FISH REPORT

FRESHWATER

CASTAIC LAKE--Fishing fair at best. Largemouth and catfish most cooperative on upper lake, bluegill on lower lake. Mike Carpenter, Canyon Country, 25 bass to 4 pounds, on Wham Fisheze lures fished at 10-30 feet. Guide Gary Harrison with David Loi, Valencia, a 10-pound, a 9-12 and a 9-8 bass, on Castaic Shad lures.

LAKE PIRU--Catfish bite steady at north end and Santa Felicia Cove, with most being caught on mackerel. Occasional trout caught on Needlefish lures at 50 feet. Sporadic bass bite in progress at north end and Diablo Cove, with inflated night crawlers the top catcher.

PYRAMID LAKE--No report came again this week, which we presume to mean the fishing is lousy.

LAKE CACHUMA--Trout fair for trollers using Needlefish at dam, but few limits reported. Largemouth bass biting sporadically, mostly on crankbaits and plastic worms. Catfish picking up.

LAKE CASITAS--Largemouth bass becoming more active. Roy Tucker, Oxnard, 10-8 bass on plastic worm. Lenny Kerley, Simi Valley, 10-8 and 9-8 bass, on plastic worms. Catfish bite very good on mackerel. Homer Tatsch, Ventura, 10 fish totaling 80 pounds. Trout still active, despite the heat. Tom Thomason, Ventura, multiple limits in past week, on small, silver and black Apex lures.

CORONA LAKE--A 27-pound catfish by Kerry Taylor, Montclair, was caught on mackerel to top the week’s list. The fishing is not as hot as the weather, however. Wait at least till late afternoon.

SANTA ANA RIVER LAKES--See Corona Lake.

IRVINE LAKE--Nothing like a 67 1/4-pound blue catfish to catch everybody’s attention. Jeff Kimball, Moreno Valley, caught the beast with a Power Worm at Santiago Flats. It nearly pulled him the length of the lake before he realized he had no net. After a two-hour fight, he managed to beach the fish in the soft mud. Smaller catfish are being caught daily.

LAGUNA NIGUEL LAKE--The bigger catfish are becoming active at night, but fish are being caught throughout the day as well. Batul Aarti, Escondido, caught the biggest, a 14 1/2-pounder enticed by a marshmallow dipped in chocolate syrup, or so the report says. Bass fishermen aren’t doing to badly, either, catching fish to 5 pounds in mornings and afternoons.

LAKE SKINNER--A catfish derby is being held Aug. 9-17, but plenty of fish are already being caught. Some striped bass. Overall, not a great bite.

LAKE PERRIS--Lots of small bass biting on surface in mornings, moving deeper during day. No notable catches. Bluegill activity best at island, with fish averaging 1 pound. Trout still being caught in deep water, but no limits being recorded.

BIG BEAR LAKE--Lots of trout limits, but most are lucky to catch three or four fish. An 8-pounder and a few 5-pounders were landed, but most of the trout can fit in a frying pan, and most of those are being caught on Power Bait and Sierra Gold.

SAN DIEGO CITY LAKES--The bluegill at San Vicente--7,616 caught in past week--remain the best bet. Largemouth bass equally active at El Capitan, Hodges, Miramar, Otay and San Vicente. Crappie fairly active at Hodges. Catfish slow at all lakes.

LAKE CUYAMACA--Trout and crappie are the only fish being targeted, and anglers using night crawlers are doing well for trout early and late, and for crappie throughout the day.

BISHOP--All upper-elevation lakes are good to great for trout fishermen, with South Lake perhaps getting the nod, yielding fish to 5 pounds. Hard to go wrong at North or Sabrina, though. And Bishop Creek is good for fly fishermen using mosquitoes and woolly buggers. Owens River running fast and high, which makes fishing tough.

MAMMOTH LAKES--It sounds like a broken record, but Crowley, after a brief algae bloom slow-up, remains the hottest spot in the region, with trout fishing rated “wide open” for rainbows and browns that are coming in at an impressive 2-8 pounds. Convict Lake is a close second, and anywhere else is not bad, either. A children’s fishing festival is being held Saturday. Details: (760) 934-7695.

JUNE LAKE--All the lakes of the scenic loop are about the same, yielding the occasional limit and the occasional lunker trout. Rapalas best bet for big fish. Power Bait best bet for a limit of smaller fish. Rush Creek fair.

BRIDGEPORT--A fantastic trout bite is in progress at the East Walker River, where dry flies in mornings, nymphs during days and caddis emergers in evenings have fly fishermen getting rise after rise. Bridgeport Lake is equally productive, producing lots of limits and several rainbows and browns in the 5-pound class for those using night crawler-flasher combos, trolling Rapalas and still fishing with a variety of bait. Virginia Lakes good for limits of pan-sized rainbows.

SALTWATER

SAN SIMEON (Virg’s Landing)--21 anglers (1 boat): 6 lingcod, 105 red rock cod, 210 rockfish.

MORRO BAY (Virg’s Landing)--53 anglers (2 boats): 6 lingcod, 315 rock cod, 50 albacore.

AVILA BEACH (Avila Beach Sportfishing)--47 anglers (2 boats): 281 assorted rockfish, 336 red rock cod, 69 lingcod.

SANTA BARBARA (Sea Landing)--57 anglers (3 boats): 56 calico bass, 4 barracuda, 6 lingcod, 103 red snapper, 275 rockfish.

