Los Angeles Bass Fishing Report

[John H]

I spent some days in Los Angeles and did not catch any bass. If you are looking for good bass fishing Los Angeles is not the place to go. I did snorkel one day down in Orange County and spotted some calico bass along with some garibaldis and a sheephead and a few other fish I did not recognize. That was pretty fun. The snorkeling report is good. I was also able to spot Balloon Dog which is kind of a cool piece of art. When I got back from Los Angeles I did go to the Delta where I was greeted with a nice sunrise and a fat top water largemouth. Light winds next week. Hopefully there is a passel of big bass waiting for me out there somewhere.

http://i.imgur.com/Y2ZUcko.jpg (https://imgur.com/Y2ZUcko)

http://i.imgur.com/QAeoSUI.jpg (https://imgur.com/QAeoSUI)

http://i.imgur.com/xBKZd7H.jpg (https://imgur.com/xBKZd7H)

[guido]

Nice looking bass John!

[Smitty Fish]

Great pictures as always John! I think sunrises give sunsets a run for their money.

[Odonata]

I think the thread title qualifies as "clickbait" :) but super nice shots !

[John H]

Odonata- Click bait, maybe but that was not my goal. I try to come up with something fresh. A Delta Today post every few days gets old. I like keep it interesting if I can. It would be nice if a few more people on this board made an effort to make an interesting post. I figured if I made an Oregon Bass post that was mostly about other things I could do it with Los Angeles. I went to the chiropractor yesterday. I might work that into my next bass fishing report.

I spent some time trying to figure out what your board name meant. I guessed it was some mash up of your first and last name but could not get it. I was driving one day and went past Odonata Farms and there was a dragonfly on the sign and I got it. Kind of funny.

[Odonata]

The smiley face was my attempt at humor :) Clickbait or not, I'm guessing a lot of folks on this board look forward to seeing your posts, myself included.

Regarding my username -- when I was a kid I was interested in entomology. These days I enjoy tossing foam dragon and damselflies to the bass in the spring and summer when I can (and the trout too).

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51130212143_b59a6c71fa_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48180239257_dc95f3bd5e_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48492491307_5b7470dca3_b.jpg

BTW I haven't been back to the ranch ponds in a while, but suspect the water situation is pretty dire up there, particularly for that lower pond. Have to make time to check out the delta ...

[John H]

I used to fish a foam dragonfly on the ponds. That was the best pond fly I could find. The big smart ones we’re willing to grab it. Most other flies they were wise to. I expect most ponds now are mud and some carcasses. The Delta is fun if you can find some water without too much boat traffic.

[lee s.]

John,
I certainly DO appreciate your "reports" and never knowingly miss one. Sometimes it takes awhile to get back on the computer though with our "non-scheduling" life. Your photos are astounding, be they fish porn, scenery, or the artistic presentations, such as, the "blue dog" and the detailed reflections obtained.
We drive thru Davis multiple times weekly but suspect you're gone "researching" for your "reports". Thank you much for that.....
.....lee s.

[grnwtrs]

I wanted to simply say me too! But the system isn't set up to accept simply replies from simple people soooooooooooooooo
ME TOO!

[Charlie Gonzales]

There's some very good black bass fishing from Ventura all the way down to San Diego.
For Calicos and Sandies your gonna need a boat or float tube. When I lived down there in the 90's we would float tube Newport back bays and Dana port Harbor. I have been wanting to get back there for years.

[Darian]

Charlie, your post brought back great memories of growing up in SoCal. If you haven't heard of it yet, check out the "Calico Syndicate" for some great videos of Calico fishing on flies and fly tying. Google it.

Unfortunately, there are several places to fish Bass in the Socal area but many are restricted to conventional gear. The larger reservoirs and SWP canals are well known and those can be fished with fly gear. Among the lesser known fresh waters are Whittier Narrows (where I caught my first Largemouth on the fly), Sherwood Lake in Van Nuys (or was it Thousand Oaks??) and several private/public ponds and rivers in surrounding counties. Off of I-5 is Castaic Lake. The forebay is where all the Bass caught in tournaments are released and its open to fly fishing. As always, it pays to pick up a map and look for bodies of water to explore.... :cool:

[John H]

I rode my bike past Otay Lakes near San Diego once. That lake almost had the world record largemouth but they found a lead diving weight in the fish’s stomach or at least that is how I remember the story. I was biking to the border town of Tecate. I stopped at the store there and they would not let me have any water because they wanted me to buy it. I did not have any money so the ride back was a thirsty one. If there is any justice in this world that woman suffered some serious bad karma for denying me that water.

[Darian]

WOW!! Hard crowd down there. Seems like they could've been a bit more understanding. Funny story about the weighted Bass, tho. :D

[John H]

I looked up the bass story and it happened at Miramar Lake in SD in 1988. The bass weighed 21-10 and the diving weight was 2-8. It apparently had been in there awhile and the angler probably did not put it there. The taxidermist found it.

[Darian]

Wait!! How do you suppose a live Bass swallowed a 2+ pound lead weight?? Maybe it wanted to dive deeper.... :cool:

[OceanSunfish]

A Tournament fish that was released after a weigh-in during a time when officials were not keen to the 'creative' tactics of tournament anglers. After all, it was 1988 or earlier.

2# Carolina rig?

[Mr T]

A Tournament fish that was released after a weigh-in during a time when officials were not keen to the 'creative' tactics of tournament anglers. After all, it was 1988 or earlier.

2# Carolina rig?



And we think casting a lead core is tough..

[Larry S]

John,
For years, Miramar had quite a reputation for big bass. The lake's spot for planting trout was/is right next to
the boat docks and it was pretty well thought that the bass would lurk under the docks waiting for the plantings.
Here's a link to more Miramar hi-jinks:
https://sdfish.com/freshwater/the-zimmerlee-bass/

Best,
Larry S
Sun Diego

[John H]

Hilarious. A lot going on down there in the San Diego fishing scene. If I happen to catch the world record bass I am going to throw it back. I think the scrutiny that would come with it would wreck my life.

[guido]

Hilarious. A lot going on down there in the San Diego fishing scene. If I happen to catch the world record bass I am going to throw it back. I think the scrutiny that would come with it would wreck my life.

Make sure you give it a kiss first...