad balls pull everything to the rock piles off Lucerne and the Keys. Locals watch bloom maps like weather: cleaner edges fish best.

Common questions

Is the algae a problem?

Summer cyanobacteria blooms are part of the lake's ancient fertility: heed posted advisories for contact, but the fishery itself thrives on the productivity. Spring and fall skip the issue entirely.

Is Clear Lake really America's best bass lake?

By biomass and five-fish weights it argues yes: double-digit fish every spring and 30-lb tournament bags. Bring big baits: the lake's forage (hitch, shad, crawdads) grows outsized appetites.

Is fishing good at Clear 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

Lake Sonoma25 miLake Berryessa44 miRussian River44 miBodega Bay52 miPutah Creek55 miSacramento River67 mi
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