Folsom Lake Fishing Report

The king salmon bite has reportedly been excellent for some and brutal for others. This is a somewhat typical report for Folsom... if you can figure out the pattern for the day, you'll kill 'em. Otherwise you may leave empty-handed. Fish are hanging in the 75-100 ft range, with trollers running hoochies and wonderbread flashers at just under 2 mph. Plenty of fish in the 3-4 pound range... some bigger. A few trout have been mixed in.

The spotted bass bite has been similar... hit or miss. For folks hitting... small swimbaits and jerkbaits have been the ticket. Nothing giant, but there seem to be a lot of fish schooled up together near areas with rock and large boulders, as well as points.

Folsom continues its hot spring into June. Shad and pond smelt are starting to school in large numbers, and they’re becoming the primary forage for everything from salmon to trout to bass.

The salmon bite has really been the standout, with guides reporting numbers and quality fish trolling hoochies at 40–60 feet. Trout anglers are running spoons and spinners in the 20-foot range and pulling limits as well.

Bass action remains excellent for both spotted bass and largemouth. Both are fully out of spawn, with largemouth now pushed under docks and thicker cover, while spots have moved off points and hard structure in 10–20 feet of water. Small swimbaits, drop shots, and Senkos are working best for both right now.

Folsom is churning out some excellent fishing right now for both spotted bass and salmon, as they both key in on shad. Spots are still in spawn and shallow. Many are on beds, but some are easing off into post spawn behavior pushing deeper and following shad schools. Still, most fish are sitting in that 5-15 foot range, hitting dropshots, swimbaits, and small jigs.

The King salmon bite has been good as well for trollers running Apex lures or Speedy Shiners in the 20-30 foot range in the main body near the dam. A few shore guys have also hooked a few kings heaving out jerkbaits and large kastmasters off points into deeper water. The king bite should continue to improve throughout early May.