Fishing Traveler

I have created this fishing trip information post on Lake Casitas in California to assist you in searching for fishing trip information.  Please visit the links on this page to get complete information for your trip.

You should think about one thing when you think about a fishing trip to California lakes like Lake Casitas, Big Big Bass. Lake Casitas has produced some of the heaviest bass ever caught.  It also makes most experts’ list for potential world record holding lakes. Double digit bass are not unusual.  Lake Casitas is formed by Casitas Dam, which is a feature of the Ventura Project. During the winter months the lake is stocked with trout which helps feed the huge bass as well as provide additional angling opportunities for your fishing trip.  The lake has 2500 surface acres of very clear water and over 30 miles of fishable shoreline.  My understanding is that there is no water skiing or jet skiing on the lake.  The lake is just 78 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Lake Casitas Fish Species

• Largemouth Bass
• Rainbow Trout
• Crappie
• Sunfish
• Bluegill
• Channel Catfish

Lake Casitas Fishing Patterns

Angler Guide’s author, Mike Blackwell, has a fabulous article on fishing the lake.  He talks about the lure of choice for the lake.

The lure of choice for all the hundreds of anglers seeking big bass is a replica of a rainbow trout. The Department of Fish and Game and Calaveras Trout Farm plant thousands of pounds of trout in the lake each year.

There are a number of trout imitation lures on the market: Stocker Trout, AC Plug, Castaic Soft Trout, Osprey and Eagle to name a few of the favorites. More will probably be out on the market within the year. The plugs cost from $15 to $30 each. Guyette once bought one of the more in-demand lures for $60.

Lures for fishing the big bass range in the 8 to 10″ range.  That’s a big lure.

According to Ojai Angler, summer topwater action can be fantastic.

Summertime top water can be phenomenal at times, with 20 to 25 pound five-fish limits possible. If you can get on the breaking fish you can have a limit of giant bass in a hurry. It’s all about timing…when they come up, you better be ready.

While known as a clear water lake, don’t be fooled into just using light line according to a Lake Casitas article at ESPN Outdoors.

At a place like Casitas, you want to fish the shallows using Power Pro line. Guyette doesn’t recommend mono. “Using a braided line is important,” he said. The brush and trees have grown thick over the years — if you don’t use braided line you risk losing a lot of bass.

Additionally ESPN Outdoors states that murky waters can come with rain in the spring.  But you shouldn’t hesitate to fish anyway as the big bass are still there.

Don’t let the off-colored water scare you away. Fishing at Casitas is improving daily. That means trophy fish are being caught daily.  “It doesn’t change the fishing,” Guyette said. “The fish are in the same places that they would normally be this time of year. You just can’t see them.” He recommends using darker plastics and jigs to get them. And the good thing is, they can’t see you either.

Some certainly use live bait.  The record bass for Lake Casitas weighs in at 21.19 pounds.  This huge bass was caught on a live crawdad back in 1980, a popular bait still today.

Crankbaits and spinnerbaits can produce during the pre-spawn on the lake along with swimbaits.

FishingNetwork.net doesn’t forget about the Red Ear Sunfish available.

At times, live crawdads (the premature soft-shelled kind) can KILL the Red Ears here. If you can find them they’re usually not cheap at around $8 a dozen but well worth it.

The typical Lake Casitas catfish catch tends to be in the 8-to 11-pound class, with fish at 30 pounds a regular event and fish up to 40lbs taken annually. The lake record stands at 37.5 pounds.  Patterns include livebait fishing during the day and artificials in the evenings. 

Lake Casitas Fishing Pressure

I provide on this blog everything that I find online whether it is positive or not.  I am not a hype machine, like many popular mags and TV shows, that only tell you how great a place is all of the time.  My thought is that if you are going to pay your hard earned money for a fishing trip that you should know everything you can about the destination.   Casitas gets very heavy fishing pressure between recreational and tournament fishermen.  Remember the lake is close to Los Angeles.

Eric Elshere at BigFishTackle.com writes about this pressure.

I have fished Lakes Casitas almost everyday since school got out, June 15^th. The fishing has been very tough and not many fish are being caught, and the few that are, are small fish. Lake Casitas has had some type of tournament for the last 2 months every weekend. If it’s a big invitational or a little club tourney, it is getting hammered every weekend by the anglers. Either the tourney is in the day or at night. The fish have no breaks what so ever. This is making the fishing for us tourney anglers tough and the weekend anglers also.

Eric recommends fishing weekdays.

