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Lake Kaweah Fishing Report

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

Terminus Dam’s spring flood-pool: when Kaweah fills through the oaks, the bass fishing gets briefly, gloriously stupid.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
78 / 83 F
Wind
W 6 mph

Sources: 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.

Lake Kaweah serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 83. 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: Warmer at 88 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.

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.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp78 F
High / Low83 / 61 F
WindW 6-6 mph
Pressure1012.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:29 / 19:19
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 · Clear, 83/61 F, wind 9 mph, rain 0%

Fair or better. A 9 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Kaweah: 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 Lake Kaweah 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 Lake Kaweah 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 84 F, wind to 8 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 83 F, wind to 8 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 84 F, wind to 8 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. Standard limits: check CDFW. Corps day-use fees at developed ramps.

Access

Lemon Hill and Kaweah ramps off Highway 198, Horse Creek campground: ramp usability varies with the flood-control pool.

About this water

A 1,900-acre (full pool) Corps flood-control reservoir on the Kaweah River at Three Rivers, Tulare County, California.

Fishing Lake Kaweah: the full guide

A lake with a pulse

Kaweah is a flood-control reservoir on the Kaweah River below Sequoia’s foothills: 1,900 acres at full spring pool, a fraction of that by late fall. That yo-yo defines the fishery: each spring the rising water floods grass, willows and oaks, and the largemouth respond with a shallow-water feed that ranks with anything in the valley: then the long drawdown concentrates everything into the old river channel by October. Crappie, bluegill and planted trout in the cool months complete the card.

Riding the rise

March through May is the show: flip and pitch the flooded buckbrush and grass edges with jigs and creature baits as the pool climbs: every foot of new water is a fresh buffet line. Post-spawn fish slide to the channel swings and the dam’s rock: deep cranks and Carolina rigs. By late summer, fish the lights and steep banks at night: the day belongs to skiers and 100-degree heat.

The drawdown game

As the Corps pulls the lake down, bait and bass funnel into the river channel and the Horse Creek arm: a fall spoon-and-drop-shot fishery in 15-30 feet that locals keep quiet about. Winter rainbow stockings near Lemon Hill give bank anglers steady action, and the crappie tuck into whatever wood the level leaves wet: find brush, find slabs.

Three Rivers logistics

Lemon Hill and Kaweah recreation areas hold the ramps (low-water ramp extensions matter here: check current pool). Horse Creek campground covers overnights. The lake sits on the Sequoia National Park road: pairing giant trees with a morning bite is the local double. Wind is rare, heat is not: summer is a dawn fishery.

Common questions

When is Kaweah at its best?

April-May as the pool rises into the brush: the flooded-cover largemouth bite is the whole reason to circle this lake on a map.

Does the drawdown ruin fall fishing?

It concentrates it: the channel and Horse Creek arm hold everything by October. Less pretty, more efficient.

Are there trout?

Winter stockings near the ramps keep the cool months honest: a bonus fishery while the bass sulk.

Is fishing good at Lake Kaweah 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

Pine Flat Lake35 miShaver Lake54 miKern River55 miMillerton Lake57 miLake Isabella59 miOwens River60 mi
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