Eastern Sierras, California
California Fishing
California has some surprisingly good fishing given that it is such a densely populated state. In freshwater there are many opportunities for Rainbow and other Trout, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, Bluegill, Crappie, and many other North American species. In the ocean there are sometimes good runs of Albacore Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna, Yellowtail, White Seabass, and other tasty species. When nothing else is happening you can always drive to the Big Sur area and catch plenty of Rockfish and Lingcod if the weather lets you get out.
California Freshwater Fishing
Rainbow Trout are heavily stocked in many areas of the state and are probably the most popular freshwater fish. Without this stocking there would be precious few fish in most bodies of water due to the heavy fishing pressure. Some lakes in Southern California can only support trout in the winter and the ones that are not caught all die in the summer due to high water temperature. Stocked trout can be a fun diversion but they do not fight as hard or look as good as wild fish. Some areas, especially mountainous areas such as the Eastern Sierras region, do boast some good fishing for wild trout (and also stocked trout that are planted as fingerlings and grow up wild). Personally my favorite place to fish for trout is up in the Eastern Sierras near Mammoth. There are many lakes and rivers there, and if you are willing to hike a little you can find some that get very little fishing pressure. Even if the fishing is off it's hard to be unhappy when you are in such a beautiful area.
Central and Southern California have produced some of the largest Largemouth Bass ever caught. Legendary lakes such as Casitas, Castaic, and Diamond Valley have some double digit giants that grow fat on the stocked trout. However, these fish get pressured very heavily and you really have to put in your time to catch one. If your idea of a good time is casting large trout swimbaits all day for a couple of big bites and the chance for a monster, then you will find plenty of opportunities in California. There are also some good fisheries for larger numbers of smaller bass using traditional bass techniques, but usually a lot of things need to line up in your favor to catch a lot of them because most lakes get a lot of pressure. Luckily Largemouth Bass are not the smartest fish in the world.
Striped Bass are a favorite target of many anglers here, and they often use the same big trout imitation swimbaits that are used for the Largemouth. I have not really fished much for these myself and just caught a few incidental ones, but there are plenty of people who like it and many double-digit fish to be caught.
California Saltwater Fishing
Deep sea fishing is much more accessible in California than it is in many places because there are many "party boat" operations that run open party trips open to many anglers (see my article on this here). These can range from 1/2 day to 16 days or more. This is how I got my start fishing saltwater and you can catch a lot of fish on these boats if things line up right. The cost is not prohibitive for the shorter trips and you can rent fishing gear if you do not have it. Most of these boats post their daily catches on the internet, so it's a good idea to monitor these catch numbers for a few days before you are planning on going. Websites such as 976-tuna can help you do this.
1/2 and 3/4 day trips stay close to shore and typically target Pacific Barracuda, Calico Bass, Sand Bass, Bonito, Rockfish, and California Halibut. If someone gets really lucky they might land a Yellowtail or White Seabass and then everyone will get very excited. Overnight trips often go to the offshore islands depending on what part of the state you are in (Catalina, San Clemente, Channel Islands, Farallon Islands, etc) and target many of the same fish but with a better chance at a White Seabass, Yellowtail, or other larger fish. Overnight trips sometimes also go to offshore banks and try to fish for Albacore or Yellowfin Tuna when they are in the area, which is usually in the summer. Some people find it hard to sleep on these boats and the water can sometimes be quite rough offshore, so if you are prone to seasickness these are not the trips for you.
Longer 2,3,4 and all the way up to 16 day trips are available. These are usually undertaken on large boats that are fairly comfortable and offer top notch crew and fish finding capabilities. They pack plenty of live bait and chum to keep the fish around. These trips usually target Tuna and Yellowtail with some incidental catches of Dorado and other species. Because I am not a big fan of sleeping on these boats I have never gone for longer than 2.5 days, but the longer trips have an enthusiastic following of people who go year after year to try to catch big Yellowfin Tuna.
Here are some of my favorite sportfishing landings by region:
San Diego: Point Loma Sportfishing
Long Beach: Long Beach Sportfishing, Pierpoint Landing
Los Angeles: Redondo Sportfishing
Morro Bay: Virg's Landing
San Francisco Area: Emeryville Sportfishing
Click Here for the Species Pages to find out how to catch these fish or click on a pic below to enlarge.
