Kern River Fish Report for 4-17-2026
Along the Upper Kern River, trout action remains steady
Kern River

by Chad Burton and Chris Borden
4-17-2026
Website
Along the Upper Kern River, trout action remains steady with weekly plants keeping the bite consistent. The stretch from Riverside Park to Powerhouse #3 continues to be one of the top-producing areas, and throughout the 20-mile section anglers are finding a healthy mix of stocked, holdover, and wild trout. Salmon eggs, minijigs, and spinners have been producing well, while fly anglers are finding success with a variety of nymphs and streamers. Last week, CDFW stocked Section 4 (Powerhouse #3 to Riverside Park in Kernville) and Section 5 (Fairview Dam to Powerhouse #3). On the Lower Kern River, trout fishing improved following last week’s CDFW stocking across all three sections, with another plant scheduled for the week of April 19 in Section 1 (Lower Richbar to Democrat Beach), Section 2 (Democrat Beach to Sandy Flat), and Section 3 (Sandy Flat to Isabella Dam). Anglers are finding success on freshly planted fish using salmon eggs, Berkley Pinched Crawlers, garlic-scented Powerbait, and spinners. The bass bite also showed improvement this past week, with one local angler reporting good numbers of smallmouth. It was more of a numbers game than quality, with fish coming on soft plastics, jigs, and crankbaits. Catfish can be picked up on sardines and Triple S Dip Bait. At the time of reporting, flows are running at 1,117 CFS on the Upper Kern and 833 CFS on the Lower Kern.
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More Reports
Cope's Tackle and Rod Shop Reports
for Friday, April 17th
California Aqueduct: The aqueduct bite had arrived
Castaic Lake: Bass anglers reported good fishing overall
Pyramid Lake, CA: Fishing at Pyramid Lake was good last week, with water clarity improving
Lake Isabella: Fishing remains excellent across multiple species
Cope's Tackle and Rod Shop Reports
for Friday, April 10th
California Aqueduct: Fishing was good for aqueduct anglers, with bass and catfish offering the best action
Castaic Lake: Bass fishing was great this week
Pyramid Lake, CA: Anglers enjoyed excellent fishing at Pyramid Lake last week, with all species biting well
Lake Isabella: Reports from local anglers indicate excellent crappie action
Kern River: Here along the Upper Kern River, trout are being caught consistently throughout the 20-mile stretch
Lake Kaweah: Rapidly rising water levels continued to create challenging conditions for bass anglers
Lake Success: Fishing proved productive as larger bass began taking baits in 5 to 15 feet of water
River Walk Lakes: At River Walk Park, the spring bass bite has arrived
Ming Lake: The spring bass bite is in full swing
Buena Vista Lakes: Anglers continued to hook plenty of trout at BV
Hart Park Lake: Anglers reported good fishing at Hart Park
Lake Nacimiento: While water clarity and temperature were perfect for excellent fishing
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