You known you’re in a massive state when the list of bodies of water spans high alpine lakes and sea level reservoirs. In California you’ll find over a hundred species of fish and more than 8,700 bodies of water. Fishing here is a daily ritual, a passion, a sport, a way to put food on the table, and accessible no matter where you live in this massive state which is the 3rd largest in the United States. If fishing the rivers and streams tops your list, you’ll be pleased to learn that California has thousands of them. We collected visit data, reports, edits, comments, star ratings, and your opinions to help us identify the best spots to fish in the state. Join us as we share the results of our data deep dive where we’ve sliced and diced things to end up with the list of the 25 Best Fishing Spots in California.

There are fishing spots we’ve seen on the list before such as Moonstone Beach, Bon Tempe Lake, Veeh Reservoir, and Sandy Wool Lake. They have long established themselves as quality fishing spots. And we have some new additions to the list such as Bard Lake, Middle Fork Cosumnes River, Antelope Creek, and Tinemaha Reservoir.

Bard Lake near Simi Valley, California

Antelope Creek near Roseville, California

Legg Lake near South El Monte, California

Lake Theodore near Meadow Vista, California

Halsey Forebay near Meadow Vista, California

San Luis Reservoir near Los Banos, California

Poorman Reservoir near Moreno Valley, California

Middle Fork Cosumnes River near Plymouth, California

Moonstone Beach near Cambria, California

Bon Tempe Lake near Fairfax, California

Tinemaha Reservoir near Big Pine, California

Nicasio Reservoir near Inverness, California

Bowman Lake near Nevada City, California

Lake Evans near Rubidoux, California

Grace Lake near Shingletown, California

Lake Herman near Benicia, California

Avocado Lake near Squaw Valley, California

Carquinez Strait near Crockett, California

Anaheim Union Reservoir near Brea, California

Veeh Reservoir near Laguna Woods, California

Fountaingrove Lake near Santa Rosa, California

Bravo Lake near Woodlake, California>

Matilija Dam near Meiners Oaks, California

Camp Far West Reservoir near Wheatland, California

Weber Reservoir near Placerville, California

Clifton Court Forebay near Discovery Bay, California

Sandy Wool Lake near Milpitas, California

Grab this list, your fishing tackle, grab your California fishing license, and catch your limit of trout, bass, sunfish, catfish, or one of the hundred other fish species found in the waters of California.