Park Merced San Fransisco is actually two lakes separated by a narrow strip of land. Merced provides very good trout fishing all year-round.
So there is no need for anglers on the Peninsula to drive for hours to reach good trout waters. And Merced, surrounded by tules and sitting amid rolling green hills, hardly seems like its in the midst of a major city.
Trout fishing tends to be best in the spring and fall but the coastal weather keeps water conditions good throughout summer. Because of limited runoff, the water remains clear in the winter, also providing good fishing conditions.
Sloat Blvd & Skyline Blvd offers the easiest North Lake entry, with parking pullouts along Skyline and short trails to the concrete fishing pier and nearby tule edges. Brotherhood Way & Lake Merced Blvd gets you to South Lake’s east bank with a larger lot and long bank stretches that let you fan-cast parallel to the drop-off 20–40 feet from shore.
Harding Park Road by the golf course gives sheltered North Lake lanes where you can pitch under overhanging trees and fish the riprap transition. John Muir Drive has multiple shoulder pullouts; the bend near the archery range is prime for long casts to the outer weedline.
Sunset Circle on Lake Merced Blvd (near the boathouse) has restrooms and steady trout action from the paved path; fish 30–60 feet out to reach the first depth change. The south end turnout near the pistol range lets you cover deeper, cooler water where summer catfish stack.
January–March plants fish best 24–72 hours after a truck drop; work spoon-chuck-and-wind patterns from Skyline pullouts with 15–20 second countdowns to 8–12 feet. April–June mornings favor slow PowerBait floats 24–30 inches above a sliding sinker, positioned 40–70 feet off the Sunset Circle path.
July–August requires deeper suspensions; run slip floats set to 10–14 feet near the north pier and move every 20 minutes until you locate cooler pockets. September–November sees aggressive cruisers; cast small Kastmasters from Brotherhood Way banks at first light and burn them 1–2 feet under the surface.
Target the riprap along Skyline Blvd on stable weather; pitch 3.3" Keitech Fat Swing Impacts in Green Pumpkin to the breaks in the rocks. Work the shaded edges behind Harding Park in the afternoon with weightless 5" Yamamoto Senkos in Watermelon Red, letting them sink 6–8 feet on a 10–12 second fall.
South Lake’s east bank from Brotherhood down to the pistol range has submerged timber in 5–9 feet; slow-roll a 3/8 oz Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer in Green Pumpkin Shad, medium retrieve. Pre-spawn (Feb–Mar) bass cruise the flat north coves—crawl a 1/4 oz black/blue flipping jig around tule clumps 20–30 feet off the bank.
Anchor baits on South Lake’s deeper pockets near John Muir Drive bends; use 1–2 oz sliding sinkers and cast 60–90 feet to the main trough. Chicken liver wrapped with Miracle Thread or garlic nightcrawlers soaked in Pro-Cure Catfish Magic excel after hot days and at dusk.
During warm nights, fish the pistol range cove with cut sardine on 3/0 circle hooks, 18" leaders, and minimal weight to avoid burying in silt. Move every 30 minutes; most bites come in the first 10 once scent spreads.
For trout, 1/4 oz Acme Kastmaster in Gold/Red or 1/5 oz Panther Martin Yellow/Red Spots cover windier days; retrieve briskly with occasional twitches. Dough choices: Chartreuse Glitter PowerBait on #16 treble, 24" leader, or garlic corn on a #12 single for pressured fish.
Bass: 3.8" Keitech Sight Flash on 1/8 oz ball head for open-water, slow swim just ticking grass at 3–5 feet. Topwater low light: Heddon Super Spook Jr. in Bone, wide-walk cadence over North Lake flats.
Catfish: 2" Gulp! Catfish Shad Guts on 2/0 circles when you need cleaner hooksets. Carp bycatch around Brotherhood: canned corn or strawberry boilies on hair rigs, 1 oz inline leads.
Human-powered craft are allowed; launch at Sunset Circle or the boathouse ramp and kick quietly to the North Lake middle trough. Work wind lanes with 1/8 oz Kastmasters on 6 lb fluoro, counting down 12–16 feet to suspended trout.
For bass, position off the Skyline riprap and cast back to shore with light Texas rigs, covering 2–6 foot contour changes. Stay visible; winds funnel north-south quickly, so plan a downwind return.
