THE HOT BITES

Largemouth bass

Lake Casitas, Ventura County

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A faded photo of a 21-pound, 3 1/2 -ounce largemouth bass -- the fifth biggest ever caught in the world -- is pinned outside the Lake Casitas bait shop. A quarter century after the fish was wrestled from the lake, anglers prowl these forest-green waters, convinced that a bigger bass lurks beneath the surface. This spring, bass cruise in shallow water amid brush that sprouted in recent years but flooded after this year’s rainstorms. Veteran basser Todd Thigpin of Santa Paula says warm days will drive more largemouths into shallow water, making them easier to catch. “If we get some good weather, it could be unbelievable,” he says. Oak-studded hills surround the 2,700-acre lake, where deer often sip at the shoreline. The hot spot is Deer Slope, a broad flat of submerged plants off the south end of the island. Such flat areas serve as jump-off points where big bass exit deep-water channels to find warm water and food and to mate. Bring two rigs: a medium-action rod with 8- to 10-pound line, and a heavy-action rod with 20-pound line to muscle fish from heavy cover. Anglers casting big, trout-imitation swimbaits catch the biggest fish. The limit is five bass of 12-inch minimum length, or one bass over 22 inches.

DIRECTIONS: U.S. 101 to Ventura, north on Highway 33, exit Casitas Vista Road and turn left, then right on Santa Ana Road to the lake entrance.

CONTACT: (805) 649-1122

-- Hugo Martin

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Striped bass

Pyramid Lake, Los Angeles County

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When the silver clouds of shad surface at Pyramid Lake, striped bass are usually nearby. When the two collide, the “washing machine” ensues. No better words describe a wide-open striper bite. Savagery unleashed, hundreds of agitated stripers boil across the surface. Ralph “Doc” Holliday lives for such moments. “Fishing is my therapy,” says the 50-year-old cleaning contractor from Walnut, who has caught more 20-pound stripers than he can count. Stripers inhabit a few Southern California lakes and the Colorado River, but one of the best bites occurs August to October at Pyramid Lake north of Castaic. Launch your boat at dawn, go to the island and watch for stripers busting the surface or birds diving at shad. Use a 7- to 8-foot heavy-action rod and 20-pound line to fling chrome or shad-pattern Zara Spooks, Sammy’s and Pencil Poppers on top of the fish, twitch the lure and hold tight. Blam-o! “If you get into them, you should be able to get your [10-fish] limit in about an hour or so,” Holliday says. “The key is to keep the boat away from them to keep from spooking the school.” When the action subsides with the rising sun, motor to the dam and dunk anchovies in about 70 feet of water where the bite resumes. The lake is expected to reopen next month following an oil spill.

DIRECTIONS: I-5 north, exit Smokey Bear Road, turn left under the highway, then left on Pyramid Lake Road to the launch ramp.

CONTACT: (661) 296-9710

-- Gary Polakovic

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Halibut

Newport Bay, Orange County

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A Tupperware flotilla -- anglers in plastic kayaks -- joins fishers in rented skiffs as they drift baitfish and lures in the swift current near the Pacific Coast Highway bridge at Newport Bay. Droves of halibut swim past the bridge each spring on their way to spawning grounds in the upper bay. It’s a laid-back style of halibut fishing, far removed from the elbow-shoving crowd aboard open-party boats. Most anglers use medium-action freshwater bass rods and 8- to 10-pound line so each hooked halibut feels sporty. And anglers hook a lot of them. “It’s all about maximum fish contact,” says Mike Allen, a licensed guide from Huntington Beach. “Spring is a good time because halibut migrate into shallows to spawn, and Newport is a known spawning ground.” Sometimes you can catch halibut in as little as 2 feet of water. Allen recommends 3-inch, single-tail, chartreuse plastic swimbaits on 1/4 - to 3/4 -ounce leadhead jigs. Drift the bait along the bottom with the current in the main channel, where halibut lie in wait to ambush prey. The limit is five halibut 22 inches or longer. Davey’s Locker Sportfishing rents skiffs for $60 per half day, $80 for a full day.

