3,295 public fishing lakes and rivers in California — Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Kokanee Salmon and Spotted Bass.
See every public fishing venue in California on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
PiscaMaps covers 3,295 public fishing venues across California in 8 regions — 2,443 lakes and reservoirs and 822 rivers. The largest is Lake Tahoe, at 122,000 acres. San Joaquin River is the longest mapped river, running 554 km. Sierra Nevada has the most venues on file, with 1,286. 1,693 venues are documented trout waters.
The most commonly recorded species across California's public waters are Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Kokanee Salmon and Spotted Bass — the exact mix varies by water type and region. 241 venues have a real boat ramp on file, 890 have nearby camping, and 925 have mapped parking — sourced from OpenStreetMap and recreation.gov's federal facilities database (RIDB) where available.
California's public fishing venues are spread across 8 regions on PiscaMaps:
The most frequently recorded species across California's public venues on PiscaMaps:
Anyone 16 or older needs a California sport fishing licence — the resident annual is about $62 (one of the most expensive in the country), the non-resident annual about $167, with 1-day (~$20) and 2-day (~$31) options; the annual licence now runs 12 months from the date of purchase. Add-ons: a Bay-Delta Enhancement Stamp (~$7) to fish the Delta and Suisun/San Pablo bays, a Steelhead Report Card (~$10) to fish for steelhead, a Second-Rod Validation (~$19) where two rods are allowed, and a free sturgeon report card. Youth under 16 fish free. Buy from CDFW at wildlife.ca.gov. A California sport fishing licence covers this water.
Join PiscaMaps to unlock boat ramps, camping, species and licence info for every venue in California and across the USA.