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Southern California Lake Fishing Report

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Thursday, April 24th, 2025

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      Report: by basstrophy

      The best deal is to use a slow-moving lure and a presentation that is much like a finesse tactic with a bucket full of patience. There are still fish in all the different stages of the spawn during this time of the year so fishing shallow and deep come into play. At Pine Flat Lake, most of the fish were in the post-spawn stage, but the later spawners were still willing to guard their nesting areas. Pine Flat Lake is dominated by the spotted bass population and accompanied by some big largemouth bass. This lake is known for numbers of spotted bass willing to bite but because most of the fish were in the post-spawn, the fish seemed not willing to bite and a little harder to entice a bite.

      Angel Sanchez found the best recipe to capture first place with a total of 81.00”. Sanchez use the Mid-Strolling technique to catch his winning limit. He practiced two weeks before the event and found that the main lake points had roaming fish out deep.

      “I went to Pine Flat with a buddy and found that the points were holding roaming fish way offshore.” stated Sanchez, “I used the strolling technique to catch the fish.”

      “I was using a 3/16-ounce jig with a 4” Mooch minnow paired with 8-pound test line to a 15- pound braid.” enunciated Sanchez, “The bite was best in the morning compared to the afternoon bite, after 11 AM the bite really slowed down.”

      “I was fishing in 60 to 80-feet of water but the fish were suspended in 20 to 30-feet of water." exclaimed Sanchez, “I would shake the minnow over the top of the fish, and they would come up and eat it.”

      “I Mid-Strolled all day long for my limit.” said Sanchez.

      ohn Myers came in second with a total of 80.00”. He ran the bank using a Senko and a Ned rig to catch his fish.

      “I covered a ton of water for the fish I had caught.” remarked Myers, “I found that the grassy areas did not hold fish compared to the areas that had red clay or the smaller and larger rock.”

      “I was using a Neko-Rigged Senko and a Ned Rig with a big TRD in Peanut Butter and Jelly color to catch my fish.” mentioned Myers, “The fish were from the shore down to about 20-feet of water.”

      “I had a small limit of spots early and saw some larger rock across the cove that I was fishing." articulated Myers, “I made a short run across the lake and started to fish the larger rock when I felt a bite. I gave her the bad news and caught a 19” largemouth, it jumped 4 times before I was able to net her.”

      “I worked that area over thoroughly in hopes to catch another nice largemouth bass but was only able to catch the same fish a second time. This time when I gave her the bad news she only jumped twice before I was able to net her. It was a bummer to catch her twice because two 19” fish at Pine Flat is extremely difficult to accomplish.”

      “In the same area, there were some large boulders offshore and I was able to catch a 15” largemouth in the shade of a rock.”
      “I practiced for two days before the event and found that both days were frontal conditions and fishing was good.” pronounced Thao, “The fish were in all stages of the spawn, and I was able to catch them from 8 to 15-feet of water.”

      “Once the tournament day started the conditions had changed to post frontal conditions to blue bird skies.” replied Thao, “The fish were not as active and when I got to my first spot, I had 4 bites on a swimbait but was not able to hook up.”

      “I struggled throughout the day but was able to get enough bites Mid-Strolling.” voiced Thao, “I was sitting in 80 to 100-feet of water and target fish suspended in 5 to 10-feet of water.”

      “There were one or two fish that I targeted and most of the time they would follow the bait to the boat and not bite.” expressed Thao, “I had to jig the lure up and down next to the boat to get them to bite.”

      “This is pretty much what I did all day long. I did go to the bank, but the fish were un-scoreable so I would go back out deep and catch scorable fish." explained Thao, “I was using a 1st Gen Jaw dropper in the ¼ ounce paired with a 4” Mooch minnow.”

      “I was fishing a cove near a spawning area and the fish that I was catching were trout eaters.”

Tuesday, March 25th, 2025

  • San Diego County
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      Report: Bass have been eating their fill of trout on stock days, and the following days, but are still being caught with swim-baits, worms, and other standard baits. During bass spawning season (April 1st-May 31st), all bass are catch and release ONLY. The bass are mostly paired up and actively bedding, so expect more activity in the coming weeks as the water begins to warm up. A new bass lake record was caught by angler Jed Dickerson on March 25, 2025. The new record is 14lb 8oz, and was 26" long by 26" girth.

