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Lake Piru Fishing Report

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

Lake Piru: United Water Conservation District's 1955 reservoir on Piru Creek in Ventura County, with mandatory quagga mussel boat inspections.

Boats kept off the south end. The lake’s operator says no boat may pass the 5 mph buoy line at the south end near Santa Felicia Dam until further notice (updated 5 October 2026). Source, read October 8, 2026.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Lake level
1018.88 ft
Air / High
60 / 71 F
Wind
SSW 3 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 11109700, 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 Piru feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The gauge reads 1018.88 ft, easing 3.18 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 3 mph, falling pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 71. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:35 AM-11:35 AM and 10:02 PM-12:02 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

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 80 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 crappie 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 from Lk Piru nr Piru, CA.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 11109700.

1022.261028.541034.821018.88 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp60 F
High / Low71 / 54 F
WindSSW 3-5 mph
Pressure1016.0 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 5%
Sunrise / Sunset07:07 / 18:10
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 Piru this week

Today is the pick of the week on Lake Piru, 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
9:35 AM-11:35 AM and 10:02 PM-12:02 AM
Minor period
3:58 AM-4:58 AM
Sun
07:07 to 18:10
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 16 mph
Rain chance
5%

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

Species guide

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

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.

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. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

When to come: the Lake Piru 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
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
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 Piru 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. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 67 F, wind to 16 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 67 F, wind to 15 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

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 83 F, wind to 14 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 required for all fishing, including shore, kayaks and float tubes. No fishing from rental pontoon boats. All boats inspected for quagga mussels on entry and exit; California boater card required for motorized boats.

Access

Lake Piru Recreation Area (UWCD): launch ramps, rentals, campground; daily vessel permit and vehicle day pass required. South end beyond the 5 mph buoy line near Santa Felicia Dam closed until further notice. Rangers (805) 521-1500.

About this water

A UWCD reservoir on Piru Creek behind Santa Felicia Dam, created in 1955, Ventura County, California.

Fishing Lake Piru: the full guide

A water-district lake

United Water Conservation District (UWCD) created Lake Piru in 1955 as a reservoir and owns and operates both the lake and its recreation area, which sits in the Los Padres National Forest less than an hour from Los Angeles. The recreation area offers a 238-site campground, launch ramps, boat and kayak rentals, a fish cleaning station and tackle sales; swimming is allowed from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Fishing

UWCD's fishing page lists bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish and carp. A California fishing license is required everywhere on the lake, including from shore, kayaks and float tubes, and fish cleaning stations are on shore. No fishing is allowed from rented pontoon boats; v-hull fishing boats can be rented.

Quagga mussels and boat rules

Quagga mussels were found in Lake Piru in 2013. UWCD inspects every boat entering and leaving the lake, and launching without an inspection can bring a citation. Motorized boats need current registration and invasive species stickers, drivers need a California boater card, personal watercraft are capped at 20 on the water at a time, and no vessel may pass the 5 mph buoy line at the south end near Santa Felicia Dam until further notice.

Water releases

UWCD's Lake Piru site (updated Oct. 5, 2026) says the district has increased releases from Santa Felicia Dam to 350 cubic feet per second, which triggered its whitewater boating notice under its federal hydropower license; whitewater access below the dam is by reservation on weekends from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Common questions

Can I launch my own boat at Lake Piru?

Yes, after UWCD's quagga mussel inspection; motorized boats need current registration, invasive species stickers and a driver with a California boater card.

What fish does Lake Piru list?

UWCD's fishing page lists bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish and carp.

Is any part of the lake closed?

Yes. UWCD bars all vessels beyond the 5 mph buoy line at the south end near Santa Felicia Dam until further notice.

Is fishing good at Lake Piru 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

Castaic Lake9 miLake Casitas33 miNewport Beach78 miSilverwood Lake82 miLake Isabella83 miKern River91 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 11109700 β€” Lk Piru nr Piru, CA
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 15:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 34.4675, -118.7567 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 8, 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 8, 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.