Donner Lake

Fishing, stocking, and current conditions

Trout water; 3 stockings on the 2026 record, spread February to November. A 834-acre lake, and one of 4 stocked waters on the Nevada County record. A USGS gauge reports from this water, so the conditions card on this page is live.

Nevada County · California · see it on the national map

last stocked Jul 12 103 days ago

next Nov 1 announced

best window 10:06 pm-12:06 am solunar major today

Water right now 5932.01 ft elevation USGS gauge 10338400 (DONNER LK NR TRUCKEE CA) · read 6:00 pm this evening

3 stockings 2026

834 acres (NHD)

The year here

stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details

What swims here

Trout 3 stockings

Stocking record 2026

Agency feed checked today.

Date	Species	Size	Status
Feb 8wk	Trout	catchable	completed
Jul 12wk	Trout	catchable	completed
Nov 1wk	Trout	catchable	scheduled

When to fish Donner Lake

	Major periods (~2 h)	Minor periods (~1 h)
Today	9:43-11:43 am and 10:06 pm-12:06 am	4:02-5:02 am and 4:14-5:14 pm
Tomorrow	10:30 am-12:30 pm and 10:54 pm-12:54 am	5:10-6:10 am and 4:39-5:39 pm

Moon: waxing gibbous, 93% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Pacific Time (PDT).

What the record actually says

Last stocked Jul 12
Next announced stocking Nov 1

Computed this evening, Oct 23 · California fishing forecast

Gear for this water

A plant is on the schedule. Fresh stockers hold near the access points for the first week or two and eat what the hatchery taught them to eat.

For the trout (trout stocked 3 times here in 2026, stillwater)

Casting spoons	1/8 to 1/4 oz in fluorescent or metallic; count down until you find the depth
Small crankbaits	trout-pattern cranks trolled or slow-retrieved off points
Slip bobber and jig	1/32 oz marabou jig or waxworm suspended at cruising depth

Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.

Nearby stocked waters

The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.

Water	Distance	Most recent
Fuller Lake	21 mi	Sep 20
Weaver Lake	23 mi	Jun 7
Galena Creek NV	27 mi	May 14
Packer Lake	29 mi	Jul 12
Sugar Pine Reservoir	31 mi	Feb 1

Follow Nevada County stocking: RSS / Calendar (iCal) / Print the schedule

Records from California Department of Fish and Wildlife (official page). Placement from USGS GNIS and the National Hydrography Dataset. Schedules change without notice. Seasons, limits, and licenses: California fishing regulations.