SOCAL FRESSH REPORTS

SOCAL LAKES REPORT: Irvine Lake trout and bass going off; crappie waking up BY BRADLEY SCHWEIT/WON Staff WriterPublished: Mar 04, 2010

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SOUTH CAL SCHWEIT REPORTS SILVERADO — Both trout and bass anglers had a lot to be happy about at Irvine Lake this past week, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. “The trout bite was really good all week, but slowed down a little on the weekend,” observed Getty. “The bass anglers have really been hitting them hard; lots of bass are being caught. Several skilled anglers reported releasing over 40 bass for a day’s effort. Most of the fish are pre-spawn males that are just starting to move up, but some larger females are also starting to show.” Bait dunkers did best with brightly-colored PowerBait, with chartreuse garlic Gulp! and red salmon egg PowerBait among the top choices last week. Trolling results slowed with decreased visibility, but some fish were landed on FireTiger-color Rapala CD05s. Good numbers of fish were caught at the west shore, Trout Island and Woody’s Cove. Most trout weighted 1 to 4 pounds, with a few trophy-size fish to 12-4 seen. Some steelhead and browns are being caught, and several big steelhead that exceed the current lake record of 10-6 were stocked last week, but have remained elusive. Ron Larsen of Seal Beach stuck a 12-pound, 4-ounce rainbow while soaking a nightcrawler in Woody’s Cove. Dan Wackerman of Corona bested a 10.1 pounder using PowerBait at the same locale. Bass anglers are doing extremely well at the red clay cliffs, Rocky Point, and in the submerged vegetation along the west shore, with some bassers releasing 40 or more fish per day. Typical largemouth are in the 2- to 3-pound class, with some better-grade fish to 8 pounds. Drop-shot-rigged plastics and jigs are doing the trick at 15 to 20 feet. Anglers are reminded that all bass species are catch-and-release only at Irvine Lake. Lyn Cardiel of Santa Ana was working a jig at the west shore when she landed an 8.1-pound largemouth. Jose Granado of Fountain Valley bagged a 6.1 pounder using a nightcrawler in Boat Dock Cove. James Smiley of Lake Forest managed a 40-fish-day using jigs at Rocky Point; his biggest bass a 31⁄2 pounder. The first stringers of crappie from hand-size up to about a pound are showing up for anglers fishing minijigs along the fenceline. During rainstorms, channel catfish from 2 to 5 pounds stack up near the mouths of creeks and eagerly hit nightcrawlers and chicken livers. The Kids Lagoon is still muddy and yielding poor results for families with children age 12 and under. Recent fast-moving rainstorms mean uncertain road conditions around the lake. Typically, up to 48 hours of drying time is needed for lakeside roads after a storm. Call the Pro Shop at (714) 649-9111 for up-to-the-minute road conditions. Corona Lake anglers post another trout 45 limits CORONA — In spite of half the weekend being washed out by rain, anglers at Corona Lake still managed to land at least 45 limits of rainbow and lightning trout over the past week during a very good bite. The big fish were a pair of 51⁄2 pounders. One topped a 10-fish stringer caught by Will Jefferson of Apple Valley and Jose Martinez of San Diego while fishing green Eagle Claw Dough from a boat. The 10 fish weighed a total of 171⁄2 pounds. The other 51⁄2 was caught by Jacob Olachia of Temecula. Matt and Paul Maldonado, both of Rancho Cucamonga, landed 10 rainbows for a total of 17 pounds from shore. Bright-colored trout plastics, jigs or floating baits have all been working well for the trout, but adding a scent like Eagle Claw Gravy in garlic helps the action. Anglers should continue to report all their catches at the tackle shop and have photos taken for Fishing Web Cam. All limits reported and all trout over 5 pounds are worth a free, one-year subscription to Western Outdoor News. Existing subscribers can get half off on a one-year renewal. The next big event at Corona is a double bonus stocking that will include both brown trout and sturgeon plants for a special four-day event running March 18-21. The browns will be up to 5 pounds and the sturgeon will be 8 to 25 pounds. Anglers can now keep sturgeon 15 pounds or under and experience this incredible gourmet fish on the table. For Corona Lake fishing information, call (951) 277-4489 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com. Bass showing in better numbers at Casitas, but the big girls are nowhere to be found BY BRADLEY SCHWEIT/WON Staff Writer OAK VIEW — Recent bass behaviors and patterns would indicate the spring spawn isn’t far off, but for the number of smaller male largemouth being caught, there have been zero sizeable females showing up in recent reports. “We don’t have many names to report,” noted Lake Casitas Boat Rentals staffer John Lopez. “I mean, they’re catching bass… they’re just smaller fish. It sounds like the males are moving up on the beds. Guys are catching ’em using plastic worms in 15 feet or shallower. The biggest fish that we’ve been seeing have been about 5 pounds or so. Most everything’s in the 2- to 4-pound range.” In fact, the only name Lopez had to report this past week was Zach Baird of Ventura who landed a 21⁄2-pound crappie using a minijig. And it may also be worth noting the slabs have been showing in better numbers, according to Lopez. “They’re also still getting a few catfish here and there; mostly in the Santa Ana Arm, as the creeks are still flowing.” Castaic finally wakes from its wintertime slumber BY BRADLEY SCHWEIT/WON Staff Writer CALSTAIC — If you’ve been browsing the Form Charts section of the paper for the past few weeks, you should be well aware of the fact that it’s been quite some time since Castaic Lake had anything noteworthy to report in the fishing department. Well, last week all that changed when the fishery kicked out not one, but two double-digit largemouth. “Castaic has woken up from its winter hibernation,” said lake staffer John Salkeld. “Both the Upper and Lower lakes have been producing bigger fish and bigger quantities this past week. “Starting with the Upper Lake, the stripers have been tearing up the shoreline on the dam and the shoreline around Kong Island. Sardines are still the dominant choice for bait for both shoreline anglers and boaters. Sharon’s Rest, the forebay buoy line and Elizabeth Canyon have also been kicking out some better-sized stripers on the ‘dines. It’s an early bite that seems to die off around 9 a.m., then picks back up around 3 p.m. until closing. “The largemouth bite has been doing extremely well at the Upper Lake. Drop-shotting and Carolina-rigging plastics has been working great, and for the deeper bass, deep-diving crankbaits have been pulling up some bigger bass.” Steven Allen of Redondo Beach caught a 12.7-pound largemouth while throwing a crankbait in Slalom Cove. “The Lower Lagoon is no stranger to double-digit largemouth, and this past week has proven that.” Ronnie (no last name provided) of San Fernando bagged an 111⁄2-pound largemouth using a creature bait in the Lagoon. “Senkos and creature baits have been bringing in the toads all day long in Paradise Cove and near the spillway,” Salkeld noted. “Some trout are still hanging around the launch ramp at the Lagoon and they are biting PowerBait, small spinners or Super Dupers.”