Originally Posted by
shinbob
To be honest, my absolute favorite place to kayak fish is the Eastern Sierras. Incredible scenery, clean, clear, cold water, and lots of fish to catch. Lake Mamie is almost tailor-made for kayaking, as it's a shallow lake with crystal clear water. Go out first thing on a calm morning - paradise! It's like kayaking on glass. Gull and Silver lakes are also awesome, as well as the Virginia lakes, Lake Mary, Mammoth Twin lakes, I could go on and on.
But you asked about SoCal, in the Northern area I think Pyramid and Castaic Lagoon are the best bets. Piru is kind of a mud hole right now, and they don't plant trout there either. Further south, Irvine Lake is a lot of fun. Big Bear is also great, I like the area around Grout Bay.
You should also consider saltwater harbors. By far my favorite is Newport, especially the upper bay nature reserve. Wonderful place to kayak, lots of things to see, and you can catch plenty of fish in the harbor. The planes taking off overhead from John Wayne can be a bit of a distraction, though.