BY MIKE STEVENS
HESPERIA – The quality and quantity trout drums continue to beat at Hesperia Lake, and an off-season surprise made it’s way on to the big-fish list.
Powered by continued weekly 1,000-pound deliveries from Mt. Lassen, rainbow trout are still providing limit-style action for anglers drop-shotting black or white plastic minnows or dunking garlic nightcrawlers or PowerBait. The last two trout plants arrived on Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, and it’s safe to say the next one will get dumped in on Feb. 11.
The top recent trout catch was a 7.5 pounder bagged by “Charlie from Rialto” who was using garlic PowerBait at Sandy Point. The average size of the stockers are 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, but good numbers in the 2- to 4-pound range are also being caught, and double-digit models seem to sneak in with those stocks at Hesperia Lake more frequently than most SoCal trout holes. The hot spots for trout include the North Shore, Finger Cove and the Drain.
The runner-up on lunker list was a surprise 6.5-pound catfishthat was also caught at Sandy Point. The local angler known only as “Tony” was actually tareting cats, and that one ate a hunk of cut mackerel.
The water temp is 44 degrees and the water level is normal.