Wednesday, February 26th, 2025

  • Los Angeles County
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      Report: by callwakeup » Tue Feb 25, 2025 4:29 pm

      Turns out the water was in pretty good condition -- with only floating debris near the launch ramp.

Thursday, October 26th, 2023

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      Water Temp: 69

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Crappy fishing. I’ll leave it at that.

      Tips: Go somewhere else.

Tuesday, May 9th, 2023

  • Los Angeles County
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      Report: by callwakeup » Tue May 09, 2023 4:45 pm

      fished Castaic today for the 1st time this year. For me the bite was moderate and all fish caught in 15 to 20' and the bait needed to be glued to the bottom with the slowest crawl.
      I didnt see any fish up shallow and no signs of beds. My question -- did the spawn here already occur and the bulk is done - or did all this cold rain and new water push the spawn back and it hasn't really started yet?

Monday, June 6th, 2022

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      Report: by jiggin4bass » Mon Jun 06, 2022 7:03 pm

      Hensley lake was good this afternoon I caught 11 bass in 3 1/2 hours nothing real big I had two of 11 bass that were about 2 pounds caught all the fish on 1/4 oz. Finesse jigs & 4" twin tail Yamamoto grub trailers
      All in 7 to 15 feet of water and in 20mph winds
      Eastman has better quality fish that will go on finesse jigs also both lake are low and the wind keep boater away. It's best time to fish both lakes.

Tuesday, May 31st, 2022

  • San Bernardino County
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      Report: by george » Tue May 31, 2022 1:55 pm

      Silverwood was pretty good last week, We caught fish on a white/chartrues 1/2 oz spinnerbait early and late while wind was blowing, Also got em pretty good on a 1/8oz shaky head with a four inch green pumpkin black flake Senko on 10lb Flourocarbon right on the bank.
      Keep moving until you find fish and go back through any area that you catch a few!

      George

Monday, August 30th, 2021

  • Los Angeles County
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      Report: SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) will begin implementing additional boating requirements at Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County due to the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels.

      The discovery of quagga mussels means DWR must implement measures to prevent their spread, including requiring boats to be inspected and drained upon leaving Castaic Lake and Castaic Lagoon. While mussels have not been detected to date in Castaic Lagoon, they are presumed to be present since the lagoon receives water from Castaic Lake.

      DWR and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) staff discovered two quagga mussel shells on August 17, 2021, at Castaic Lake. Earlier in the month, a park visitor reported finding a live mussel in the lake. DWR and CDFW have not detected larval “veliger” stage mussels in Castaic Lake during routine monitoring. CDFW and DWR plan to continue monitoring Castaic Lake and Lagoon, and plan to increase monitoring in the Lagoon and Castaic Creek.

      Quagga mussels, which are small, non-native freshwater mollusks, were first discovered in the Colorado River and in California in 2007. In 2016, they were found in Pyramid Lake, the Angeles Tunnel, and Elderberry Forebay. The mussels can be a threat to California’s native species and can clog water systems, colonize hard surfaces, alter food webs in ecosystems, and damage boat engines.

      Boats are required to be inspected by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation before leaving Castaic Lake and all water must be drained from outboards, bilges, live-wells, ballast tanks, bait buckets and any other areas containing lake water. Boats must still pass an entrance inspection and be clean, drained, and dry to be allowed to launch. Entrance inspections are still required because they prevent additional invasive species introductions.

      Boats departing Castaic Lake will receive a tag indicating they were last used in a waterbody containing mussels. Tags will allow entry of boats at Pyramid and Castaic lakes without having to be reinspected since both lakes are classified as infested with quagga mussels. After boating in an infested lake, boat owners may experience restrictions or extended dry out periods before visiting another waterbody. Boaters are advised to contact the waterbody destination to be informed of any inspection requirements before their arrival.

