Lakes and river suggestions Los Angeles

[Tangelo]

Hey guys, Been fishing Lake Arrowhead for ages, so pretty familiar with rainbows, crappie, and bass. But now I'm in central LA (Hollywood) and would love to find some new rivers or lakes in the area, or within a 30-45 minute drive or so. What are your favorites? What kind of fish is there, and please let me know what's in there seasonally if you can.

Thanks!

[FISHISH]

They are all pretty much city park lakes and you can use google maps to find some in your area, not so sure about rivers (I've never fished the rivers). At those city lakes, rainbows in the winter and spring (they die off from the heat in the summer), bass year round? (somebody correct me if I am wrong), and catfish can be year round but they stock the catfish in the summer. I did hear some people talking about belvedere park lake but have never been there.

[Tangelo]

They are all pretty much city park lakes and you can use google maps to find some in your area, not so sure about rivers (I've never fished the rivers). At those city lakes, rainbows in the winter and spring (they die off from the heat in the summer), bass year round? (somebody correct me if I am wrong), and catfish can be year round but they stock the catfish in the summer. I did hear some people talking about belvedere park lake but have never been there.

Thanks so much for the help! Will just hit a few locally and see what happens I suppose. :)

[FISHISH]

Thanks so much for the help! Will just hit a few locally and see what happens I suppose. :)

Your welcome! they might be a bit small compared to lake arrowhead though...

[Natural Lefty]

Hello Tangelo. Did you used to live at Lake Arrowhead? I used to drive up there and fish the public access area by Lake Arrowhead Village sometimes, but they shut that down a long time ago. I miss fishing there. It was the best lake in the region in my opinion.

[Tangelo]

Hello Tangelo. Did you used to live at Lake Arrowhead? I used to drive up there and fish the public access area by Lake Arrowhead Village sometimes, but they shut that down a long time ago. I miss fishing there. It was the best lake in the region in my opinion.

Yeah, own a home up there, but I also have an apartment in LA for work.Used to fish Arrowhead daily. Great lake. Need to find some great lakes in LA now. :)

[MohawkMike]

We fished Belvedere on 12/31 and hit limit in a few hours. West side of the lake was crowded but was hitting the most but by midday, the trout were biting on the opposite side of the lake. They stock this week.

[Tangelo]

Thanks man, will check it out!

[MohawkMike]

Thanks man, will check it out!

i heard they didn't stock today, so maybe tomorrow around 12:30.

[DarkShadow]

Hey guys, Been fishing Lake Arrowhead for ages, so pretty familiar with rainbows, crappie, and bass. But now I'm in central LA (Hollywood) and would love to find some new rivers or lakes in the area, or within a 30-45 minute drive or so. What are your favorites? What kind of fish is there, and please let me know what's in there seasonally if you can.

Thanks!

Google is a great resource for looking up this information. If you do the social media thing, you can get recent info if you do some sleuthing.

Google maps is a great method of finding those blue spots and lines in our area. (We don't have much freshwater around these parts, so nothing is really a secret, and information is readily available online)

[Tangelo]

Google is a great resource for looking up this information. If you do the social media thing, you can get recent info if you do some sleuthing.

Google maps is a great method of finding those blue spots and lines in our area. (We don't have much freshwater around these parts, so nothing is really a secret, and information is readily available online)

I see what you did there. Yes, we can use Google to "find the blue spots", but I come to a Fisherman's forum to attain insight on the best ones to fish, and get some tips. But thanks, I guess.

[DarkShadow]

I see what you did there. Yes, we can use Google to "find the blue spots", but I come to a Fisherman's forum to attain insight on the best ones to fish, and get some tips. But thanks, I guess.

Problem is, "best" is a relative term....what someone may consider the 'best' lake, can be different from what others consider the 'best' lake. Case in point? I've focused on Lake Cachuma the past 2 months, and have had some awesome fishing. I also know guys who have gone out and not gotten a bite. Those same guys have found a good pattern at Castaic the past few weeks, yet I can't get a bite (from shore.)


Another thing is that bites and patterns, especially in our pressured bodies of water, change by the day, and even by the hour. It takes a lot of effort and time on the water for people to dial down successful patterns.

A good method of doing some research is also searching within the message boards. I saw that you asked for tips on Castaic on another thread. Look into the Castaic reports section and filter it by date, peruse reports for this time of year for years past, and you'll get a good idea of what the fishery does that time of year, and you can replicate your approach based on that.

A general tip for all these lakes and if you're targeting bass? Take a spinning rod (6#) and drop shot main points. Take a baitcasting rod and fly line a 4" Senko in natural colors. Between those two outfits, you'll bound to get into something.