California has some surprisingly good fishing given that it is such a densely populated state. In freshwater there are many opportunities for Rainbow and other Trout, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, Bluegill, Crappie, and many other North American species. In the ocean there are sometimes good runs of Albacore Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna, Yellowtail, White Seabass, and other tasty species. When nothing else is happening you can always drive to the Big Sur area and catch plenty of Rockfish and Lingcod if the weather lets you get out.
California Freshwater Fishing
Rainbow Trout are heavily stocked in many areas of the state and are probably the most popular freshwater fish. Without this stocking there would be precious few fish in most bodies of water due to the heavy fishing pressure. Some lakes in Southern California can only support trout in the winter and the ones that are not caught all die in the summer due to high water temperature. Stocked trout can be a fun diversion but they do not fight as hard or look as good as wild fish. Some areas, especially mountainous areas such as the Eastern Sierras region, do boast some good fishing for wild trout (and also stocked trout that are planted as fingerlings and grow up wild). Personally my favorite place to fish for trout is up in the Eastern Sierras near Mammoth. There are many lakes and rivers there, and if you are willing to hike a little you can find some that get very little fishing pressure. Even if the fishing is off it's hard to be unhappy when you are in such a beautiful area.
Central and Southern California have produced some of the largest Largemouth Bass ever caught. Legendary lakes such as Casitas, Castaic, and Diamond Valley have some double digit giants that grow fat on the stocked trout. However, these fish get pressured very heavily and you really have to put in your time to catch one. If your idea of a good time is casting large trout swimbaits all day for a couple of big bites and the chance for a monster, then you will find plenty of opportunities in California. There are also some good fisheries for larger numbers of smaller bass using traditional bass techniques, but usually a lot of things need to line up in your favor to catch a lot of them because most lakes get a lot of pressure. Luckily Largemouth Bass are not the smartest fish in the world.
Striped Bass are a favorite target of many anglers here, and they often use the same big trout imitation swimbaits that are used for the Largemouth. I have not really fished much for these myself and just caught a few incidental ones, but there are plenty of people who like it and many double-digit fish to be caught.
California Saltwater Fishing
Deep sea fishing is much more accessible in California than it is in many places because there are many "party boat" operations that run open party trips open to many anglers (see my article on this here). These can range from 1/2 day to 16 days or more. This is how I got my start fishing saltwater and you can catch a lot of fish on these boats if things line up right. The cost is not prohibitive for the shorter trips and you can rent fishing gear if you do not have it. Most of these boats post their daily catches on the internet, so it's a good idea to monitor these catch numbers for a few days before you are planning on going. Websites such as 976-tuna can help you do this.
1/2 and 3/4 day trips stay close to shore and typically target Pacific Barracuda, Calico Bass, Sand Bass, Bonito, Rockfish, and California Halibut. If someone gets really lucky they might land a Yellowtail or White Seabass and then everyone will get very excited. Overnight trips often go to the offshore islands depending on what part of the state you are in (Catalina, San Clemente, Channel Islands, Farallon Islands, etc) and target many of the same fish but with a better chance at a White Seabass, Yellowtail, or other larger fish. Overnight trips sometimes also go to offshore banks and try to fish for Albacore or Yellowfin Tuna when they are in the area, which is usually in the summer. Some people find it hard to sleep on these boats and the water can sometimes be quite rough offshore, so if you are prone to seasickness these are not the trips for you.
Longer 2,3,4 and all the way up to 16 day trips are available. These are usually undertaken on large boats that are fairly comfortable and offer top notch crew and fish finding capabilities. They pack plenty of live bait and chum to keep the fish around. These trips usually target Tuna and Yellowtail with some incidental catches of Dorado and other species. Because I am not a big fan of sleeping on these boats I have never gone for longer than 2.5 days, but the longer trips have an enthusiastic following of people who go year after year to try to catch big Yellowfin Tuna.
Here are some of my favorite sportfishing landings by region:
San Diego: Point Loma Sportfishing
Long Beach: Long Beach Sportfishing, Pierpoint Landing
Los Angeles: Redondo Sportfishing
Morro Bay: Virg's Landing
San Francisco Area: Emeryville Sportfishing
Click Here for the Species Pages to find out how to catch these fish or click on a pic below to enlarge.
