Holiday Boaters Take Over

A holiday weekend invasion of water skiers and other boaters at warm-water lakes sent fish running for cover generally, but landing operators say they’re still there.

Winnie Cartwright at Lake Silverwood said striped bass catches have seldom been better, except for the weekend.

“Last week we had a mess of ‘em caught,” she said. “But when the boats are running crazy and everybody and his kid brother is going every which way, you don’t get fish coming to the top.”

BULLHEAD CITY--Trout good on Colorado River, with Berkley Powerbait or Blue Fox spinner lure best bets. Striped bass slow but good size on river, few from lake. Anchovies or silver spoons best bets. Larry Stormant, Bullhead City, 16 1/2-pound striper on silver spoon below dam before dawn.

LAKE CACHUMA--Catfish good in shallow water on mackerel. Glen Licht, Lomita, three catfish, 28 1/2 pounds. Some bluegill.

LAKE CASITAS--Fishing slow and deep over the weekend because of heavy boat traffic. Trout best bet, trolling 6-10 colors to 60 feet with needlefish, Triple Teasers and small Castmasters. Some largemouth bass at 25-30 feet. Castmasters best bet. Catfish biting at 40 feet, mainly on mackerel.

PYRAMID LAKE--Lake record 2 1/2-pound crappie by Gary Wheeler of Quartz Hills, using mini-jigs at the dam. His four fish totaled 8 3/4 pounds. Roy Powell Jr., Chatsworth, catfish of 9 and 10 1/2 pounds on nightcrawlers at Priest Cove. Sean Russell, Burbank, two 3 1/2-pound largemouth bass caught on plastic worms by the island.

LAKE PIRU--Many trout limits during week, but anglers generally turned the lake over to water skiers on the weekend. A few bass on nightcrawlers and plastic worms. Barney Neil, Canoga Park, six-pound catfish on mackerel.

LAKE CASTAIC--Trout slow, but bluegills excellent, with meal worms or red worms working best. Largemouth bass bite still good at upper lake, using plastic worms and nightcrawlers. Catfish good on nightcrawlers and cut mackerel. Therman Calloway, Pacoima, 11- and 12-pound catfish on mackerel at the upper lake. Bernard DeGracia, Alhambra, 6 3/4-pound bass at the lower lake with a black Auger-Tail.

LAKE ISABELLA--Good for catfish using mackerel, clams and nightcrawlers. Some largemouth bass, with live minnows, waterdogs and crawfish working. Trout, bluegills and crappie slow.

IRVINE LAKE--Night fishing excellent, especially for catfish on mackerel. Stefanie Ramsey, Brea, a 22-pound catfish near dam. Trout slow. Largemouth bass biting on spinner baits and plastic worms. Some crappie at night by docks, biting primarily on chartreuse mini-jigs or yellow and white bullet jigs.

LAKE PERRIS--Good for bluegill, catfish and legally undersize bass (less than 15 inches). One 1 3/4-pound bluegill caught with piece of skipjack for bait.

LAKE SKINNER--Catfish excellent on mackerel and nightcrawlers. Tony Tamayo, Riverside, a 5 3/4-pound bass, the lake’s largest this year, on a silver spoon at ramp 2 at 6:30 a.m. Trout are deep and dormant. Dennis Driml, Moreno Valley, a 9-pound, 1-ounce catfish using a nightcrawler west of marina. Catfish running from 2 to 5 pounds.

SALTON SEA--Orangemouth corvina from 15 to 18 pounds being caught in early mornings at Marina Beach.

BIG BEAR LAKE--Trout 10-13 inches hitting on baitfish and Powerbait. Trolling good with flashers, crawlers or needlefish. Steve West of Riverside caught and released a dozen bass up to 2 1/2 pounds, using spinner bait with white skirt. Lots of catfish 2 to 5 pounds on chicken livers and cut mackerel. Bluegill good on red worms and crappie on white crappie jigs.

LAKE SILVERWOOD--Striped bass have been running strong. Lee Johnson, Lake Arrowhead, three stripers at 28, 15 and 12 pounds, all in channel. Cliff Whitehead and Russ Mayhew, Apple Valley, 65 pounds of stripers--one 31 pounds--in channel on Pencil Poppers. A few trout and bass along shore. Catfish good.

BISHOP AREA--Crickets producing on Owens River. Elk hair caddies flies working on wild trout area below Pleasant Valley Reservoir. Most baits working for planted rainbows. Trolling five colors and needlefish lure or worms working best at Sabrina, but several limits of 12- to 14-inch trout coming on other baits. Bishop Creek producing some browns, with several baits working.

JUNE LAKE--Power Bait and red salmon eggs on bottom with sliding sinker working best at June Lake. Trollers using 7-8 colors and nickel needlefish doing well, also. Gull Lake: Best bets with salmon eggs or worm-marshmallow combination, or trolling 5-6 colors and red dot needlefish.

BRIDGEPORT AREA--Limits of fish to 1 3/4 pounds common, mostly taken from boats on Power Bait, salmon eggs or inflated nightcrawlers. East Walker River good for catch-and-release fishermen using flies or large Panther Martin lures. Virginia Lakes producing several limits of pan-sized rainbows on standard baits.

Trout Plants

A list of waters scheduled to be planted by the Department of Fish and Game, weather and road conditions permitting, by counties:

LOS ANGELES--Arroyo Seco Creek, Upper Big Tujunga Creek, El Dorado Park Lake, Malibu Lake, Peck Road Park Lake, Piru Creek (Frenchman’s Flat), Pyramid Lake, Puddingstone Lake, Santa Fe Reservoir.

ORANGE--Laguna Niguel Park Lake.

SAN BERNARDINO--Lytle Creek (Middle and North forks), Prado Park Lake, Silverwood Lake.

RIVERSIDE--Evans Lake, Perris Lake.

SAN DIEGO--Doane Pond, San Luis Rey River, Sweetwater River.

VENTURA--Matilija Creek, Reyes Creek, Rose Valley Lake, Santa Paula Creek, Upper Sespe Creek, Ventura River (North Fork).

INYO--Cottonwood Creek, Diaz Lake, George Creek, Independence Creek, Lone Pine Creek, Tuttle Creek.