DIRECTIONS: I-5, merge on the 55 Freeway south until it turns into Newport Boulevard in Newport Beach. Proceed until it turns into West Balboa Boulevard, turn left on Main Street to the landing and park near the Balboa Pier.

CONTACT: (949) 673-1434

Jerrold Paul Shelton

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Albacore

San Diego County/

Northern Baja California, Mexico

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Jack Webster, 44, has been fishing off San Diego for decades and has seen it all, but one sight always thrills him: silvery blue albacore tuna leaping from the Pacific, pectoral fins outstretched like wings, sailing through the air. “There’s nothing like it,” he says. Spotting albacore is relief for anglers who motor 50 miles or more or spend hours trolling and seeing nothing. Once the fish are located, the crew chums the water with baitfish, and passengers cast anchovies or sardines using 6- to 8-foot rods and 25-pound line. “It can go from absolute calm to sheer pandemonium instantly,” says Webster, a commercial boat owner and former skipper. You can hook a fish instantly when the bite is on, but stay calm because “you might have 10 other people hooked up too,” he says. It can take more than 15 minutes to land a 20-pound fish. Yell “gaff” when you see color, and a crew member will snag it. Albacore season runs May through October, and boats depart Point Loma and Mission Bay in San Diego.

DIRECTIONS: I-5 south to San Diego, exit at SeaWorld Drive, turn right and proceed to West Mission Bay Drive. Left on the access road and left at Quivira Road to the sportfishing landings.

CONTACT: (619) 224-3383

-- Jim Benning

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Rainbow trout

Santa Ana River Lakes, Anaheim

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The Santa Ana River Lakes sit so close to the junction of the 91 and 55 freeways you can nearly hit them with a rock from the slow lanes. Warehouses and barren shoreline frame these so-called freeway lakes, but what they lack in ambience they make up for with gigantic rainbow trout. They are the most accessible lakes with some of the biggest trout in Southern California. An Anaheim angler recently caught the 27-pound, 8-ounce state record here. The lakes are like an exotic trout factory where anglers can catch ordinary planted rainbows, steelhead, even a strain of trout genetically modified to grow more body mass. Jeff Sun of La Mirada has been a fixture on the Levitz Corner of Trout Lake for 15 years and recommends “ultra-light spin gear and either a mini-jig and Lip RipperZ worm combo smeared with Crave jelly” or floating bait with an inflated night crawler. Light line and size 16 hooks will do. The lakes are typically open October through May. No fishing license is required, and the limit is five trout. Other freeway lakes include Corona Lake, which offers the same kinds of trout as the Santa Ana River Lakes, and Irvine and Laguna Niguel lakes.

DIRECTIONS: 91 Freeway to Tustin Avenue exit, north on Tustin Avenue, turn right on La Palma Avenue and proceed half a mile to the lake entrance.

CONTACT: (714) 632-7851

Chuck Garrison

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White seabass

Catalina Island, Los Angeles County

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Come April and May, big schools of white seabass move into kelp-strewn coves on the craggy back side of Catalina Island. The fish, a croaker actually, is long, delicious and relatively easy to catch, but notoriously fickle, and the bite is often here today, gone tomorrow. “Finding them can be much harder than catching them,” says white seabass whiz Mark Wisch of Pacific Edge tackle outfitters in Huntington Beach. “But when you find them and they bite, it’s on-deck chaos. A hot bite can be so frenzied [that] you’re looking for suicide notes on the fish.” Seabass gobble squid like candy. Look for them prowling the bottom in greenish water. They have soft mouths, so use a 7 1/2 -foot, limber-tipped rod, a light-duty baitcasting reel and 20- or 25-pound test lines, adjusting to lighter or heavier gear as needed. Seabass also pounce on white metal lures yo-yoed off the bottom. Keeper fish must be at least 28 inches long, and anglers can possess one between March 15 and June 15 and three after June 15, though at 15 to 50 pounds apiece, it doesn’t take many fish to fill the freezer.

