Photo by Bill Schaefer.

The new bass-fishing season is upon us, and we’re all hoping for a banner year. Last year, a lake record was broken, and a lot of nice fish were caught in Southern California.

What will this year bring? The forecast is for another hot year, weather-wise, and that means more days on the water chasing your favorite prey.

Lakes biologist Larry Bottroff knows largemouth bass and Southern California lakes as few others do.

“We didn’t get very definitive numbers for the San Diego lakes in 2007,” said Bottroff. “But overall, it was a good year of fishing. Populations of bass may be down a tad, and sizes of catches could have been better with better water conditions, but all the lakes had some nicer fish.”

Then there are the big-bass hunters who don’t report all, trying to save a lake for themselves.

COMING RIGHT UP . . .
Let’s take a look at the forecast for this year’s largemouth season.

Bass professionals, big-fish hunters and biologists said that if 2008 is anything like 2007, we should all be in for a banner year of bass fishing in Southern California.

The bass lakes in Southern California may lack size, but we have a number of bass-producing lakes that many fishermen haven’t even discovered yet.

The largest of lake in Southern California, Diamond Valley Lake, is one top spot you should try this year.

Hot mid-size lakes include San Vicente, El Capitan, Lake Hodges, Lake Otay, Lake Castaic, and Lake Casitas, to name a few. Smaller impoundments include Lake Dixon, the only lake known to definitely hold the world-record bass. Other small big-bass waters include lakes Jennings, Cuyamaca, Murray, Piru and Wohlford.

This past year, a lot of bass in the 10- to 15-pound range were caught in Southern California, but none made it into the Top 10 Heaviest List. To make the Top 10, you see, it takes at least a 20-pounder.

To make the top 25, it takes one heavier than 18 pounds, 13 ounces. And an amazing 22 of those 25 fish were caught in Southern California. Florida holds two spots, and George Perry’s record fish from Georgia has the other out-of-state record.

Let’s look at some of Southern California fishermen’s favorite lakes.

DIAMOND VALLEY
Diamond Valley Lake in Riverside County is one of the spring’s top producing lakes. Although the fish tend to live a little deeper than those at other impoundments, they still come to the shallows to spawn. This year’s spring should bring more giant fish to the scales.

Big-bass hunter Mike Long added to his list of record largemouth catches in 2007. He caught the new lake record here, a 16.43-pound bass. He fooled the fish with a Rago Real Trout swim bait.

For baits, plastics to crankbaits rule here. Trolling crankbaits can score both bass and trout. Drop-shot rigs and Texas-rigged worms work well in the deeper waters.

There also are trout in this lake, so bring the trout look-a-like lures. Remember what caught the lake record!

The dams here are the largest earthen dams in the West. They’re covered with giant granite boulders, and the fish love to hide in and around them. Bouncing or swimming a jig down the face of them can work almost year ‘round.

LAKE DIXON
Lake Dixon in Escondido is a tiny speck of a lake on the map of California. But it’s the only lake anywhere where we know for sure that a world-record bass swims.