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Forecast
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United States / California / Steelhead

Steelhead bite in California

Recorded 15 catches of Steelhead in California. Most active — year-round. A day-by-day bite calendar for Steelhead.

Steelhead bite forecast in California today

Best fishing days for the next week

  1. TuesdaySeptember 8weather-based forecast
    77/100high activity

    Cloudy: 68–86 °F

    Best fishing time: 18:00–21:00

  2. WednesdaySeptember 2weather-based forecast
    72/100high activity

    Clear: 55–82 °F

    Best fishing time: 05:00–08:00

  3. ThursdaySeptember 3weather-based forecast
    68/100high activity

    Clear: 57–82 °F

    Best fishing time: 05:00–08:00

Map of waters and catches

Loading map…

Where it's caught

  • Sacramento River8 catches
  • Smith River3 catches
  • Churn Creek1 catch
  • Trinity River1 catch
  • Eel River1 catch
  • Big Virginia Lake1 catch

Catches

  • Steelhead
    Churn Creek
    63 °F4 mph
    Apr 18, 2020, 1:00 PM
  • Steelhead
    Trinity River

Other fish in California

  • Largemouth bass183 catches
  • Chinook salmon104 catches
  • Rainbow trout70 catches
  • Striped bass38 catches
  • Rockfish22 catches

Steelhead bite calendar

Wednesday, September 2

Aug 31 – Sep 6
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Bite activity:highmediumlowslow
Based on:weatherseasonal
What is a bite calendar?

Hourly activity

0:006:0012:0018:0023:00
Bite activity:highmediumlow

The bite is strong — fish are active. Weather is steady, with no sharp swings — fish behave predictably.

Peak bite hours

Best time — 06:00–08:00 (dawn bite) and 19:00–21:00 (dusk bite).

Tactics

Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.

Lures

The water's turning murky — go with bright, noisy lures: drift rig with egg bait or fly.

Gear

It's a hot day — a hat, sunglasses, and plenty of water are a must. Winds will be strong — wind protection helps, and be careful if you're in a boat.

Summary

Worth going — it's a productive day.

Why this forecast

The computed water temperature is around 78 °F — warmer than the 43–61 °F comfort range for Steelhead: in the heat it drops deeper and feeds less often.

Computed water temperature by month; the green band is the 43–61 °F comfort rangecomfort 43–61 °F78 °F
JFMAMJJASOND

Steelhead works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.

The day: daylight hours and when Steelhead feeds0:0012:0024:00

Pressure is dropping 0.06 inHg over the day — fish are usually more active ahead of a weather change.

Pressure through the day, 0.06 inHg change
00:00 · 29.8423:00 · 29.79 inHg

September is an active season for Steelhead here.

JFMAMJJASOND

These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works

2 SepWednesday, September 2
+79°

Clear · feels like +68°

Low / high
+55°…+83°
Precipitation
0.00 in
Wind
19 mph WSW
Cloud cover
0%
Humidity
12%
Pressure
29.87 inHg
00:00+63°—11 mphwest wind, 11 mph31%0%
01:00+61°—8 mphsouthwest wind, 8 mph34%0%
02:00+59°—5 mphsouthwest wind, 5 mph36%0%
03:00+57°—4 mphsouth wind, 4 mph38%0%
04:00+56°—4 mphsoutheast wind, 4 mph36%0%
05:00+56°—7 mpheast wind, 7 mph32%0%
06:00+55°—6 mpheast wind, 6 mph32%0%
07:00+55°—6 mpheast wind, 6 mph33%0%
08:00+64°—10 mphwest wind, 10 mph26%0%
09:00+68°—16 mphwest wind, 16 mph21%0%
10:00+72°—16 mphwest wind, 16 mph18%0%
11:00+76°—19 mphwest wind, 19 mph14%0%
12:00+79°—19 mphsouthwest wind, 19 mph12%0%
13:00+81°—20 mphwest wind, 20 mph11%0%
14:00+82°—20 mphwest wind, 20 mph11%0%
15:00+83°—21 mphwest wind, 21 mph12%0%
16:00+81°—21 mphwest wind, 21 mph13%0%
17:00+79°—21 mphwest wind, 21 mph14%0%
18:00+77°—21 mphwest wind, 21 mph17%0%
19:00+72°—15 mphwest wind, 15 mph20%0%
20:00+68°—10 mphsouthwest wind, 10 mph24%0%
21:00+66°—9 mphsouthwest wind, 9 mph26%0%
22:00+64°—6 mphsoutheast wind, 6 mph27%0%
23:00+63°—11 mphsoutheast wind, 11 mph32%0%
+83°+69°+55°
Weather throughout the day
0:006:0012:0018:0023:00

Sun and moon

Wednesday, September 2
The day: daylight and the hours the moon is above the horizon. Local time0:0012:0024:00
DaylightMoon above the horizon
Sunrise
06:21
Sunset
19:13
Day length
12 h 52 min
Sunshine hours
12 h 1 min
UV index
7
high
Moon
Waning gibbous
Moonrise
22:14
Moonset
12:14

The day is 2 min shorter than yesterday.

Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.

Solunar feeding periods

+13% in the windowWednesday, September 2
Feeding windows on the day scale, local time0:0012:0024:00
Major periodsMinor periods
  • Major03:49–05:49Moon overhead
  • Minor11:44–12:44Moonset
  • Major16:17–18:17Moon underfoot
  • Minor21:44–22:44Moonrise

The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.

What are solunar periods?
52 °F
0 mph
Dec 28, 2019, 9:10 AM
  • Steelhead
    Smith River
    50 °F4 mph
    Dec 23, 2019
  • Steelhead
    Sacramento River
    70 °F0 mph
    Nov 10, 2019, 6:28 PM
  • Steelhead
    Sacramento River
    61 °F7 mph
    Sep 29, 2019, 7:42 AM
  • Steelhead
    Sacramento River
    54 °F2 mph
    Mar 29, 2019, 12:03 PM
  • Steelhead
    Smith River
    54 °F2 mph
    Mar 02, 2019
  • Rainbow trout, Steelhead
    Sacramento River
    48 °F2 mph
    Jan 23, 2019, 12:46 PM
  • Smallmouth bass20 catches
  • Spotted bass17 catches
  • Lingcod15 catches
  • Channel catfish14 catches
  • Cutthroat trout8 catches
  • Black crappie7 catches
  • Bluegill6 catches