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Topaz Lake Fishing Report

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

Trout on the state line: Topaz Lake is open year-round, and either a Nevada or a California license covers it.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
82.52 ft
Air / High
49 / 54 F
Wind
NNE 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 10297000, 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.

Topaz Lake is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The gauge reads 82.52 ft, easing 0.50 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NNE around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 54. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:37 AM-11:37 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Largemouth bassGood

Below about 50°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

Smallmouth bassGood

Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Tomorrow: Similar at 55 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Nevada requires a fishing licence from age 12, from $40.00 for residents. What a Nevada licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with NDOW before you keep anything. The season dates for Nevada, read off the agency, are on the Nevada seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from TOPAZ LAKE NR TOPAZ, CA.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 10297000.

83.0484.0084.9582.52 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp49 F
High / Low54 / 41 F
WindNNE 4-10 mph
Pressure1020.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain29% cloud, 26%
Sunrise / Sunset07:15 / 18:08
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 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 Topaz Lake this week

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

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

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:37 AM-11:37 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM
Minor period
4:01 AM-5:01 AM
Sun
07:15 to 18:08
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 12 mph
Rain chance
26%

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

Species guide

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

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. Below about 50°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

When to come: the Topaz 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
Rainbow trout
Largemouth bass
Smallmouth bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 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 Topaz Lake 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. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 55 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 64 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Nevada requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Nevada or California license (NAC 502.286). Nevada’s 2026–2027 seasons list Topaz Lake as open year-round with a daily limit of 5 trout, 5 mountain whitefish and 25 warmwater game fish (no more than 5 black bass); closed inside the Topaz Marina jetties. Check CDFW for the California side.

Access

Topaz Marina (launch, rentals, slips) and Douglas County Park (launch, camping, hookups, fish-cleaning station).

About this water

A 2,410-acre reservoir on the Nevada–California line, in Douglas County, Nevada, and Mono County, California.

Fishing Topaz Lake: the full guide

A border reservoir

Topaz Lake covers 2,410 acres across Douglas County, Nevada, and Mono County, California; NDOW gives it a length of 3.5 miles, a width of 1.5 miles and a maximum depth of 92 feet. Rainbow trout are the main game fish and are stocked through the year, with bowcutt, brown and occasionally tiger trout also stocked. Smallmouth and largemouth bass are present as well.

Season and limits

Under Nevada’s 2026–2027 fishing seasons regulation, Topaz Lake is open all year, with fishing allowed from one hour before sunrise to two hours after sunset. The water inside the jetties of Topaz Marina is closed to fishing. These are Nevada’s rules; CDFW regulations govern the California portion.

Trolling and shore fishing

NDOW’s advice for shore anglers is PowerBait or nightcrawlers cast as far out as possible; trollers should use Rapalas or nightcrawlers behind flashers in the upper 20 feet of the water column. NDOW puts the average rainbow around 12 inches, with most between 10 and 18 inches.

Launching and licenses

Boats launch at Topaz Marina, which rents boats and slips, and at Douglas County Park, which has camping, electrical hookups, restrooms and a fish-cleaning station. Nevada’s administrative code (NAC 502.286) accepts either a California sport fishing license or a Nevada fishing license for anglers 16 and older on Topaz Lake.

Common questions

Does Topaz Lake still close for part of the year?

Not on the Nevada side. Nevada’s 2026–2027 fishing seasons regulation lists Topaz Lake as open year-round.

Which license do I need?

Either one. NAC 502.286 accepts a California sport fishing license or a Nevada fishing license for anglers 16 and older; anglers under 16 need none.

How big are the trout?

NDOW puts the average rainbow at about 12 inches, with most fish from 10 to 18 inches.

Is fishing good at Topaz Lake 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

Carson River16 miCaples Lake28 miTruckee River58 miLahontan Reservoir59 miSparks Marina60 miStampede Reservoir64 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 10297000 — TOPAZ LAKE NR TOPAZ, CA
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.6800, -119.5300 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.