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Castaic Lake Castaic Lagoon Castaic Lagoon is only one of a few lakes in L.A. County that you can fish 24 hours. Water contact is allowed June through September. Only electric trolling motors are allowed on your boats, no gas motors. Float tubes and canoes, kayaks are all welcome. Most of the fishing here is trout in the winter and LMB, catfish and others in the summer. The bass get big feeding off of the stocker trout. Even though the lake receives plants well over 30,000 pounds a year, there doesn’t appear to be a big holdover population. Most of the trout roam from the spillway to the handicap fishing pier, this is where you will see a lot of people fishing. Trolling this lake with a trolling motor can be productive, not too many people do it but it does work. The float tubing crowd does very well here, all boats, tubes and other water craft have to be off the lake at dusk, nothing on the water at night. Since you can fish the lake on a 24 hour period, you can bring all your stuff to the shoreline. Not too sure on the fire restrictions, but you basically camp out over night. Not a problem to bring a lantern and stove and fish all night. Power Bait seems to work best most of the time with spinners and other casting lures doing well. There is some nice size fish caught here, not all the stockers are wimpy fish. During the summer at night the big catfish start to put on the bite. But don’t overlook those hungry largemouth bass. Having a 10 pound bass on your line when your were going for those bluegills will put you in great spirits. Just about anything goes here, however there are rangers who patrol to help keep things calm and fun for everyone. Check out the website at www.castiaclake.com for more details and restrictions. East Fork San Gabriel River The East Fork Rd. offers very good access, just like Highway 39 does for the North Fork San Gabriel River. You will find numerous places to park and fish. The DFG stocks all along this road. Stopping by all the larger pools to stock. You can fish the entire length without any special regulations. Going past the Ranger Station upstream, you will see an old paved road. This road will take you to the bridge to nowhere; the road was never finished past the bridge. However all this area and beyond you will find wild Trout of both species. Although smaller than the stocked Trout found downstream, they are more of a challenge to catch. They are easily spooked and offer solitude and good fishing. All the way up to Fish Creek will put you in areas seldom visited. Chances are you won’t see any body else at all. This area makes for a nice long day hike. The old paved section is around five miles long mostly uphill or fairly uphill accent. The solitude, wild fish, fresh air makes it worth it. Please check with the Ranger Station first to see which areas are open. It is also a good idea to let them know where you are going. This area is best fished in late winter, spring time and early summer. Try to avoid this area in the hot summer months, mainly for the thick undergrowth that will suddenly grow all over the place. Also for the Rattle Snakes that thrive in this area.
West Fork San Gabriel River This small stretch of water was one of the first streams to get special regulations as a wild trout ttream. The special regulations part is on the upper reaches around five miles or so. The stream is open year round and people take advantage of that. During the warmer months, the algae, moss and the vast amounts of people playing in the stream make it difficult to fish this area. The best time is from October to March. The DFG stocks the lower sections with trout ranging from 8” to 12” in length. They start stocking at the parking lot and work their way upstream, planting as they go. The special regulations begin past the second bridge and go all the way upstream to Cogswell Reservoir. You must use artificial lures of flies with barbless hooks, C&R only. This is where you will start seeing the brown trout. Bear Creek is near the bridge crossing and offers wild Trout fishing as well. You need to check to see if this area has any special regulations or not. The stocker get mixed up with these fish and seen to do just fine. Even though some of the wild ones are smaller, they fight twice as hard and are twice as hard to catch. You can walk or ride your bike all the way up to the dam. The gate is supposed to be locked; however it appears that a lot of people have a set of keys to get in. Always check with the local ranger station to find out anything new and to let them know where you are going. It is a good idea to ride the five or so miles uphill instead of walk it. It makes it a fast ride home at the end of the day.
North Fork San Gabriel River This section is alongside Highway 39 and receives a lot of attention from people fishing, hiking, and picnics. This section also receives stocks of rainbow trout from the DFG. They plant all alongside the road. The best place is a mile or so upstream from the West Fork Bridge. This section receives around 6,500 trout per year if the water flows are decent. Since the road follows the stream most of the way, you are able to find a lot of pools to fish. Just make sure you have your adventure pass with you when you park alongside the road, this is the Angeles National Forest. There really isn’t much to say about this section because of the easy access it has a lot of traffic. However, if you're fishing mid week chances are you will be pretty much alone. Check with the DFG to find out when they will start stocking. Best time to fish this stream is from October to May, that is when it gets really warm and the snakes come out to eat.
