Southern California Lake Informaiton

Diamond Valley Fishing

Diamond Valley Lake is 4.5 miles long and 2 miles wide. It has 4,500 surface acres and holds 260 billion gallons. It is Southern California's largest freshwater reservoir. Opened in 2003, the Colorado River and Northern California supplied the water for the lake.

Nearly 110 million cubic yards of materials were used to build the West, East and Saddle dams that comprise the largest earthfill dam project in the United States.

Species available in the lake include largemouth, smallmouth and striped bass, bluegill, red ear sunfish, blue and channel catfish and rainbow trout.

No swimming, personal watercrafft, water skiing, float tubes or body contact of any kind is allowed. Boats with four-stroke or direct fuel injection two stroke combustion engines are allowed, as are two stroke engines that comply with the CARB 2001 or later model year spark ignition marine engine standard. Traditional carbureted two-stroke engines are not allowed. Only gasoline free of MTBE is allowed, boats containing gas mtbe will be turned away. The speed limit on the lake is 25 mph.

Lake Castaic Fishing

Lake Castaic is located at an elevation of 1,500 feet and has 2,500 surface acres, and the Afterbay Lagoon which has 180 surface acres. It is part of the California State Water Project. The east arm of Castiac has a 20 MPH speed limit while the west arm is open to waterskiing and faster power boating. The Aftebay Lagoon is open to non-power boating, with 24 hour fishing on the east shore Boaters should arrive early as the launch facilities are closed after 500 boats & 125 personal watercraft..

Campsites, group campsites and RV with full hookups are available.

There are largemouth, smallmouth and striped bass in this lake, which also gets planted regularly with hatchery raised rainbow trout.

Directions: Take Highway 5 north to Parker Road exit towards Castaic. Turn right onto Ridge Route road. Turn left onto Castaic Road.

Lake Casitas Fishing

Lake Casitas is located at an elevation of 1,500 feet. It has 2,500 surface acres. Casitas has over 30 miles of fishable shoreline. No body contact is the rule at this lake, making it all the nicer to fish.

Casitas is a beautiful water reservoir with nearly 500 campsites with 141 offering power hookup. World class bass fishing open year around. The lake also has camping, hiking, and a water park.

The Casitas record largemouth weighed more than 21 pounds. Fresh crawdads are the hottest bait at the lake's tackle shop. The hottest lures are foot-long soft baits that imitate the regularly stocked hatchery rainbows.

Lake Perris Fishing

Lake Perris has 2,200 surface acres and is part of the California State Water Project. The lake is surrounded by rocky mountains that can tower to heights of greater then one thousand feet above the water's surface.

Alessandro Island makes for a popular boat in site, rising more then 225 feet to create an interesting perspective of the lake. Fishing for spotted and largemouth bass can be very good, but you have to go being aware that this is a very popular lake for other water sports and there is no real safe haven for people fishing. The fising can be very good from shore.

Directions: 11 miles south of Riverside on I-215. Take the Ramona Expressway to Lake Perris Drive. Procced to the entrance.

Lake San Vicente Fishing

Lake San Vicente is located at an elevation of 659 feet north of San Diego . It has 557 surface acres and 11 miles of shoreline and a maximum water depth of 190 feet..

Hatchery rainbow trout are stocked November through January, surely a great meal for the population of Florida-strain largemouth bass. The lake is open from March to early October on Friday through Sunday. From mid-October to mid-May weekends are for fishing only.

There is no camping allowed at San Vicente.

Directions: From Highway 67 go east on Vigilante Road, turn left on Moreno, and follow the signs to the entrance.

Lake Mead Nevada Fishing

Lake Mead is located on the Colorado R. in Arizona and Nevada, the largest in the U.S., and is chief feature of Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It has an average of 110,000 surface acres and a maximum of 162,000. Impounded by Hoover Dam, it is 115 miles long, 1-8 mi wide, and up to 589 ft deep, and has a shoreline of 550 mi.

This huge lake caters to boaters, swimmers, sunbathers, and fishermen while its also has rewards for hikers, wildlife photographers, and roadside sightseers. Lake Mead NRA is home to bighorn sheep, mule deer, coyotes, kit foxes, bobcats, ringtail cats, desert tortoise, numerous lizards and snakes, and a wealth of bird species. Threatened and endangered species such as the desert tortoise and peregrine falcon are found here, as well as ancient Colorado River fish species.

Lakes Mead offers some of the country's best sport fishing. Largemouth bass, striped bass, rainbow trout, channel catfish, crappie and bluegill are found in the lake. Boating of all kinds is popular.

Lake Pleasant Arizona Fishing

Lake Pleasant has 114 miles of shoreline for family recreation uses. Lake Pleasant is one of the largest and finest boating lakes in Arizona. Lake Pleasant Regional Park has 23,662 acres for boating and camping. The lake is formed by the Waddell Dam built on the Agua Fria River.

The first Waddell Dam was built was in 1928. This dam created the upper portion of the Lake. Lake Pleasant was named after Carl Pleasant, an engineer that helped design the dam. At the time, Lake Pleasant was the largest agricultural dam in the world. The dam held back runoff water from the Agua Fria and the Bradshaw Mountains. In 1968, Congress requested that the Bureau of Reclamation construct the Central Arizona Project. This project sent water from the Colorado River to central and southern Arizona. The existing lake was not large enough to store the water from the Colorado River diversion, thus a new dam was built. The new Waddell Dam finished construction in 1993. Today, Maricopa County manages Lake Pleasant.

The reservoir features a 10-lane boat ramp and parking for 200 vehicles. Recreational facilities are concentrated primarily on the reservoir's western shore. About 450 picnic sites,165 campsites ranging from tent to primitive to improved camping with full utility hookups, 14 group-use areas, overlooks, a full-service marina equipped to handle 1,000 boats, and 7 miles of trails. The lake also has a visitor center and a desert education center.

Sport fishing is very popular and numerous species inhabit the lake including white bass, largemouth bass, striped bass, channel catfish, and black crappie.

A state-issued license is required.

Lake Pleasant is about 30 miles from Phoenix, Arizona. North on I-17, west of State Hwy. 74.

Martinez Lake Fishing

Martinez Lake is located in the lower Colordao River, 31 miles north of Yuma. It's part of Imperial Reservoir. North of Martinez Lake is the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge which emcompasses 55,000 acres on both sides of the river, stretching over 35 miles. The refuge is a migratory stop over for some 235 species of birds. Commonly seen mammals include deer, big horn sheep, wild horses, wild burros, coyotes, raccoons, foxes beavers and bobcats.

Largemouth, smallmouth and striped bass are available to the angler. Other species found in the lake are crappie, sunfish, channel and flathead catfish, bullhead, and carp.

Located about 150 miles northwest of Phoenix. Take Martinez Dam Road north from Wenden on Highway 60.

Lake Havasu Fishing

Lake Havasu is located at an elevation of 482 feet in the desert between Arizona and California. It has 19,300 surface acres, part of the Colorado River System, which was formed when Parker Dam was built in 1938.

There are several campgrounds, resorts, marinas and other facilities around the lake. Complete facilities are available in Havasu City and Pittsburg Point. Boat excursions are available but be aware that high winds can become a hazard in the Spring and Fall.

The London Bridge now resides in Arizona and connects Havasu City and Pittsburg Point. Lake Havasu is noted for it's striped bass fishing as well as being the site of many fishing, waterskiing and powerboating competitions.

Directions: Lake Havasu City is located on the eastern shore of Lake Havasu at Arizona 95 about 19 miles south of I-40 and 73 miles north of I-10.