JIM MATTHEWS PICKS OF THE WEEK
1. Diamond Valley Lake is having an epic topwater largemouth bass bite. The reports are for 15 to 40 topwater fish in a morning as the fish boil all over the lake. “Epic” is not used lightly here. This bite is epic. Guys will refer to this bite for years: “Remember the 2010 summer topwater bite at DVL?” Lots of two to four-pound fish on a wide range of surface baits or near-surface cranks and swimbaits resembling shad tossed toward boils. Even if there’s not a boil, toss the same baits around structure and the bass are blowing up on it. This is one of the best bites of the year. Go. Even during the week, rental boats are going fast. For an update on the action, call the marina at 951-926-7201 or Last Chance Bait and Tackle at 951-658-7410.2. OK, a week of heat like this is enough to remind us that we live in the desert. So a trip to the Sierra for a weekend cool-off is completely understandable. The fact that a lot of the region is seeing its best trout fishing since May is also a good reason to go. There’s not one spot in the region that stands out, but a lot of solid candidates that are just wide open. Some of the top picks are South Lake in the Bishop Creek drainage, Crowley Lake for fly anglers (perch minnows), Silver Lake (getting Alpers fish each week now), Saddlebag Lake out of Lee Vining, and Bridgeport Reservoir.
3. The bluegill and redear action at Lake Perris actually got better over the past week, but so did several of the other good panfish bites in the region. More Perris fish over a pound were reported this week than the week before. The bigger fish are all in 20-feet of water or more and the best spot has been off the north and west sides of the island. Full limits have not been uncommon for anglers fishing crickets, meal worms, or wax worms. Jigs tipped with one of those baits are as good or better. Other spots nearly as good at Perris have been Diamond Valley and Lower Otay. For an update on the Perris bite, call the marina at 951-657-2179.
FRESHWATER HOT SPOTS
TROUT: Top trout bets in Sierra continue to include Bridgeport Reservoir, Lake Crowley, Silver Lake, Rush Creek, South Lake, Lake Sabrina, and most of the Bishop Creek and Rock Creek drainage streams, which are getting heavily planted each week. Virginia Lakes has also been wide open on fish to two pounds, and the West Walker is very good now. For fly guys, the East Walker River is tougher this week, but Bridgeport Reservoir and Crowley remain hot spots. At Crowley has more and more fish are working perch minnows in the backs of bays with water inflows. In Southern California, there continues to be good action at just a handful of waters. Top bets are Green Valley Lake, Big Bear Lake, and Lake Hemet with all three pretty fair and improved over the previous week. Deep-water trollers at Cachuma are still getting quite a few fish, but no one is trolling Diamond Valley for its big, holdover rainbows, and this is staying our sleeper trout pick.
BLACK BASS: The largemouth bass action has improved just about everyone this past week with surface action turning on a lot of places. Diamond Valley Lake has been wide open on topwater -- as good as this kind of fishing can get. Other good bets include Casitas, Castaic, Skinner, Sutherland, Otay, Irvine, Perris, Silverwood, Pyramid and Puddingstone. The smallmouth action on the Colorado River has been very good in the lower river stretches and Topoc Gorge, but slowish in Lake Havasu with only a few fish showing on the points. Further up on the Central Coast, Santa Margarita has continued tough, but Lopez improved with fair action. The spotted bass are pretty fair in Nacimiento.
STRIPED BASS: Striper bites are generally pretty good everywhere, with Silverwood, Pyramid, Castaic, and Skinner all decent bets. San Antonio Lake is still probably the best fishing for six to 10-pound fish with into the mid-20s each week but it was a little up and down this past week. The Colorado River is finally seeing some good reports on boiling fish at Lake Havasu the first hour of light, and there’s always a chance for a big fish at Willow Beach. The California Aqueduct near Taft remains pretty good, too, with a lot of three to five pounders.
PANFISH: Henshaw and Cachuma crappie bites are both fair but hanging on with some real whoppers at Henshaw (over two pound!). Lake Isabella’s crappie bite finally died. Redear and bluegill bites are hot just about everywhere -- with Perris, Diamond Valley, Casitas, Lower Otay, Sutherland, and Puddingstone some of the top picks.
CATFISH: Simply good action just about everywhere. Hesperia Lake, Henshaw, Elsinore, Corona Lake, Santa Ana River Lakes, and Irvine Lake have been the hottest spots in Southern California with a lot of fish landed at all six. Elsinore, Skinner, Silverwood, and Diamond Valley are also good with a lot of cats to eight pounds at these four. Isabella has been fair to good for cats from 1-8 to three pounds, and the California aqueduct near Taft has also been good, too. The channel and flathead action is pretty much wide open along the whole lower Colorado River, especially in the backwaters and irrigation ditches. This is the top bet for a quality fish over 20 pounds and big stringers of channels.
Contact Information: Jim Matthews, Editor and General Manager
P.O. Box 9007, San Bernardino, CA 92427-0007
Office: 909-887-3444 Fax: 909-887-8180 E-mail:odwriter@verizon.net