San Antonio Creek San Antonio Creek starts from the Mount Baldy area and flows all the way down to San Antonio Dam, a non fishable area. This is a catch basin of sorts. All of your fishing is going to be further upstream. Mount Baldy Road parallels the entire length with numerous turnouts, parking areas and trailheads. Since this is a major run off during the spring, there has been “Power House Generators” placed at various locations. Besides the man made obstructions, this is a very nice freestone creek. It receives stocks from the DFG all along the upper reaches. There are a fair amount of brown trout as well with the area close to the second powerhouse being the best. Some people say that all the smaller creeks hold wild brown trout as well with Ice House Canyon Creek mentioned a lot. The rainbows outnumber the browns as much as 4 to 1. A 12 rainbow is a true trophy fish, with the browns always getting bigger. This place gets a lot of fishing pressure for being so rugged of an area. Try to do some fishing and hiking up the road as well towards Mount Baldy, you never know what you may come up with.
You might recognize the name of this lake from watching ESPN or the outdoors Channel, but not for the fishing. It’s for the high speed boats and races that happen on this lake. During the summer this place is packed, and hardly anybody is fishing. Your best time to fish this lake is mid week when there are no races. Winter fishing for stocked trout is a huge attraction. With stocks from the DFG and county, you will have a good chance of catching some trout, providing the LMB leave some for you. The lake record for LMB is over 14 pounds, with a lot of 5 to 10 pound fish caught each year. There are many good fishing spots on this lake. Near the rental boat marina is fair for bass, good for pan fish as well. No high speed boat traffic in the marina area. There are some no wake areas, mainly near the piers and swimming beach area. If you go, get there early and try to be off the lake by 10:30 am or so, that is when the speed boats take over. With this lake being rather shallow, there are not a lot of deep areas so the Trout suffer during the warmer months. Trolling with lead core line near the dam can be productive for trout. Try all the coves and rock piles for the bass and crappie. Even though the pan fish are plentiful, they can be hard to find because of all the boat traffic. In the summer launch your boat and fish as close as you can to the marinas for some good bluegill and crappie action. Catfish are planted throughout the summer and the bite stays as hot as the weather most of the time. Shore anglers using anchovies or cut mackerel do pretty good near the marinas and swimmers beach. Although not loved, the not so famous Carp have a strong following here, and they get pretty darn big. A current update on the lake is that there is no more boat rentals. However, the rental marina is still there with fish under it. You can also float tube, kayak, canoe this lake as well. Launch fee is $6.00 and a park entrance fee of $7.00. The Red Ear Sun Fish get big near the marinas area. Try going for them with a grub or red worm on the bottom. San Gabriel Reservoir Species: Rainbow Trout, Largemouth Bass, Catfish, Carp, Bluegill This water impoundment is a strange one to figure out. During the summer and early fall it can be a mere trickle, come the winter and spring become a very impressive water way. The snow melt and runoff from the rains fills this dammed up valley from all three forks of the San Gabriel River. The reservoir receives moderate stocks of Trout from the DFG, mostly in the 10” range. You only have access from the north shore, you can park at the locked gate and walk down only a few hundred yards. Don’t park in front of the gate, you will either get a ticket or have your car towed. You can also slip and slide your way down some of the steeper slopes as well. Since there are such dramatic water draw downs, the fishing can be tough. One time the reservoir is full and at other times it looks like a slow flowing stream. Always check ahead to find out the current status. I would like to explore this area when it is low, to see the habitat and find out where the fish go. When full there is a lot of shoreline to cover. When dry you can really see the bottom structure, and how deep some of the coves are. This is a no water contact reservoir, no boats, no float tubes, kayaks. You can also find access from the “Off highway vehicle area”, which is a rough forest service road and clearly marked. There are some dirt bikers who run this trail, just look for the parked trucks.
Species: Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Catfish, Carp, Stocked Rainbow Trout The DFG puts a lot of Trout in this reservoir during the winter and spring. The reservoir is filled by snow melt and rain run off. There are a few people who say that despite all the fish stocks that take place, the fishing sometimes isn’t that good. Then there are others who catch their limits every time. It really seems to be “split in half” type of survey. There is one boat launch, but only boats between 8’and 18’ are allowed with electric trolling motors only, no gas engines. Float tubes are allowed with the use of full chest waders. There is another big surprise about this lake. The huge Carp you can see roaming near the marina. Hook onto one of these shy and selective feeders and you will have a fight on your hands. The small LMB and Bluegill will also keep you busy. Even though this lake is used as a flood basin, it gets busy with fisherman. Stocks of catfish are put in during the summer months. Call ahead to find out what events are going on through the summer. There is a day use fee of around $5.00 and the park closes at dusk.
Yes, there is an upper and a lower part of this stream. It is the same stream but divided into two because of the distance it travels and the type of terrain. With the upper section it used to receive generous stocks from the DFG of 8” to 10” Rainbow Trout at various spots along the road. That all stopped when the endangered Arroyo Toad was found here. The remaining fish spawned year after year and now there is a small population of wild bred Trout in this section. The stream is mostly fed by snowmelt in the San Gabriel Mountains. So during the spring melt this little stream holds a lot of water. There is a lot of area to cover both upstream and downstream to the waterfall. Fish stay year round in the pools below the falls. Power Bait, Kastmasters, Spinners and Flies work real well here. |