Santa Margarita Lake Fishing Report

Santa Margarita is full and water temps are sitting at an ideal 69 degrees. Bass action has been excellent despite the post-spawn transition... fish are still stacked in the backs of coves and quiet water, guarding fry aggressively and hanging shallow. Flukes, Senkos, or light topwater baits are getting crushed on a soft lob toward those fry balls.

The panfish bite is equally strong. Redear and bluegill are pushing shallow to spawn... look for big slabs bedding on the flats. Crappie have wrapped up their spawn and are now shadowing their fry, much like bass. Find them around submerged structure or where the flats break into deeper water.

Santa Margarita is full with water temps sitting in the low 50s, and reduced visibility following the recent storms. A trout plant went in during the final week of December, but extreme weather kept the trout bite from ever developing. Most of the consistent action has been coming from crappie and catfish. Crappie are suspended on primary points, with bright-colored jigs producing the better fish. A few big catfish pushing 15 pounds have been landed over the past couple of weeks.

Bass fishing has been slow overall, though there have been isolated windows where they have turned on briefly during the day, with multiple fish being caught within minutes of each other. Those bites have come on jigs worked along rocky points and transition areas, but the activity has been short-lived and inconsistent.

The bite at Santa Margarita is hot right now, especially for bass holding in 15–20 feet. Finesse rigs like Senkos, drop-shots, and Neko setups are doing the most damage thanks to the ultra-clear water. There’s also some topwater action... frogs up shallow, poppers out in open water... but the better fish are mostly coming deep on finesse. Midday through late afternoon has actually been the best window for higher quality fish, both deep and shallow. 3-pounders have been common, and 5-6 pounders are being caught daily.

Panfish are going strong too. Big schools of bluegill and redear are cruising the shallows, and crappie are sliding deeper into similar zones as the bass.