Ed Guyette caught and released this 10-pound Casitas bass. Photo by Chris Shaffer

Southern California has emerged as the swimbait capital of the world. Many of the largest bass are caught here each year, and most of those are taken on swimbaits. While just about all of the region's lakes harbor big bass, the key to landing one or more of them is fishing in waters that feature large numbers of big bass rather than one or two enormous fish that likely have earned nicknames assigned by your peers.

In many of the smaller San Diego County lakes dwell one or two bass that, given the right conditions and plenty of planted rainbow trout, might weigh close to the weight of the long-standing world record, at some point before this coming July. Most likely, however, the average angler has a better shot of winning the lottery than catching one of those fish.

Fortunately, there are a handful of waters in which big bass are fairly common, and where swimbaits rule the day. Among them are Casitas, Perris, Diamond Valley, Castaic Lagoon and San Vicente.

Remember that the swimbait world has changed drastically since the days when anglers tried to hide swimbaits from other anglers aboard their boat. These days, swimbaits are as common as plastic worms. But has this craze made it tougher for anglers to catch bass on swimbaits?

"I don't think that's the case," says Mike Giusti, a California Department of Fish and Game biologist who stays in close contact with the bass world. "It's hit and miss, because most of the guys who throw swimbaits aren't throwing them all day. The guys who are fishing big swimbaits all day still catch fish. You can't go out there for a few hours, throw a few baits and expect to catch trophy bass every time."

Nonetheless, the So Cal swimbait scene has progressed markedly from the days of anglers throwing surface-running plugs like the famed Castaic Soft Trout. Today's swimbaits come in sinking, suspended, floating and weighted models.

"The guys who really know how to fish swimbaits will throw them all day and catch fish all day, but you can't just go out there and throw the shallow divers all day and catch fish," Giusti adds. "You have to figure out what the fish want and how they want it presented."

Choosing a swimbait can be as challenging as deciding which package of plastic worms to buy out of the dozens on the shelf at Wal-Mart. Swimbaits can range from a few bucks to more than $100 for special garage-made models.

"You can pay a lot or a little," says Giusti. "The cheap one might work just as good as the expensive one, but once someone catches a big fish on one, everyone will start using it."

CASITAS
Hands down, Casitas is the best overall swimbait lake in Southern California. Casitas yields more bass bigger than 10 pounds than any other lake in the West. In fact, Casitas -- on a good year -- may kick out more bass over 10 pounds than all the other lakes in the region combined. Swimbaits are the mainstay from October through March.

"I don't know why it's so good, but I think it's because we don't have stripers competing with the stocked trout," says Randy King at Lake Casitas Marina. "The problem at Castaic is that they have to share their trout with the stripers. I think the bass are feeding on the trout here."

Wintertime is planting season, when Casitas is stocked with trout almost weekly. Trout serve as growing pills for the bass, and what better way to match what they're eating than by throwing a swimbait?

On the other hand, Casitas' action can fluctuate. Some years, the lake yields triple-digit numbers of big bass. Other times, it's only double digits, which would be magnificent for most waters, yet disappointing for Casitas.

"I think it will return this year. The guys will be throwing the swimbaits like crazy," King says. "I hate the swimbaits, because the guy who hasn't paid his dues can still catch a huge fish. If you throw a big enough swimbait out here, you are going to catch a big one."