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Shaver Lake Fishing Report

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

The Sierra's family trophy pond: Edison's mountain reservoir of kokanee derbies, planted rainbows and campfire culture at 5,500 feet.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~73 F est.
Air / High
63 / 63 F
Wind
SW 7 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.

Shaver Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind SW around 7 mph, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 63. 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 67 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 temp63 F
High / Low63 / 49 F
WindSW 7-11 mph
Pressure1011.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain9% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:30 / 19:21
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 · Partly cloudy, 63/49 F, wind 9 mph, rain 1%

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 Shaver Lake: 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 Shaver Lake 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 Shaver Lake 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 66 F, wind to 9 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 64 F, wind to 9 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 68 F, wind to 9 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. Trout 5/day; kokanee count within: check CDFW. Derby tags: marina rules.

Access

Edison ramps, Shaver Lake marina, Camp Edison launches.

About this water

2,000 acres at 5,500 ft, Fresno County, CA. The central Sierra's family trout lake.

Fishing Shaver Lake: the full guide

The Edison lake

Shaver serves the central Sierra's summer: a Southern California Edison reservoir at 5,500 feet whose trout program (heavy rainbow plants plus a kokanee fishery with its own derby culture) feeds a generations-deep camping tradition. The pines meet the water and the pontoons meet the trollers: everyone limits eventually.

Kokanee and the leadcore fleet

The kokanee school at 30-70 feet through summer: dodgers and pink hoochies behind leadcore or riggers: with the Shaver Lake Trophy Trout project adding tagged fish worth prizes to every troll. Rainbows hold the top 20 feet spring and fall: flat-lined Rapalas at dawn out-fish everything before the wakes rise.

The bass understory

Beneath the trout headline, Shaver's rocky points and drowned timber hold spotted and smallmouth bass: Ned rigs off the campground points, topwater in the coves at first light: a quiet fishery the trout crowd rarely touches. Crawdad-imitators rule: the lake's bottom crawls with the real thing.

Mountain practicalities

Edison's ramps and the marina serve the fleet (rentals abound): winter closes the road grades softly (the lake fishes nearly alone November-April: locals' trout season): and the elevation makes afternoon thunderheads a July schedule item. Camp 1 Ridge's views justify the drive alone.

Common questions

When is kokanee season at Shaver?

June-September at depth: dodger-and-hoochie standard: with the derby weeks concentrating the fleet. Fish deeper as summer ages: 30 feet in June, 70 by August.

Is Shaver good in the off-season?

November-April is the locals' secret: planted rainbows shallow, empty water, chains sometimes required. The lake's best flat-line trolling happens in the quiet months.

Is fishing good at Shaver Lake 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

Pine Flat Lake22 miMillerton Lake23 miLake Kaweah54 miOwens River60 miLake McClure61 miDon Pedro Reservoir71 mi
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