DIRECTIONS: Open-party boats and charters depart from numerous landings in Long Beach, San Pedro, Newport and Dana Point harbors.

CONTACTS: Pacific Edge outfitters, (714) 840-4262; Pierpoint Landing, (562) 983-9300

-- Chuck Garrison

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Brown trout

Crowley Lake, Mono County

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Its shores are empty now, but that will change April 30 when legions of anglers converge on this stark high desert lake. What lures them? Trout by the truckload -- about 355,000 fish were planted last fall -- as well as tens of thousands of resident trout, including many browns over 10 pounds. Perhaps no other water body in California keeps rewarding anglers like Crowley. “What is amazing is that the lake not only produces a decent-size fish, but it produces a lot of them,” says Curtis Milliron, biologist with the state Department of Fish and Game. With four strains of rainbows as well as Sacramento perch, anglers can enjoy catching and releasing 20 fish a day. Crowley resembles a 5,000-acre bathtub framed by the White Mountains, but its nutrient-rich shallows sustain plants, bugs and fish. Boaters catch trout all over the lake, while float tube anglers target the north end near the Owens River inlet. If you have spinning tackle, use night crawlers, Rapalas, Needlefish or Power Bait (the bait season ends July 31) on light line. If you’re fly-fishing, bring plenty of midge nymphs size 14 or more or woolly buggers size 6 and up. The lake is so prolific, you can skip opening day madness and still get lit a week or two later. The general store offers boat rentals and bait.

DIRECTIONS: U.S. 395 north 25 miles past Bishop, exit Hilton Creek/Crowley Lake. Proceed east a short distance to the lake entrance.

CONTACT: (760) 935-4301

-- Steve Hymon

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Yellowtail

Coronados Islands, San Diego County

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When warm water from Baja California flows north, yellowtail blaze past the Coronados Islands 20 miles off San Diego like blue sports cars with gold spoilers. Although the bite is seasonal -- some years on, some years off -- its resurgence treats anglers to a melee of fish up to 25 pounds. Come summer, when yellowtail make frequent appearances in daily fish counts, jump on a boat for the Coronados. Let the skippers target kelp paddies, reefs and rocky edges of the archipelago. All you have to do is hook a squid, sardine, anchovy or small mackerel, the livelier the better, and “fly-line” it with little or no weight. Then, “wait for that big tug, then [count] one

DIRECTIONS: I-5 south to San Diego, exit Rosecrans Avenue, proceed south three miles and turn left on North Harbor Drive, then right on Scott Street to the sportfishing landings.

CONTACT: (619) 223-1627

-- David Harrell

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Barred sand bass

Huntington Flats, Orange County

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Holding an 11-inch barred sand bass, 12-year-old Raymond Ortega of Santa Ana grins so vibrantly you can see his smile from the far end of the Nautilus . This fish is one inch too small to keep, but no matter; he nearly caught a limit of 10 in just over an hour last summer off Huntington Beach. “You just toss your bait into the water and they smack it,” Ortega said. During the summer, bundle the kids in windbreakers and hop a “twilight boat” to intercept jillions of bass swarming the sandy flats to spawn. The boats depart about 5 p.m., cost roughly $30 per person and return after dusk with gobs of tasty sand bass. “It’s a great bite for introducing new people to saltwater fishing,” said Kevin Phan, a tackle retailer. Raymond Ortega Sr. agrees: “I don’t know who’s hooked harder -- my son or the fish.” Bring a light-action rod and reel, spooled with 15-pound line for throwing live anchovies, plus a medium-action rod with 20- to 25-pound line for casting green or brown plastic swimbaits on 3/8 -ounce to 1 1/2 -ounce leadhead jigs. Keep the line tight and watch it closely because sand bass often blast the bait as it sinks.

DIRECTIONS: I-5, merge on 55 Freeway south until it turns into Newport Boulevard, proceed until it turns into West Balboa Boulevard. Turn left on Adams Street, then right into the parking structure near the landing after crossing East Bay Avenue.

