FRESHWATER REPORT

Lake Casitas: The bass have moved to shallow water, according to Randy King of the Casitas boat rental office.

"We're seeing them at 10 to 15 feet and guys are having best luck with plastics, night crawlers and swimbait," King said.

Richard Godinez of Oxnard found the new conditions to his liking, as he hauled in an 1112-pound bass on swimbait. King called it the best fish he's seen in the last few weeks.

Brandon LeMay of Ojai caught his limit of bass; with the average weight being around 3 pounds and with no fish more than 4 pounds.

Tyler Hoffman of Ventura landed a 14-pound catfish on swimbait.

The last set of storms raised the water level at the lake by almost a foot, creating a new weed line for fish and anglers alike. The water temperature also dropped about 5 degrees due to the rain, but King said the water temperature is on the rise. And with the warm weather he expects the water temperature to soon be in the low 60s which is an optimum temperature for fishing.

King reminds anglers coming up to fish that the U.S. Department of Fish and Game continues to try and prevent potential problems with Quagga mussels by banning any boat with wet holds to enter the lake.

"The live wells in all boats must be completely clean and dry," King said. "Everyone needs to remember to pull their bilge plug.

"There can't be any water at all and there is a zero-tolerance policy right now. Any boat not complying is going to face a 28-day suspension."

King said there's a good chance that in the next month or two the policy will be a little less restrictive, so anglers need to be patient.

Lake hours: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Castaic Lake: A trout plant of 1,500 pounds failed to bring stripers up. Some small stripers have been taken from the shoreline on the west ramp of the dam and near the marina. The largemouth bass are up closer to shore, taking all kinds of plastics and swimbaits.

Trout are being taken using powerbait, gold lures and gulp dough bait and some small plastics.

Danny Gutierrez of Oxnard and his family caught a combination of trout and bass from the shoreline using powerbait and swimbait.

Lake hours: 7 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Lake Piru: Anglers are being warned that due to the recent storms, there is some floating debris on the lake and they should be cautious.

Trout are being caught trolling on the surface with 5-colors, using kastmasters, needlefish or rapalas.

Bass are being caught anywhere from 15 to 40 feet using plastics and jigs.

Lake hours: 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SALTWATER REPORT

Channel Islands Sportfishing has resumed daily boats. The Cobra leaves each morning at 4 a.m. The Gentleman departs at 6 a.m.

Two-day treks aboard the Ranger 85 begin Feb. 29 and conclude May 16. Cost is $350 and includes snacks and beverages.

Channel Islands continue to run its halibut derby. The cost is $60 for the trip and $10 for the entry fee.

Daniel McFarland, who works in the office at Channel Islands, said whale-watching trips continue to be offered. On Monday through Friday the trips are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. On weekends, boats leave at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

McFarland also added hoop-netting continues to be offered, with nets supplied to anglers. Some lobsters have been caught during recent trips.

Capt. Hook's will hold its next halibut derby this Sunday. Cost is $60 and the boat leaves at 6 a.m. A weekly prize is offered, along with an end of the tournament prize that will be awarded at the end of March.

Jeff Grodin, owner of Capt. Hook's said there have been no weekly winners so far, so this week's prize is expected to be somewhere between $500 and $700.

Capt. Hook's is taking reservations for the March 1 opening of rockfishing. Boats are already filling up, so anglers interested in taking part should call for reservations.

Port Hueneme Sportfishing is taking reservations for open party trips on March 1-2 on the Pacific Eagle. The boat will leave 10 p.m. the night before and fish the next day. Each trip will feature a limited load of 20.

— Compiled by Bob Buttitta