Here are some New Hogan Lake Fishing Quick facts:
Location: 30 miles east of Stockton, off Hwy. 26 near the town of Valley Springs. Elevation is 700 feet.
Size: 4,400 surface acres of water with 50 miles of shoreline. It’s about 8 miles long.
Species: Striped bass, catfish, largemouth and smallmouth bass
Facilities: Camping, marina, several launch ramps, store, day use, boat-in camping and boat rental. Day use and launching are free. See also: Susan River, Clear Lake and Marble Mountain
Information: New Lake Hogan Fishing Marina, 1955 New Hogan Pkwy., Valley Springs, CA, (209) 772-1462
Spring brings 58–68°F water and the best mix of species; stripers push shad into the Narrows and dam face at dawn, bass stage on 8–15 ft tapering points. Summer surface temps hit 78–82°F, pushing stripers and smallmouth to 25–45 ft in the main channel while largemouth feed shallow only at first light around tules near Acorn and Oak Knoll.
Fall cooling (68–60°F) fires up a shad-driven bite in Wrinkle Cove, Deer Flat, and Bear Creek arm where stripers blitz under birds and bass pin bait on windblown chunk rock. Winter drops to 48–52°F, concentrating fish on steep rock near the dam and the old river channel bends; slow presentations rule.
For trolling, run 5–6" Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows or Strike King Red Eye Shads 12–18 ft down along the submerged railroad grade mid-lake at 2.5–3.2 mph. When stripers graph at 25–40 ft, switch to downriggers with 6" Cotton Cordell Deep Divers or 1.5 oz P-Line Laser Minnows to keep baits in the marks.
Casting under birds in Wrinkle Cove and the Narrows, fire 1 oz Kastmasters or 5" Zoom Super Flukes on 1/2 oz heads and work fast to keep up with moving schools. Live bait anglers do best with threadfin shad or jumbo minnows on 1–1.5 oz egg sinkers and 20–25 lb fluoro leaders, anchoring on current seams near the dam or drifting the main channel edges.
Key largemouth areas include the tule islands and brush pockets between Acorn West ramp and Coyote Point, plus flooded willows in Bear Creek when the lake is high. Pitch Texas-rigged 4.2" Keitech Crazy Flappers or 3/8 oz jigs into shade pockets, focusing on 2–8 ft in spring and 8–14 ft in summer edges.
Secondary structure: the submerged roadbed outside Oak Knoll, rock transitions on Deer Flat’s right bank, and the first two points inside Wrinkle Cove. Drag Carolina rigs with 6" Zoom lizards or slow-roll 1/2 oz spinnerbaits (double willow, white/chartreuse) along the road edge in 10–15 ft for mid-day bites.
Smallmouth stack on windblown chunk rock points across the Narrows, the dam face, and the rocky outside corners of Coyote Point. In spring, throw 3/8 oz green pumpkin football jigs with Zoom Speed Craw trailers in 8–15 ft, then shift to 20–35 ft with 3" tube baits (natural goby) as the sun gets high.
Summer and winter require a vertical game: drop-shot 4" Roboworms (Aaron’s Magic, Hologram Shad) on 1/4 oz to fish suspended smallmouth you mark 25–40 ft over 50–80 ft near the river channel bends. A 2.8" Keitech on a 3/16 oz ball head swum slowly over rock spines triggers reaction bites during fall wind.
Target flats near Deer Flat, the back of Bear Creek arm, and the mud edges by Acorn West after dark when water is 68–78°F. Anchor in 8–15 ft and fan-cast cut shad, chicken liver, or jumbo crawlers on 1–2 oz sliding sinker rigs with 4/0 circles.
When the lake turns over in late fall, catfish roam deeper mud drops at 20–30 ft off the main channel; fresh mackerel strips stay on hooks through pecks. In winter, fish slow current seams near the dam riprap with cured sardine chunks, giving baits 30–40 minutes per soak.
Typical winter temps hold 48–52°F with 6–10 ft visibility near the dam and 3–5 ft in Bear Creek. Spring climbs to 54–68°F, visibility 4–8 ft, with pollen and light stain after storms.
Summer peaks 78–82°F, clarity 8–12 ft near the dam and 4–6 ft up-lake; algae bloom can add green stain. Fall cools to 68–60°F with turnover bringing 2–5 ft stain mid-lake; watch for suspended debris lines in the Narrows.
