What is going on at Santa Fe Dam 6/3

[zenmic]

I tried to knock off the skunk I got at Piru on Saturday June 2nd, by trying to see if I could get any of the catfish left at Santa Fe dam. The last time I went there they blocked off the parts to the west end of the lake. I found out that they were setting up for the Renaissance fair. Well, the fair has come and gone, and I figured that that section would be open again. I get there today and again it is all blocked again. I see construction but very little if any details. From what little I remember of Santa Fe dam, that western end of the lake is the more calm section with more structure. It seemed to be the idea section for catfish. Early in the year when the lake was completely open and the sheriff was throwing people out at 5PM, I managed to pull two nice channel cats at that western section on night crawlers. How does one get there now? For that matter, if one cannot get there anymore, then what would be decent locations around the lake? So I am there today at around 2pm and I am walking around. I decided to try the east end and try around the pumping station/waterfall and the bits around there. NADA. I walk around the eastern shore line and end up at the elevated dock. There are folks fishing, but not much action if at all. I did see a few kids nab a bluegill or two. I did manage to beat the skunk and have a little 6" Juvenal big-mouth bass hit my night crawler. I let it go, and a few minutes later it hits my bait again (I know because I can see the previous hook mark); again I let it go. If it survives it will be a hell of a fighting fish.

So how does one catch catfish at Santa Fe dam now, since the last few times I have been there it has been a bust on night crawlers and on chicken livers. I cannot find a decent spot around and I am fishing with a bobber 6~8' deep. I even went so far as to just throw and let it sit on the bottom to see if ole wiskers will nab it that way. NADA!! :Confused::mad:

[kendo]

Zenmic..I asked the same question a few days ago in another thread. Someone mentioned to me to fish from Parking Lot 2 same area you fished. I got there in the AM 9-11am(only time i had free to fish) and saw nothing. Saw guys fishing the other side of the elevated doc area and saw no action. I did see a few blue gills come up but other than that nothing. I was told that i should fish by the pumping station near the sunken crate? and cast far. How far I dont know but I would also like to get more info because this is the closest place to my house. I havent fished here since HS and before remember fishing the westside every time but never caught anything. Also I wanted to find out what type of rigs people are using and how much weight if they need to cast out far (3oz?). Good luck I hope some info will pop up soon and hope to see you there!

[white belt]

My dad and I got an all day skunk there last time from lot 2 haha

[Carptain_Bao]

Chill out dude,it's kinda tough at Santa fe dam now. Try lot3 and make long casts.Most ppl get skunked when they fish for cats. But the bass are very active these days.

[fish4anything]

Fish the left side of the swim beach with nightcrawlers dipped in Hog Wild. Cast your line close to the bushes across the lake and reel in about 5 - 10 feet. Good luck!

[bassfishing24/7]

Chill out dude,it's kinda tough at Santa fe dam now. Try lot3 and make long casts.Most ppl get skunked when they fish for cats. But the bass are very active these days.

Hopefully ur right about the Bass bite,i might go try my luck this afternoon at 6 since i dont feel like paying for parking!!Lol.sorry to hear about ur double skunk zenmic,i was also double skunked yesterday at prado and pudd :(

[zenmic]

Thanks for the responses. Is there a published map of the grounds at Santa Fe dam? That way can all see what we are talking about. My references of North, South, East and West are from Google Map. With all the changes done to Santa Fe, I am not sure which is Lot1, Lot2, Lot3, etc. Let me try again, I had not been able to hit the east end of the lake (I am guessing closest to the dam itself), I parked over by the administration office on the west side. I figured that the north shore, the shore with all the trees and brush would be where a better shot for fish since that is not cleared, so there should be some natural structures around and in the water there. I am going to use the man-made waterfall as a reference. I start from the waterfall and move east through the brush along the shoreline. I usually get as far as the first little jut in the water. (34° 6'45.86"N, 117°56'42.62"W) and try working backwards along the shoreline. Fish4anything, cast out to the middle of the lake and pull back 5~10 feet? What kind of rig, how deep are you fishing at?

[bassfishing24/7]

When u enter,lot one is str8 after the stop sign,lot two is the second lot,u make a left at the stop sign.its the closest lot near the pier.the other lots 3 to 5 or six follow further down.i usually see guys catch catfish to the left of the pier.good luck.

[BALLERONBUDGET]

big lake = many places to roam and hide..... odds in their favor and not for shore angler....most fisherman here are mainly done to chill /relax than to catch.... licenses of course, unless u wanna big fine from dfg and hv ur gear taken away...seen it done last year. annual pass gets u 13months from month of purchase + castaic/pudd/sante fe /k.hanh.

[Lakerfan160]

the renissance fair clean up takes awhile so u should try the point near the the rental boats, if the cats arnt biting try for some carp or bass

[zenmic]

Thanks for the advice Lakerfan160. What kind of rigging do you suggest?

[Lakerfan160]

my dad usually just adds a weight and a crawler, if theres a lot of weeds thats he makes the leader longer not really sure im just bass fishing most of the time and he will go for the cats... or carp with the bread with maple syrup with this weight with hooks and he will just make a ball of bread and cover the weight and hooks but i works for him and his buddies