Key zones include the first break at 20–40 feet from bank, the mid-lake trench running parallel to Skyline, and scattered concrete debris near John Muir bends. Tule edges hold bass and carp; rock-to-mud transitions attract trout during turnover.
The north pier has a subtle point extending left; cast past it and sweep lures across the lip. South Lake’s pistol range side has old timber stumps in 5–9 feet—drag jigs slowly to feel the bumps.
Prevailing west winds stack cooler, oxygenated water along Skyline Blvd, improving mid-day trout and bass bite when other sides go flat. Calm, overcast mornings boost surface action; bright afternoons push fish deeper, so count spoons longer or lengthen leaders.
Winter storms stain the south end first—switch to louder blades and darker plastics. Summer afternoon gusts create a productive chop; use slightly heavier spoons for reach and control.
Run 4 lb fluoro with 1/8 oz Thomas Buoyant Copper/Red and a 15–20 second sink to tick 12–15 feet, then slow roll with three reel turns and a pause. Troll slowly from a tube at 1.0–1.4 mph with a small dodger and 12" leader to a threaded nightcrawler, keeping the rig 8–10 feet down.
Sight-track cruisers near Sunset Circle on clear days; pitch single salmon eggs (Pautzke Premium) under a 6 ft leader and tiny split shot, letting it waft near the surface. Big rainbows often sit under floating debris lines—cast beyond and retrieve through the shade.
Start dawn with trout spoons from Skyline, switch to bass plastics along tule edges mid-morning, then soak cut bait for cats in deep south pockets by evening. Carry a light float rod with small pieces of shrimp to intercept perch and panfish that cruise the rocks.
If trout slow, tie on a 1/16 oz Marabou jig (black/olive) for both trout and crappie; work it with 3–4 foot casts parallel to shore. Use carp as a backup: chum small corn piles sparingly, then fish hair rigs while waiting on catfish rods.
First light to 9 a.m. is prime for trout and topwater bass before winds rise; dusk favors catfish and roaming browns. On hot days, the 11 a.m.–1 p.m. wind switch can restart the spoon bite on the Skyline side.
Although non-tidal, nearby ocean pressure changes matter—pre-frontal clouds often ignite aggressive feeding. Post-storm bluebird highs make fish neutral; downsize to 1/12 oz spoons and slow everything.
Black bass, catfish and carp compliment the trout fishery. Rainbow trout range from 6 inches to 10 pounds.
2 pound trout from the North Lake are very common. A state fishing license is required.
In addition, a $2.50 daily permit is required on the North Lake and a $0.50 permit on the South Lake.
Trout: 6'6" light spinning, 4–6 lb fluoro, 1/4 oz spoons or slip-float with size 8 bait hooks and 24–36" leaders. Bass: 7’ medium-heavy fast baitcaster, 30 lb braid to 12–15 lb fluoro leader, 3/8 oz jigs and chatterbaits.
Catfish: 7'6" medium-heavy spinning, 15–20 lb mono, 1–2 oz slides, 2/0–3/0 circles. Multi-species finesse: 7’ medium-light, 6 lb copoly, 1/16–1/8 oz jigheads with small swimbaits.
Work the Skyline pier after dark for browns chasing silversides; small white paddletails burned just under the surface draw strikes. In summer, fish the shade line cast-to-bank from a tube—bass pin baitfish against riprap by 10 a.m.
Pack polarized glasses to spot cruising trout near Sunset Circle and adjust leader length on the fly; longer (36–48") when they’re wary. Rotate colors quickly—gold in sun, silver/blue in overcast, and copper in tea-stained water to keep bites coming.
Keep moving: 3–4 casts per angle, then shift 20 yards; Lake Merced fish are roamers and reward covering water. Lastly, keep noise down near the pistol range and golf course edges—lighter footfalls mean more shallow bites within 15 feet of shore.
The North Lake is planted once a week with trout ranging 3/4 pound to 10 pounds. California Fish and Game plant approximately 7500 fish in each lake monthly.
Lake Merced offers fishing derbies, trout of the month contest, trout of the day contest, limit buttons and whopper buttons.
Planning a multi-lake trip or exploring more Bay Area fishing? Check out these resources:
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