Let me give you 10 really good reasons to fish Southern California this year. Ten of the top 11 largest bass of all time were caught here.

Well, technically 10 of the top 10. But there's a tie for the No. 10 spot, and George Perry's world record from Georgia is No. 1.

But who cares? There's ample opportunity to catch a giant here in Southern California, and you should be out there this season, going for it!

With a moderate winter and spring, and the lakes at a decent level, there should be good spawning this year.

At most of the lakes, a lot of brush and cover in the water will provide good cover for bass and their offspring. It also makes for fun fishing for us largemouth chasers.

Radio host and touring pro Stan Vanderburg pulled these two lunkers from Lake Casitas. Photo by Bill Schaefer.

California Game & Fish talked with bass pros, biologists, and guides to bring you a snapshot of what 2009 will look like for bass fishing around Southern California.

Of course, the best way to increase your odds at a big fish -- and catching more fish -- is to get out there and try. The more you're out on your favorite local lake, the more in tune with the bass you'll become. You will learn how to locate them and how to catch them.

Southern California is blessed with so many lakes that have yielded giant record fish.

Retired biologist Larry Botroff, a longtime San Diego lakes expert, said that this year would satisfy a lot of bass anglers who are fine with numbers and take size when it comes.

But it will test the wills of many big-fish hunters. Botroff said his tournament research indicated that the past year was very good for overall fishing, but maybe not for size.

Why is that? Over the years, he said, catch-and-release has gone to an extreme -- and in some ways, that's not good for a fishery.

The lake's food source can only sustain so many fish. You can have a lot of little ones, or a medium amount of smaller fish and some giants. There has to be some culling. Natural die-off will take the larger, older fish.

Have you noticed that no giants have been caught in the last two or three years?

Think of it this way. For a while, when the water was low, you probably didn't catch very many dinks (8- to 10-inchers).

The larger bass ate them. Now, with all the rain of a few years ago, and all the brush that makes for good cover for the spawns, the fish population of many lakes is up.

With all the cover and those good spawns, 12-inch and larger fish are abundant. They'll make for a fun day, but for a few more years, the much larger fish will be fewer and farther between.

Biologist Botroff studies mostly San Diego Lakes, but his knowledge of bass fisheries is beyond compare.

How about the other bass fisheries around Southern California? They've all been through the same weather pattern for the last three years, so they should be very similar in how they fish. Let's look at them individually.

LAKE HODGES
The lake that most likely will break out of the pack this year will be Lake Hodges, located just outside San Diego in Escondido. Botroff said the largemouth population is close to 40,000 fish of 12 inches and larger.