Kern River Fishing Report

Kern River


by Chad Burton and Chris Borden
1-23-2026
Website

Here in the Upper Kern, anglers are finding success with slower presentations, including salmon eggs and trout jigs, while fly anglers are doing well on nymph patterns during the morning hours and blue-winged olive patterns during afternoon hatches. This week, trout were stocked in Section 5 from Fairview Dam to Lazy River Lodge and Section 6 from Fairview Dam to Johnsondale Bridge. On the Lower Kern River, the bass bite remains fair to good on crankbaits, jigs, and spinners. Catfish activity has slowed, but fish are still being caught on dip baits, nightcrawlers, and cut baits. At the time of reporting, flows were 588 CFS on the Upper Kern and 731 CFS on the Lower Kern.



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More Reports

Cope's Tackle and Rod Shop Reports
for Friday, January 23rd

California Aqueduct: Anglers reported fair fishing in the aqueduct last week
Castaic Lake: The lake is closed until further notice
Pyramid Lake, CA: The lake held at its normal winter level of 85 percent of storage capacity
Lake Isabella: The crappie bite continues to go strong