Los Angeles County Fishing Reports

The bass bite’s been heating up with the weather. Water temps are now in the mid 60s, and fish are sliding up shallow, smashing small swimbaits and jerkbaits worked tight to structure... especially in the mornings. Covering water is best early, but as the sun climbs, the fish ease out a bit... maybe 10 to 15 feet off shore, but they’re still eating. That’s when dropshots and Senkos start doing the heavy lifting.

Stripers are in that weird pre-spawn phase where you’ll see a lot of surface activity, but not all of it means “feed mode.” Some of those blowups are just spawning chaos. Still, cut bait in the marina or umbrella rigs off the main points are pulling fish. Just don’t be surprised if it shuts down when the full spawn kicks in.

Rainbow trout action isn't over yet, folks are still pulling limits on micetails, Powerbait and trout jigs.

Catfish are quietly getting in on the action. Same cut bait that’s tempting stripers is drawing whiskers too. As the lake creeps into summer mode, expect the cat bite go from good to excellent.

Bass action is wide open. Jim Taibi reports consistent action for both Largemouth and Smallmouth, with catch counts hitting 15–20 a day. Dropshot rigs are doing the most damage, but any finesse plastics or small 3″ swimbaits are working well. Bigger bites are coming on wacky-rigged Senkos fished along rocky slopes and secondary points. The bite’s active but scattered… folks are doing best moving spots frequently.

Stripers are in transition. Bait is moving into coves like Elizabeth Canyon, and while a few fish are feeding, most surface activity is tied to spawning. They’re not chasing—just going through the motions. Unlike bass that guard nests, Stripers release everything into open water and let the wind do the mixing. During this phase, they’re tough to fool. A couple might swipe, but the real action should return post-spawn.