Morgan Reservoir Fishing Guide, Butte County, California

• Overview

  Set in Butte County, Morgan Reservoir is a California water. Country round the bank runs to open plain. Small at around 4 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Butte County. Berry Creek lies 7 miles from the water. Chico is the closest city, 18 miles away. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Morgan Reservoir

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Built water gives depth close in, which suits a bank angler. Points where the flooded channel swings in are the reliable ones. Species logged across Butte County include green sturgeon, Chinook salmon and striped bass. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Fish Morgan Reservoir where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between December at about 46°F and July at about 78°F, the water has a wide range to work through. It fishes twelve months of the year. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to be out. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. Morgan Reservoir fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Tom Jones Reservoir, 0.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at Morgan Reservoir are worth checking on the day.