Best Fishing Spots in California

No state stretches further vertically than California. Its mapped waters run from 71 metres below sea level in the desert southeast to 3,911 metres in the Sierra Nevada, with a median near 2,000 metres, and that range matters more than latitude. A high Sierra lake opens in June and closes by October; a Central Valley reservoir fishes every month of the year. The state splits between temperate and warm-temperate bands, so the north and the mountains behave differently from the south. Natural lakes outnumber reservoirs roughly two to one, which is unusual for a western state, though the reservoirs carry much of the bass fishing. Los Angeles County holds a surprising amount of mapped water for an urban county, most of it small reservoirs in the hills above the basin. Fishbox lists 2,890 separate waters across 58 counties of California. Type by type, natural lakes outnumber reservoirs. The biggest entry is Salton Sea, covering some 364 sq miles. Depth records put Lake Tahoe deepest at some 1,644 feet. Cold months average 30°F; warm months reach 60°F. The thaw generally comes near early June. The fish recorded most often across these counties are rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout and bluegill....