      Transportation or possession of live or dead quagga mussels, including water that may contain their microscopic larvae, is a violation of Fish and Game Code 2301 and CDFW has authority to take enforcement action.

      For additional boat cleaning guidelines, go to A Guide to Cleaning Boats (ca.gov) or DWR’s Quagga Mussels: Clean, Drain, and Dry video.

Sunday, November 29th, 2020

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      Water Temp: 61

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Good fishing yesterday....Check out the vid!

      https://youtu.be/J6vUa6P3FzA

Sunday, February 9th, 2020

Monday, November 11th, 2019

  • Los Angeles County
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      Water Temp: 60

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: National Bass West Opener Video: Congratulations to Bill Siemantel and Ron Thompson on their victory! https://youtu.be/RU7bX5-A6R0

      Tips: Kindness to others and patience!

  • San Bernardino County
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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Alex here with Silverwood Lake fish report for Sunday Nov 10th. Lots of trout being caught in Cleghorn area, with rumors of a 6 pound largie being landed. We fished from our yaks throwing big trout patterned swimbaits all day with out much luck. However as temperatures rose in the afternoon we spotted several largies cruising around the lake. Noe was able to stick this solid 3.2 pounder on an 8 inch glide bait.


      For credit:
      Name: Noe Sarmiento
      Instagram & YouTube: @WeFollowRivers

      Species: 3.2lb Largemouth Bass
      Date: November 10th
      Time: 1:30pm
      Bait: 8 inch Glide Rainbow Trout

Wednesday, October 30th, 2019

Friday, April 19th, 2019

  • Medeira County
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      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Caught this 10 pound 6 ounce bass yesterday at Diamond Valley Lake.

      Tips: Drop shot in 20 feet of water

Thursday, December 20th, 2018

  • Los Angeles County
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      Water Temp: 54

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Don Iovino and I got out on the lake for an opportunity to get to know each other. Don taught me his reaper rig, or what he calls "Split Shotting". I threw the rig all day with the intent to step out of my comfort zone. Don hooked into a small keeper on the first stop before I could get my line wet. We picked up 6 fish with 5 keepers. Don taught me a lot. I tried to shortcut the rig and it didn't work too well. Don knows his stuff. He also updated my graphs. You can see it all here: https://youtu.be/nerW-nCezdA

Sunday, December 10th, 2017

  • San Luis Obispo County
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      Water Temp: 57-58

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Water continues to cool down. Water seemed more stained than previous outings. Weather was bright/sunny, zero wind. Morning lows around 30 degrees and daytime high of 75 degrees! WARM for December? Fishing seemed slow with the calm bright weather. Some smaller fish on small swimbaits and a few on dropshot. Some bait still around. Last tourney won with around 13lbs, but finesses seems to be the name of the game.

      Tips: Work steep walls

Sunday, October 15th, 2017

  • San Luis Obispo County
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      Water Temp: 68-70

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: It seems no one posts any reports on here anymore. It would be nice to see more reports!
      Fished today and fish were all over the lake.
      Caught most fish on drop shot on points / river channels.
      Caught some other fish on small swimbaits.
      Fish didn't seem to want topwater.
      Fish were spitting up shad.
      Great time of year on the lake!

Sunday, September 10th, 2017

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      Water Temp: 75.5

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fishing was tough. Had several small hits on top water first thing in the AM, all less than a 1 lb, and 1 more small one on a senko in the late morning. We did however catch two huge crappie by the dam both on jerk baits.

Saturday, August 5th, 2017

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      Water Temp: 74

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fishing until noon then the wind kicked in. Caught a few on jerkbaits and crankbaits. A lot of shad and baby bass in the lake. Big fish went 3.5lbs

      Tips: Reaction baits shallow early morning then slow down and move deeper during the afternoon.

Tuesday, April 18th, 2017

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      Water Temp: 61.5

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: had a good day of fishing at lopez finally! caught a 6 pounder, 5 pounder 4 pounder and several 1 and 2 pound fish... most were caught on swimbaits near the edge of brush lines in 3 to 10 feet deep the fish were moving up to spawn.

      Tips: crawl a swimbait along the bottom or fish a weightless senko for best luck!!