VENTURA--18 anglers (1 boat): 14 calico bass, 110 sand bass, 24 barracuda. (Harbor Village)--11 anglers (1 boat): 79 sand bass, 34 barracuda, 14 calico bass. (Captain Hook’s)--30 anglers (2 boats): 3 calico bass, 240 sand bass, 1 white sea bass.

OXNARD (Cisco’s)--134 anglers (6 boats): 200 barracuda, 186 calico bass, 1 halibut, 2 red snapper, 24 rockfish, 360 sand bass, 8 sculpin.

PORT HUENEME--47 anglers (4 boats): 194 calico bass, 2 sheephead, 7 rockfish, 36 barracuda, 179 sand bass, 6 sculpin, 2 whitefish, 4 blue perch.

MARINA DEL REY--90 anglers (4 boats): 1 dorado, 1 yellowtail, 94 barracuda, 123 sand bass, 75 calico bass, 2 halibut, 18 sculpin, 16 bonito, 1 sheephead.

REDONDO--100 anglers (5 boats): 1 yellowtail, 37 calico bass, 60 sand bass, 11 barracuda, 1 dorado, 27 sculpin, 38 whitefish, 4 sole, 50 mackerel, 105 rockfish. Barge--64 anglers: 1 yellowtail, 1 bonito, 1 calico bass, 12 sand bass, 6 sole, 9 mackerel.

SAN PEDRO (L.A. Harbor Sportfishing)--98 anglers (3 boats): 197 yellowtail, 365 barracuda, 220 sand bass, 28 bonito, 2 calico bass. (22nd St. Landing)--254 anglers (8 boats): 287 yellowtail, 51 calico bass, 1 halibut, 616 barracuda, 287 sand bass, 31 bonito, 176 sculpin, 13 whitefish, 13 sheephead, 15 blue perch, 4 rockfish, 2 black sea bass (released).

LONG BEACH--112 anglers (5 boats): 127 yellowtail, 125 barracuda, 301 sand bass, 23 bonito. (Belmont Pier)--55 anglers (3 boats): 10 barracuda, 26 calico bass, 415 mackerel, 168 sand bass, 27 sculpin, 4 yellowtail.

SEAL BEACH--96 anglers (4 boats): 54 yellowtail, 49 barracuda, 44 calico bass, 235 sand bass, 1 halibut, 3 sheephead, 14 bonito, 21 sculpin, 11 rockfish, 2 needle fish (released).

NEWPORT BEACH (Newport Landing)--162 anglers (6 boats): 29 yellowtail, 310 sand bass, 37 calico bass, 10 barracuda, 41 bonito, 1 halibut, 5 golden eye, 3 sheephead, 121 mackerel. (Davey’s Locker)--204 anglers (9 boats): 357 yellowtail, 47 bonito, 179 barracuda, 73 calico bass, 248 sand bass, 53 sculpin, 10 sheephead, 2 rockfish, 503 mackerel.

DANA WHARF--220 anglers (10 boats): 31 yellowtail, 256 calico bass, 208 sand bass, 100 bonito, 80 barracuda, 10 mackerel, 6 halibut, 14 rockfish, 9 sheephead, 2 whitefish.

OCEANSIDE (Helgren’s)--188 anglers (7 boats): 18 yellowtail, 19 barracuda, 18 bonito, 53 calico bass, 719 sand bass, 6 halibut, 45 sculpin, 5 red snapper, 77 mackerel.

SAN DIEGO (H&M; Landing, Fisherman’s, Point Loma)--286 anglers (13 boats): 763 albacore, 247 yellowfin tuna, 36 bluefin tuna, 22 skipjack, 270 yellowtail, 39 dorado. (Seaforth)--257 anglers (8 boats): 3 albacore, 10 yellowfin tuna, 3 dorado, 6 skipjack, 206 yellowtail, 125 bonito, 319 barracuda, 107 calico bass, 46 sand bass, 23 rockfish, 45 mackerel. (Islandia)--135 anglers (4 boats): 97 barracuda, 199 bonito, 111 yellowtail, 1 mako shark, 15 sand bass, 32 calico bass, 7 sculpin, 10 rockfish, 155 mackerel.

TROUT PLANTS

SAN BERNARDINO--Green Valley Lake, Lake Gregory, Santa Ana River. SAN DIEGO--Cuyamaca Lake. INYO--Baker Creek, Big Pine Creek, Bishop Creek (Lower, Middle, South forks and Intake II), Cottonwood Creek, Georges Creek, Goodale Creek, Independence Creek, Lake Sabrina, Lone Pine Creek, North Lake, Owens River (below Tinnemaha), Shepards Creek, South Lake, Taboose Creek, Tinnemaha Creek, Tuttle Creek. MONO--Buckeye Creek, Convict Creek, Ellery Lake, Green Creek, Lee Vining Creek, Little Walker River, Lundy Lake, Mammoth Creek, McGee Creek, Owens River (Benton Crossing), Rush Creek, Saddlebag Lake, Sherwin Creek, Tioga Lake, Trumble Lake, Virginia Creek, Virginia Lakes, Walker River (Chris Flat Campground to Sonora Bridge).

CATFISH PLANTS

LOS ANGELES--Santa Fe Dam Reservoir, Belvedere Park Lake, Lincoln Park Lake, Kenneth Hahn Park Lake, Ervin Magic Johnson Park Lake.