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Lake McClure Fishing Report

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

The Merced’s deep reservoir: McClure trades bass on the drowned canyon walls for trout and kokanee over 200 feet of water.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~73 F est.
Air / High
76 / 80 F
Wind
WSW 8 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 McClure lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 8 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 80. Water sits around 73 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: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Rainbow troutGood

Prime dry-fly and hopper season. Match the hatch morning and evening; nymph the seams midday.

Largemouth bassFair

Prime chasing season. Work moving baits on points and pockets: spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and squarebills, with a stick worm behind for followers.

CrappieSlow

Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

Tomorrow: Similar at 84 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.

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~73 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp76 F
High / Low80 / 60 F
WindWSW 8-10 mph
Pressure1012.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset06:34 / 19:25
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~73 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 · Overcast, 80/60 F, wind 9 mph, rain 4%

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 McClure: 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. Prime chasing season. Work moving baits on points and pockets: spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and squarebills, with a stick worm behind for followers.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Prime dry-fly and hopper season. Match the hatch morning and evening; nymph the seams midday.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

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 73 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~73 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, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 82 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 78 F, wind to 11 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 black bass and trout limits: check current CDFW rules. Mussel inspection required before launching.

Access

Barrett Cove, McClure Point and Horseshoe Bend recreation areas: ramps, marinas and camping (Merced Irrigation District).

About this water

A 7,100-acre reservoir on the Merced River, Mariposa and Tuolumne counties, California, behind New Exchequer Dam.

Fishing Lake McClure: the full guide

Sierra foothill storage

Lake McClure impounds the Merced River across 7,000 acres of foothill canyon between Snelling and Coulterville, with steep banks, submerged trees and depths past 200 feet. The result is a two-story fishery: spotted and largemouth bass on the rock and timber year-round, plus rainbow trout and kokanee salmon in the cold water below the thermocline. The lake swings dramatically with drought and wet years, exposing and re-flooding structure.

Bass on the walls

Spring pushes bass shallow into the coves and onto flooded brush when the lake is filling: jigs, spinnerbaits and soft plastics along the banks. The rest of the year is a deeper game on the steep points, submerged roadbeds and standing timber: drop-shots, Ned rigs and jigs from 15 to 40 feet, following shad with electronics. Summer nights fish better than summer days, when heat and ski traffic both peak.

Trout and kokanee

Stocked rainbows cruise the upper water column in the cooler months: trolling near the surface with spoons and small plugs takes them from fall through spring. Kokanee school deeper in summer: dodgers and hoochies at 40-70 feet over the main basin, with the Barrett Cove and dam areas the reliable circuits. Cold-water fishing quality tracks lake level: full years fish far better than drought years.

Foothill logistics

Recreation areas at Barrett Cove, McClure Point and Horseshoe Bend hold ramps, campgrounds and marinas, all managed by the Merced Irrigation District. Water levels dictate which ramps function: check current elevation before towing. Summer temperatures exceed 100 degrees in the canyon: dawn and dusk are the fishing windows, and shade is scarce on the open water.

Common questions

Bass or trout?

Both: bass on the rock and timber year-round, trout and kokanee in the deep cold water. Which fishes better depends on the lake level and season.

How much does the level swing?

Dramatically in drought cycles: 100-plus feet between wet and dry years, which changes ramps, structure and the cold-water fishery.

When should I visit?

March through May and October: comfortable temperatures, active fish and far less recreational traffic than summer.

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: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

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