Spring stripers: 1 oz white bucktail jigs, 5" Pearl Super Flukes, and live shad; largemouth: 1/2 oz white/chartreuse spinnerbaits and 4" green pumpkin Senkos wacky in 4–10 ft. Smallmouth: 3/8 oz brown/purple football jigs and 3" smoke tubes on gravel points; cats: cut shad or sardine in 8–12 ft at dusk.
Summer stripers: P-Line Laser Minnow 1.5 oz on main channel drops; largemouth: 6" flutter spoons and drop-shot Morning Dawn worms in 20–30 ft; smallmouth: 2.8" Keitech Tennessee Shad slow-swim over 25–35 ft rock; cats: chicken liver and nightcrawlers on flats after dark.
Fall stripers: 1 oz chrome/blue Kastmasters and 6" Sebile Magic Swimmers on busting fish; largemouth: squarebills (Strike King 1.5 in Sexy Shad) on wind banks and 1/2 oz jigs on transitions; smallmouth: jerkbaits (Megabass Vision 110 GP Pro Blue) over 12–18 ft; cats: cut mackerel on channel edges.
Winter stripers: umbrella rigs with 3.8" white swimbaits slow-rolled 20–30 ft; largemouth/smallmouth: 3/8 oz finesse jigs and Ned rigs (Z-Man TRD Green Pumpkin) on steep rock 20–35 ft; cats: cured sardine or fresh cut shad on dam riprap.
Acorn Campground shoreline offers tules and ledge drops within casting distance; throw topwaters at first light and weightless flukes around shade pockets. The day-use bank between the dam and spillway has riprap ideal for jerkbaits and Ned rigs, plus deeper shots for stripers with 1 oz spoons.
Oak Knoll’s point lets you reach the submerged road edge; fan-cast spinnerbaits and squarebills across 6–12 ft, then hop jigs down the break. Wrinkle Cove’s right side has chunk rock with quick depth change—prime for smallmouth tubes and evening catfish soaks with cut bait.
Idle the Narrows with electronics to mark bait at 20–40 ft, then set waypoints on channel swings intersecting points for repeated passes. Use side imaging to find rock spines off Coyote Point and Deer Flat, then position the boat downwind to cast uphill with jigs or crankbaits.
Troll stripers along the submerged railroad grade mid-lake, following 25–35 ft contour lines; watch for sudden rises to 15 ft that concentrate feeding fish. In summer, graph thermocline depth (often 25–30 ft) and keep baits just above it; in winter, fish steep walls by the dam vertically with spoons.
Pre-spawn starts around 58–60°F when females stage on secondary points in Bear Creek and Wrinkle Cove at 8–12 ft; jerkbaits and lipless cranks cover water fast. Beds show up 62–68°F in protected pockets around Acorn and Oak Knoll; sight fish with white 4" tubes or green pumpkin creature baits.
Keep boat distance to avoid spooking in clear water, and approach from deeper water angles. Post-spawn males guard fry on the same flats—switch to poppers or weightless stickbaits early before sun drives them to shade.
Launch pre-dawn and work walking topwaters (Spook Jr., Bone) over 4–8 ft flats near Acorn while shad flicker on the surface. As sun rises, shift to drop-shot or spoon fish marked on your graph at 25–40 ft along main channel breaks near the dam and Narrows.
For largemouth, drag a 3/4 oz football jig on deep rock humps off Coyote Point in 18–25 ft; bites often come on the first drop off. Afternoon ski traffic pushes fish tighter to shade—skip Senkos under overhanging willows in Bear Creek if water level allows.
Watch for gulls diving in Wrinkle Cove, Deer Flat, and mid-lake saddles at first light; cast spoons and flukes immediately into surface boils. Largemouth and smallmouth pin shad on windblown chunk rock—run squarebills and mid-depth cranks (6XD in Sexy Shad) into the rocks for reaction strikes.
Stripers shadow river channel bends at 15–25 ft when the sun gets higher; troll crankbaits or umbrella rigs just above marked bait clouds. Evening brings a shallow window—burn spinnerbaits along tule edges by Acorn and Oak Knoll until full dark.
Work steep rock walls by the dam and the Narrows with blade baits and 1/2 oz spoons, hopping slowly through 20–35 ft where fish stack on bait. Smallmouth prefer subtle moves—Ned rigs on 1/6 oz heads and 3/8 oz finesse jigs crawled painfully slow.
Stripers suspend on deep channel bends; drop heavy spoons (1.5 oz) straight into marks and hold for the thump. Catfish hold near dam riprap—use minimal scent bleed baits like cured sardine to avoid perch pecks, soaking baits longer in cold water.
Planning a multi-lake trip or exploring more Gold Country fishing? Check out these resources:
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