LAKE CASITAS : Group to Release 10,000 Florida Bass

Fishing at Lake Casitas will get a big boost Saturday with the addition of thousands of large-mouth Florida bass.

They will be the first bass placed in the lake since 1968, said David Plotnick, spokesman for the American Bass Assn., which is sponsoring the release.

The 750-member fishing organization is also holding a Team Bass Tournament at the lake Saturday with a barbecue, a manufacturers’ exhibition and a raffle to raise the $5,000 cost of planting the 10,000 finger-length fish.

The 5-month-old bass will be trucked to the lake west of Ojai in Jacuzzi-like containers from a hatchery in Clovis, Plotnick said. He expects at least 40% of the fish to reach the legal, foot-long minimum by next July.

Introducing the Florida strain will help the genetic pool of large-mouth bass already in the lake, Plotnick said. “They are much more aggressive than the northern or black bass and they get bigger quicker,” he said.

The release will occur in the Station Canyon and Wadliegh Arm areas, on opposite sides of the reservoir. In April, the association sank 100 dead lemon trees to provide a better bass habitat.

“If the tree project works, we’ll do more trees and more fish,” Plotnick said.

The association, which publishes American Bass magazine, has undertaken the stocking program with the California Fish and Game Department, the Ventura County Bass Club and the Casitas Municipal Water District, which manages Lake Casitas Recreation Area.

“I’m very excited about it,” said Gary Wolfe, Ventura County Bass Club president and owner of Casitas Boat Rentals.

“When a lake is down like this, it’s really the time to introduce new fish.”

In the fourth year of drought, Lake Casitas has dropped to 60% of its capacity, but Wolfe said the bass are still biting.

“We’ve had more 10-pounders this year than anyone can recall,” he said. “They’re still catching them.’

Since the last bass stocking 22 years ago, Lake Casitas has earned a reputation as one of the premier bass lakes in the country, Plotnick said, and the large-mouth bass is thought to be the most sought-after game fish in the United States.

The lake still holds the state record for large-mouth bass, a 21-pound, 3-ounce whopper caught in 1983, the second-largest bass ever recorded.

Tournament organizers expect 400 participants Saturday. For information, call the American Bass Assn. at (213) 376-1026.