California Fish Stocking
Agency: California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)
| Annual stocking count | 800,000 fish/yr (2025) |
|---|---|
| Source | California CDFW — Fish Planting Schedule (wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/FGChart). Spring 2025 prep plants: ~800,000 trout statewide (CDFW, 2025). |
| Species stocked | Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout, Chinook Salmon (smolt) |
Top stocked waters
| Water | Note |
|---|---|
| Crowley Lake | Large Eastern Sierra trout plant. |
| Lake Tahoe | Trophy trout fishery. |
| San Francisco Bay | Striped bass, sturgeon, salmon. |
| Eastern Sierra streams | Mono/Inyo county plants. |
| American River | Chinook salmon smolt production at Nimbus Hatchery. |
CDFW plants ~800,000 catchable trout in spring prep (2025) and runs ~1,000+ plants per year statewide via its Fish Planting Schedule. CDFW also produces Chinook salmon smolts (Nimbus Hatchery target ~2.25M in 2025–26). All plants are published in near-real-time on the CDFW Fish Planting Schedule.
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State agency & contact
Licenses, regulations, and stocking are set by the agency below. When FishFig can’t verify a figure, contact them directly.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)
FishFig is an independent guide and is not affiliated with California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Verify every figure with the agency before purchasing a license, keeping fish, or relying on stocking data.