Kern River Fish Report - Kern River - The Upper Kern was stocked last week in Sections 4, 5, and 6

The Upper Kern was stocked last week in Sections 4, 5, and 6

Kern River - CA

by Chad Burton and Chris Borden
10-9-2026
Website

The Upper Kern was stocked last week in Sections 4, 5, and 6. Section 4 runs from Riverside Park in Kernville to Powerhouse #3, Section 5 extends from Powerhouse #3 to Fairview Dam, and Section 6 continues from Fairview Dam to Johnsondale Bridge. Anglers are finding success with small grubs, trout worms, and salmon eggs throughout the upper stretches, while fly anglers are doing slightly better with dry-dropper rigs using a Yellow Sallie nymph as the dropper. In the Lower Kern, both largemouth and smallmouth bass are being caught on a variety of soft plastics and spinners, especially in slower pockets of water. Catfish and bass continue to show along access points as the river flows toward Bakersfield. Catfish are biting Get Bent Baits, clams, and worms, while bluegill are being caught on live worms. At the time of reporting, the Upper Kern River at Kernville was flowing at 180 CFS, while the Lower Kern River was at 565 CFS.

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More Reports

Cope's Tackle and Rod Shop Reports

for Friday, October 9th

California Aqueduct: Fishing was good in the southern aqueduct
Castaic Lake: Castaic Lake fell slightly to 94 percent of its storage capacity, and fishing was decent
Pyramid Lake, CA: The lake remained at full pool, and fishing was good for all species
Lake Isabella: Lake Isabella has dropped slightly to 25 percent of capacity, but the bass bite remains solid

Cope's Tackle and Rod Shop Reports

for Friday, October 2nd

California Aqueduct: Anglers reported a slower striped bass bite in the aqueduct, with catfish taking up the slack
Castaic Lake: Castaic was at full pool, and water temperatures were in the mid-70s
Pyramid Lake, CA: Pyramid Lake sat at 90 percent of capacity, and water conditions were poor
Lake Isabella: Lake Isabella has dropped slightly to 26 percent of capacity, but fishing remains solid
Kern River: In the Upper Kern, the trout bite picked up this week following recent CDFW stockings
Lake Kaweah: Kaweah Lake remained at 11 percent of capacity, and fishing was good
Lake Success: The lake remained near 13 percent of its storage capacity and bass anglers did well
River Walk Lakes: At River Walk, bass fishing has been steady in both lakes
Ming Lake: At Ming, bass action has been steady along the river side shallows
Buena Vista Lakes: Bass anglers reported decent fall fishing at BV
Hart Park Lake: Bass fishing was steady at Hart Park
Lake Nacimiento: Nacimiento fell to 35 percent of its storage capacity, and bass fishing remained good