CONTACT: (949) 675-0550

-- Jerrold Paul Shelton

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Flathead catfish

Colorado River, Imperial County

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Raphael Terrones of San Bernardino became addicted to catfish when he “met Blythe.” Now the 40-year-old plumber drives to the lower Colorado River each weekend for flatheads. Big flatheads. His best: a 63-pounder. Each year, he lands three or four catfish over 50 pounds. Many anglers seem incredulous that such brutes exist in the sloughs and oxbows of the lower Colorado. But Terrones is turning skeptics to believers. “I hooked one flathead, I had it for two hours and a half, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., but I couldn’t get it out. I’m sure it was over 100 pounds.” He says his goal is to catch the largest flathead known on the lower Colorado, something bigger than 74 pounds. “I’m determined to bring it in,” he says. Warning: The lower Colorado is a no-finesse fishing zone. Terrones fly-lines live goldfish, tilapia or bluegill into pipes where unpaved drainage ditches cross under roads. He uses heavy baitcasting tackle and 40- to 130-pound line to horse out big, nasty, flailing flatheads the length of a small child (the limit is 10 flatheads.) He recommends concentrating on the main river from Parker Dam to Yuma as well as drainage ditches in the Palo Verde Valley. Beware of sandbars in the main channel and come prepared -- it’s a remote, wild area.

DIRECTIONS: I-10 east to Blythe, south on Highway 78 to Palo Verde or Walter’s Camp.

CONTACT: B&B; Bait in Blythe, (760) 921-2248; Walter’s Camp near Palo Verde, (760) 854-3322

-- Jim Matthews

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Redear sunfish

Puddingstone Lake, Los Angeles County

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Many anglers who cut their teeth on panfish never outgrow the joy of catching sunfish, bluegill or crappie on nearly every cast. Most urban lakes are loaded with panfish, but Puddingstone Lake in San Dimas can be dynamite. Eddie Meyer, 21, of Chino fishes it nearly every day and has a killer pattern for redear sunfish in Sailboat Cove: “Right after the first rains in the fall, they come into the cove to feed on all the worms that wash into the lake. I’ve caught them in 10 feet of water right where the little stream runs in. When they’re there, you can catch 1 3/4 - to 2 1/4 -pound fish all day long.” He recommends an 18- to 36-inch, 4-pound leader behind a 1/8 -ounce swivel and egg sinker. Panfishing technique can be as low-tech as a spincast rig with a red worm or dangling a cricket below a red and white bobber, or as artful as using a fly rod and sponge ant patterns on the end of a 12-foot leader. (There is no limit on sunfish at Puddingstone.)

DIRECTIONS: I-210 to the Via Verde exit, proceed east to the entrance of Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park.

CONTACT: (909) 599-8411

-- Jim Matthews

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White bass

Lake Nacimiento, San Luis Obispo County

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Tucked in oak woodland, Lake Nacimiento is the only water body in California where white bass are tolerated. Elsewhere, officials eradicate the spirited and voracious fish to prevent them from ruining fisheries in the Delta and other waters. But Lake Nacimiento is a closed system. “I’d have to rate Nacimiento as my favorite warm-water lake in the state,” says Dan Blanton of Morgan Hill, a renowned fly-fishing writer and guide. Planted by the state in the ‘60s, white bass continue to spawn like gangbusters. Best time to go is February to June, with peak fishing in March and April. One day last month, Blanton took 200 fish from 1/2 to 2 pounds. Take a boat to the mouth of the Nacimiento River; toss tiny white or yellow jigs on light spinning tackle or fly-cast small, shad-like flies. There are no limits on white bass, but by regulation, you must immediately kill any you keep to ensure they aren’t moved to other waters.

DIRECTIONS: U.S. 101 to Paso Robles, exit county road G14 and proceed west about 15 miles to the marina.

CONTACT: (805) 238-1056

-- Jim Matthews