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Lake Oroville Fishing Report

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

The Sierra foothill spotted-bass machine, with king salmon in the cold lanes.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
69 / 74 F
Wind
S 9 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.

3/5Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Lake Oroville locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. Today brings a mixed sky, wind S around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 74. 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 80 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 temp69 F
High / Low74 / 60 F
WindS 9-12 mph
Pressure1013.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain51% cloud, 16%
Sunrise / Sunset06:37 / 19:32
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 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 74/60 F, wind 9 mph, rain 16%

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 Oroville: 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 Oroville 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 Oroville 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 67 F, wind to 14 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

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 76 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 74 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

Bass 5/day, 12-inch minimum. Salmon 2/day: check CDFW supplement.

Access

Bidwell Canyon, Spillway, Loafer Creek, Lime Saddle ramps: launch elevation varies widely by season.

About this water

15,800 acres on the Feather River, Butte County, CA. Oroville Dam (1968): the nation's tallest.

Fishing Lake Oroville: the full guide

Numbers and then some

Oroville is California's spotted bass conveyor: steep red-dirt banks where 50-fish days on finesse gear are ordinary and the average size keeps climbing. Stocked king salmon add a trolling game over the river channels. Levels swing dramatically: the fish simply relocate along the endless structure.

Spotted bass depth ladder

Oroville's spots run a textbook seasonal ladder: winter at 40-60 ft on spoons and jigging Raps, spring climbing to 15-25 ft points for the spawn waves, summer splitting between dawn topwater and deep drop-shot camps. The lake's flooded canyons mean structure everywhere: the graph matters more than the map.

Salmon without an ocean

Landlocked king salmon patrol the cold band off the dam and the Middle Fork: trolled hoochies behind dodgers at 40-80 ft. Spring is prime before the lake stratifies hard: a Central Valley secret that fills smokers by Mother's Day.

Common questions

How do the huge level swings affect fishing?

Drawdowns move the banks weekly: fish follow bait to the new edges fast. Fresh water rising in spring floods brush and lights the bite: our gauge panel is the tell.

The afterbay alternative

When Oroville proper rings with wakeboats, the Thermalito Afterbay next door runs a quieter program: shallow, warm, and full of largemouth that behave like delta fish in the tules, plus a surprising red-ear and crappie box. Bank access rings the whole basin. It is the system's pressure-release valve: same license, opposite temperament, five minutes apart.

What ramp works at low pool on Oroville?

Bidwell Canyon's multi-stage ramp reaches lowest: the spillway ramp closes early in drawdowns. Check DWR's elevation and CDPR ramp status the week you go: it changes fast.

Is fishing good at Lake Oroville 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 early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Feather River7 miCollins Lake17 miBullards Bar Reservoir19 miYuba River23 miLake Almanor50 miSacramento River55 mi
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