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San Luis Reservoir Fishing Report

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

The largest off-stream reservoir in the United States by California State Parks' count, filled with Delta water pumped up from O'Neill Forebay, and closed to boats when the red wind lights flash.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
64 / 66 F
Wind
NNE 9 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

San Luis Reservoir sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 9 mph, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 66. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:44 AM-11:44 AM and 10:13 PM-12:13 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Yellow perchGood

Michigan DNR gives 66-70Β°F as the water perch prefer, so this band is the heart of the open-water season: drift or slowly work weed edges and flats with small baits near the bottom until a school turns up.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 71 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 striped 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.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp64 F
High / Low66 / 54 F
WindNNE 9-12 mph
Pressure1017.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain16% cloud, 5%
Sunrise / Sunset07:20 / 18:17
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 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 San Luis Reservoir this week

The best day on San Luis Reservoir this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:44 AM-11:44 AM and 10:13 PM-12:13 AM
Minor period
4:08 AM-5:08 AM
Sun
07:20 to 18:17
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 14 mph
Rain chance
5%

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

Species guide

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

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

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. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Michigan DNR gives 66-70Β°F as the water perch prefer, so this band is the heart of the open-water season: drift or slowly work weed edges and flats with small baits near the bottom until a school turns up.

When to come: the San Luis Reservoir 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
Striped bass
Crappie
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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 San Luis Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 15 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 16 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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 for anglers 16 and older. See the current CDFW Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations for striped bass and black bass limits. Golden mussel has been found in O'Neill Forebay, so clean, drain and dry boats (State Parks).

Access

San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area, 31426 Gonzaga Road, Gustine (209-826-1197). The Basalt ramp area was listed as closed for repairs in July 2025; obey the wind warning lights (California State Parks).

About this water

An off-stream State Water Project and Central Valley Project reservoir of 2,041,000 acre-feet (CDEC) in the hills west of Los Banos, Merced County, California.

Fishing San Luis Reservoir: the full guide

A pumped reservoir

California State Parks explains that water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is diverted south into O'Neill Forebay and then pumped into San Luis Reservoir for later use; both are part of the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. State Parks calls it the largest off-stream reservoir in the United States. The state's CDEC database lists the San Luis dam at 305 feet high, built in 1967 and owned by the Bureau of Reclamation, with 2,041,000 acre-feet of storage, and names the Department of Water Resources' San Luis Field Division as operator.

Fish

State Parks lists striped bass, black bass and trout among the catch in the recreation area. Its older park brochure adds crappie, shad and perch in San Luis Reservoir and O'Neill Forebay, with salmon and sturgeon caught occasionally.

Wind warning lights

State Parks warns that the area is often very windy and that dangerous winds come up suddenly. Warning lights stand at the Basalt entrance station, Quien Sabe Point and the Romero Visitor Center: flashing yellow means caution, and flashing red means the reservoir or forebay is closed and every vessel must leave the water. The entrance station gives wind updates at 209-826-1197.

Boating and camping

Water levels fluctuate frequently, so watch for hazards and shallow water. Two-stroke engine restrictions apply, a California Boater Card is required for motorized vessels, and life jackets are mandatory outside swim areas. The park's 2017 brochure names a boat ramp at Basalt, but State Parks' July 2025 information sheet lists the Basalt campground and surrounding area as closed for repairs, so call the park before towing; camping remains at San Luis Creek and Medeiros on O'Neill Forebay and at Los BaΓ±os Creek.

Common questions

What do the wind lights mean?

Flashing yellow means caution; flashing red means the reservoir or forebay is closed and all boats must leave the water (State Parks).

How does water get into San Luis?

Delta water is diverted into O'Neill Forebay and pumped up into the reservoir (State Parks).

Does the level change much?

Yes. State Parks warns that water levels fluctuate frequently and to watch for hazards and shallow water.

Is fishing good at San Luis Reservoir 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 the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Del Valle47 miMonterey Bay52 miDon Pedro Reservoir61 miLake McClure61 miLos Vaqueros Reservoir61 miNew Melones Lake70 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 37.0600, -121.1500 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 5, 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 5, 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.