The weekdays are some of the best times to go. The pressure is off a little and the bass are more willing to bite your bait. I went out one week and nailed huge bass on live crawdads, then went out on Saturday, fished the same spots but the fish knew it was weekend and they quit biting. This show me that the best fishing is during the weekdays and not on weekends.

Chris Shaffer at Fishing Hunting News further comments on the effects of the pressure.

From 2000 to 2002, anglers could expect to catch 50 bass a day using live shad, but those numbers plummeted in recent years. Likely, the main reason was too much fishing pressure. Practically every angler dipped live shad, which made the bass wary of live bait. Still, you should still try them.

There are also several posts at Inside Sportfishing Magazine forum which talk about how tough the lake can be.

Does this mean you shouldn’t take a trip to Lake Casitas?  Absolutely not.  The fishing can produce the biggest largemouth anywhere.  Just make sure you do all your prep by reading this post and going to the links that I’ve included.  You may also want to check out a Lake Casitas guide service to get you started.

Lake Casitas Guide Services

Ojai Angler - Ojai Angler offers professional Bass fishing instruction and guide service in Southern California on Lake Casitas for exciting Bass fishing.

I found a fishing trip report of someone who spent sometime with Ojai Angler at World Wide Fishing Guide.  Here is a summary of the trip.

Fast-forward about 4 hours, and we are on our way back to the marina with a camera full of pictures of keeper bass. Although Mark spent almost all of his time teaching technique and helping me untangle bird’s nests, he caught a couple of gorgeous bass himself. Our total catch included 7 largemouth that were keepers and several smaller bass that had put up a good fight and were no less fun to catch. After taking a few more pictures with his digital camera, Mark and I release the remaining fish into the lake.

So Cal Bass Fishing - Provides those who wish to learn, a platform for advanced and beginning bass fishing education in a fun and safe environment.

Lake Casitas Fishing Maps

FishingMap.com has Lake Casitas fishing maps for sale.  Fisher.net has a basic map online.

Lake Casitas Camping

Camping for your fishing trip is available at Lake Casitas Recreation Area.   The camping area has 400 campsites. They have sites to accommodate tents, tent trailers, campers and RVs, all with picnic tables and fire rings, and some with children’s playgrounds close by. They also have a convenient, fenced, dry storage facility for recreational vehicles, boats, canoes & kayaks.

There is a detailed review of the camping facilities over at TripAdvisor.com.  This wasn’t a fishing trip but here’s the summary…

Another family and mine, recently went camping to Lake Casitas for the weekend (first week of July). We had a blast.

RVparkreviews.com also has some very positive reviews of the Lake Casitas Recreation Area.  Here’s one…

Great campground; there is even a waterpark for the kids. Close to town, but you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to. There is a store and a couple of places to get food. No swimming or skiing in the lake, but there is fishing. If you don’t have a boat you can rent one. We will definately go back. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

Trailer rentals are available through Lake Casitas Park Store.

Lake Casitas Boat Rentals

Lake Casitas Marina, Bait & Tackle Shop has boat rentals available.  They also have live bait, tackle, slip rentals and information to help you catch big fish. You can contact them at 805-649-2043.

Lake Casitas Boating Information

Here is some important boating information from Lake Casitas Recreation Area.

Boats must be a minimum of 11′ and a maximum of 26′ in length, and a minimum of 4′ wide. Canoes, kayaks and some inflatables are allowed. Inflatables must have a solid floor and transom, at least 3 chambers and 1′ of freeboard. They are subject to inspection before being allowed on the lake.

Also, boating is not allowed at night except for scheduled night tournaments.  Launches are available for a daily launching fee.

How about float tubes?

Fishermen using float tubes must obtain a Special Use Permit for Float Tubes available at the front gate, pay the day use boating fee, and wear dry, fully sealed waders. Float tubes are subject to inspection by Park Staff.

Lake Casitas Birding

In case you are interested, Lake Casitas offers has a lot of wildlife including lots of birds.  Birding America has a nice picture report that talks about all of the birds you may see on a fishing trip.  I understand that birding on the lake is best in the spring and winter.

Nonfishing Lake Casitas Activities

Biking is popular around the lake. The recreation area is adjacent to the Los Padres National Forest and opportunities for hiking.

That’s what I found for Lake Casitas, California. I have made my best effort to be as accurate as possible about the information provided but cannot guarantee its accuracy.  If you have anything to add for a fishing trip to Lake Casitas, please feel free to comment.  Also if you have taken a fishing trip to Lake Casitas and would like to write a report, let me know.