Bad Bass fishing in California?

[soflabasser]

California has good bass fishing but its nowhere as good as it use to be in the 1970's-1990's. You can still catch double digit bass , but nowhere near like the ''good ol' days'' that California use to have. It doesn't help that most of California is experiencing a severe drought that has lasted years and doesn't seem to be going away completely anytime soon. Largemouth bass are now seen as a invasive fish in California as well, so that means the state might not try to improve the bass fishing to its old glory.

On 8/17/2017 at 1:14 PM, Smokinal said:

In Maine, on most of my home waters, in a 5 hr morning a 15-20 fish day is slow; 30-40 fish day is expected and I have caught as many as 78 in 5 hrs (on Mr Ned btw). So, if I went to California and caught 1-2 bass in a month, even if they were DD's, I'd say it's horrible.

When I go fishing I like to catch fish. jmo

 

 

Sounds like your state has very good fishing and similar to South Florida. I fish places where I can expect to catch 30 to +50 bass in a normal day and I have had several trips where I have caught over 100 bass in less than 6 hours of fishing. Many of these places are in/near the Everglades which is probably the best place in the world to catch a large amount of bass in a short amount of time when the conditions are good. There's also trophy bass in these waters and every year people catch double digits from the Everglades and surrounding areas.

[Caliyak]

On 8/16/2017 at 5:03 PM, Cahoots5150 said:

Hey guys!

I'm a bit on the curious side, but I have a friend who's not the best of fisherman suddenly break down how bad the bass fishing in California is compared to other states. I'm certain he's only fished in this state, and just overnight he became this "Pro" bass fisherman watching youtube videos, and just pulling stats from out of nowhere, It's unbearable. Thoughts? Facts? Opinions? Analogies? 

Cahoots, if he can't put bass on the boat, he's nothing and let him talk. Proof is in the pics. Cali is a great bass state. Looking for the giants and the numbers is the fun part of the Cali game. I only worry about my PB, my numbers and my skills and I let everyone else do their thing. Enjoy the Cali bass fishing and if Cali was not a great place to fish, no one would come. 

[Guest kosta]

That's funny because CA is one of the few states where DD bass is common. However alot of big bass lakes don't have numbers

[Spider]

As a native San Diego fisherman, I can tell you that the lakes here are highly pressured. Add to that that most of the lakes I fish are very clear making fish skittish. Pressured fish techniques are a must here. There are a couple of lakes that have dingy water but are just as pressured.

 

I pull fish most times I go fishing, but one or two are the normal, though some days I get skunked, others I pull runts one after the other.

 

I can understand the op's friends thinking, if he came here thinking he would catch vast numbers of fish. That would not be a normal day here.

[burrows]

On 8/19/2017 at 10:40 AM, contium said:

Southern California's highly pressured, tiny public lakes are definitely a tough place to fish. 

Agree

Central California and higher up the state bass fishing gets a lot better. Southern California is definitely tuff with castaic and lake Perris being the best places to fish.

Edited October 16, 2017 by Burro

[Bradley]

On 8/17/2017 at 12:05 PM, WRB said:

So Mr. Ned didn't work for you. Where in Cal did you manage to catch only 2 bass in a month? If you ever return, ask me where to catch bass and what the current bite is.

Tom

Where can I catch a bass, and what is the current bite?? Have been struggling for weeks to get anything more than a nibble. I used to catch enough to have fun on the east coast, but I've been very, very humbled recently at my california results.
Located in San Diego. Thanks!

[Angry John]

1 hour ago, Bradley said:

Where can I catch a bass, and what is the current bite?? Have been struggling for weeks to get anything more than a nibble. I used to catch enough to have fun on the east coast, but I've been very, very humbled recently at my california results.
Located in San Diego. Thanks!

Guessing he ment a pm because he would help but not want to broadcast to the entire net.

[WRB]

On May 26, 2018 at 7:01 PM, Bradley said:

Where can I catch a bass, and what is the current bite?? Have been struggling for weeks to get anything more than a nibble. I used to catch enough to have fun on the east coast, but I've been very, very humbled recently at my california results.
Located in San Diego. Thanks!

Get yourself a copy of Western Outdoor News and look at the fishing formcharts for San Diego area lakes. Example; El Capitan the north end has a good top water bite early with buzz baits and frogs, with 6"-8" Roboworms T-rig or drop shot also working. Hodges has a Shad spawn going on and square Bill crankbaits are working in the narrows, plastics also working.

Miramar a few swimbait bass and 6" Roboworms for 2-3 lbs range. Poway a few DD bass  last week. San Vicente plenty of shallow water bass on jerk baits and underspins around the secondary points.

Remember the WON reports are about 2 weeks behind current news.

Tom

[kenmitch]

I guess if one was to watch some episodes of Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Zona's, etc they could easily jump to the conclusion that CA fishing sucks compared to other states....Although Zona did have a awesome Bullards Bar Spot episode.

 

I like to watch a episode of Major League Fishing the night before I plan on going out again. Seems more realistic when some anglers get skunked for hours and fight their way up the pack while others struggle on or even begin to struggle as day goes on. 

 

I can relate to the hours of nothingness as I've done it many times on Lake Perris as I'm kind of set in my ways on how I wan't to fish. I know that I could change up and possibly catch more fish in the end and I do carry a full variety of offerings....But in the end I'm a lipless crankbait grinder. You just got to find the flavor of the day. Guess it's the rush I get when it gets slammed that keeps me chucking along or possibly the areas I like to target.  Kayak fishing gravitates me towards the shallower water which is infested with lots of submerged vegetation, brush,cut down trees, rock piles, etc. Luckily for me the lipless works pretty good in these areas.

 

I get skunked once in a while just like everybody else. It's more about the fun and relaxation I get from the experience so in the end it doesn't really matter how many fish I catch. Anything from 1 Bass to 6-7 is a good day too me. Think the best day I've had was 6 Bass for 17lbs with a 5.12 lb and 4.53lb. The water level at Lake Perris has risen 23ft or so in the last 6 months. I'd imagine the Bass are somewhat dazed and confused as I doubt there's a fish alive in Lake Perris that remembers the good old days.