Biting bass relating to shad schools all over the lake
BY MIKE STEVENS
LAKESIDE – The San Diego City Lakes seem like they’ve been quiet on the trophy-largemouth front this summer, but the big bass bell has been run multiple times as anglers round the final stretch toward fall.
Bruce Smith of the San Diego Bass Fishing Podcast recently tapped El Capitan Reservoir for another double-digit largie to add to his record book. That one was a 10.71 pounder that ate a crankbait.
“The bite out there has been excellent on a variety of reaction baits in the early morning and then switches to assorted plastics on drop-shots and Texas rigs,” Smith told Western Outdoor News.
There was another report with photos of a bass in that same weight class caught by a kayak angler who didn’t have a scale. He hit up a nearby basser to weigh it, and it fell just short of double digits at 9 pounds and change.
The story for several weeks now has been the prevalence of baitfish of El Cap, and a good number of reports are suggesting a wide range of baits and tactics will get the job done. That includes stickbaits, plastic minnows on a jighead, cranks and various match-the-hatch lures when it comes to mimicking those baitfish that, at times, are flying out of the water when a cast lands on top of them. Most of these shad are in the 3- to 4-inch range, so anglers should imitate accordingly.
Angler pressure has been on the heavy side, but the bass are staying active especially when they corral baitfish schools in coves and in shallow, grassy areas. When this bass vs baitfish activity is not blowing up on the surface, anglers working their electronics have been able to locate bass suspending, still relating to baitfish schools and still willing to bite.
El Capitan Reservoir is open from a half our before sunrise to sunset, Friday through Tuesday, and it’s closed on the first Friday of each month.
