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Lake McClure Fishing Report

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

Merced Irrigation District's big reservoir on the Merced River behind New Exchequer Dam, with bass on the rocky points and trout and salmon trolled in deep water.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~62 F est.
Air / High
62 / 64 F
Wind
WNW 7 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.

Lake McClure feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings cloud cover, wind WNW around 7 mph, falling pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 64. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:40 AM-11:40 AM and 10:09 PM-12:09 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassExcellent

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

CrappieGood

Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 70 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

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 β†’

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.

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp62 F
High / Low64 / 52 F
WindWNW 7-8 mph
Pressure1017.2 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain70% cloud, 19%
Sunrise / Sunset07:17 / 18:12
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 Lake McClure this week

Today is the pick of the week on Lake McClure, at 4 out of 5.

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

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

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

Solunar majors
9:40 AM-11:40 AM and 10:09 PM-12:09 AM
Minor period
4:04 AM-5:04 AM
Sun
07:17 to 18:12
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 8 mph
Rain chance
19%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake McClure: 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. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

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. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

When to come: the Lake McClure 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
Smallmouth bass
Rainbow trout
Crappie
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 Lake McClure 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. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 14 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 7 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. Lake McClure falls in CDFW's Valley District; it has no water-specific listing, so check the current California Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations for black bass, trout and kokanee limits.

Access

MID recreation areas at McClure Point, Barrett Cove, Horseshoe Bend and Bagby (campgrounds; cabins and marina at Barrett Cove); Lake McSwain recreation area downstream. Day-use vehicle fees apply at MID units.

About this water

A Merced Irrigation District reservoir of about 1,025,000 acre-feet behind New Exchequer Dam (1967) on the Merced River, Mariposa County, California.

Fishing Lake McClure: the full guide

New Exchequer and Lake McSwain

Merced Irrigation District owns and operates New Exchequer Dam, completed in 1967, and Lake McClure behind it on the Merced River. MID gives the reservoir a storage capacity of about 1,025,000 acre-feet and manages it for irrigation and domestic water supply, flood control, hydropower, recreation and environmental stewardship. Smaller Lake McSwain lies just downstream (9,730 acre-feet) and is a no-wake lake. MID diverts water from the Merced River at two points below Lake McClure.

Where MID says to fish

MID's fishing page describes Lake McClure's rocky points as habitat for bass and its deep water as the place for trout and salmon trolling, especially near the dam in the main body of the lake. It calls the Merced River arm a popular bass area through the year and also names the stretch from Horseshoe Bend down the narrows to Barrett Cove and the Cotton Creek branch east of the dam. Lake McSwain holds MID's trout derbies each April and October.

Recreation areas and ramps

McClure Point, Barrett Cove, Horseshoe Bend and Bagby are MID's recreation areas on Lake McClure, with campgrounds at each and park cabins at Barrett Cove on the western shore; Barrett Cove also has a marina where fishing boats can be rented. Ramp availability changes with the lake level: in early October 2026 MID's notices said the Horseshoe Bend main ramp was closed, with launching on a low-water dirt extension beside it, and listed the Barrett Cove north ramp as closed. Check MID's facility status before towing.

Common questions

Who runs Lake McClure?

Merced Irrigation District owns and operates New Exchequer Dam, the reservoir and its recreation areas: McClure Point, Barrett Cove, Horseshoe Bend and Bagby, plus Lake McSwain downstream.

Where do anglers troll for trout and salmon?

MID points to deep water, especially near the dam in the main body of the lake, and to rocky points for bass.

Are the boat ramps open?

It depends on the lake level. In early October 2026 MID reported the Horseshoe Bend main ramp closed (with a low-water extension in use) and the Barrett Cove north ramp closed; check MID's current notices.

Is fishing good at Lake McClure 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

Don Pedro Reservoir11 miNew Melones Lake29 miNew Hogan Lake49 miMillerton Lake51 miMokelumne River56 miLake Camanche59 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 37.5860, -120.2600 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 6, 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 6, 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.