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Lake Hodges Fishing Report

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

San Diego’s big-bass water: Hodges grew a fourteen-pound reputation on Florida-strain largemouth.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
69 / 71 F
Wind
WSW 5 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake Hodges sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WSW around 5 mph, steady pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 71. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:28 AM-11:28 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassFair

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 76 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 largemouth bass 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.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp69 F
High / Low71 / 59 F
WindWSW 5-6 mph
Pressure1014.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain35% cloud, 18%
Sunrise / Sunset06:59 / 18:05
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 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 Lake Hodges this week

The best day on Lake Hodges this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:28 AM-11:28 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM
Minor period
3:51 AM-4:51 AM
Sun
06:59 to 18:05
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 10 mph
Rain chance
18%

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

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

When to come: the Lake Hodges 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 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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 Lake Hodges today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 82 F, wind to 20 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 80 F, wind to 11 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 license plus city permit and fees. Limited operating days and seasons apply: verify the current schedule with the City of San Diego before visiting.

Access

City concession ramp and rental boats on scheduled days; shoreline and trail access around parts of the reservoir.

About this water

A 1,200-acre city water-supply reservoir north of San Diego, San Diego County, California.

Fishing Lake Hodges: the full guide

A city reservoir with pedigree

Lake Hodges covers about 1,200 acres at full pool in the hills north of San Diego, a city water-supply reservoir long famous among trophy bass hunters. Florida-strain largemouth grew to remarkable sizes here in the 1980s and 90s, and while the fishery has fluctuated with water levels and management, its reputation endures. Crappie, bluegill and catfish round out the card.

Big bass tactics

The trophy game is winter and early spring, when the biggest females move shallow: large swimbaits, jigs and live-bait presentations where legal, worked slowly along the weed lines, submerged brush and points. The lake’s Florida-strain genetics and abundant forage are what built the reputation, and double-digit fish still come out.

Panfish and access rules

Crappie stack the brush and the deeper structure, best in spring. Bluegill and catfish provide steady action. Access is the complication: the city operates the reservoir on limited days and seasons with specific rules on boats, motors and hours, and drought has closed it entirely for stretches. Verify the current status before driving out.

San Diego County logistics

The city concession runs a ramp and rental boats when open, typically on a limited weekly schedule during the season. Shore access exists along parts of the reservoir and the surrounding trails. Escondido and Rancho Santa Fe surround it. Always check current operating days, hours and water level before planning.

Common questions

Is it open year-round?

No: the city operates it on limited days and seasons, and drought has closed it entirely at times. Check before going.

Does it still produce big bass?

Double-digit fish still come out, though the fishery fluctuates with water levels and management.

When is the trophy window?

Winter and early spring, when the biggest females move shallow ahead of the spawn.

Is fishing good at Lake Hodges right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Oceanside18 miEl Capitan Reservoir22 miLake Cuyamaca32 miDiamond Valley Lake43 miLake Perris55 miNewport Beach58 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 33.0600, -117.1200 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.
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 guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be 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.