Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino Mtns · near Big Bear Lake · Los Angeles / SoCal
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Best season
- Trout spring & fall (ice-off best); bass summer
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+, freshwater).
What is here
- Features
- 6,750-ft alpine lake · Regularly stocked trout · Marinas & boat rentals · Mountain scenery near LA
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Fishing detail
- Water type
- lake
- Water
- fresh
- Methods
- Trolling · Bait · Jigging · Fly · Drop-shot
- Boat
- both
- Target species
- Rainbow trout · Largemouth & smallmouth bass · Bluegill · Channel catfish
- Intl tip
- Buy your CA freshwater license online before you drive up; rent a boat at one of the marinas and troll for stocked rainbows near the dam.
The guide
Big Bear is the marquee mountain-lake fishery within reach of LA — a stocked alpine reservoir at 6,750 feet holding rainbow tro…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Big Bear Lake — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.2439, -116.9114