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Updated Oct. 23, 2025

CASTAIC LAKE – “There was excellent fishing this week, in spite of the storms,” Guide Jim Taibi of 661fishing.com. Larger, 3- to 5- pound largemouth are following shad schools into Hawks Nest and Old SS., where they’ll hit Sammys and Gunfish on top early. During the day, Taibi recommends dropping a spoon down to 30 feet out in the middle of the aforementioned coves. The stripers are hitting in these coves too, so the next topwater strike could be either species. Launching is at the West Ramp only, and THE LAKE IS CLOSED ON MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS.

CUYAMACA LAKE – DFW stocked the lake with trout last week, with another scheduled for next week, and there are still a few lunkers leftover from the Fishin’ the Pines Derby. Overall, the bite is pretty solid for anglers getting on the lake before 9 a.m., with fishing really tapering off after that. The fish are just starting to move shallow as water temps dip with the cold nights. The next month or so should produce some excellent fishing. Mice Tails, minijigs, nightcrawlers, and PowerBait worked at spots like Chambers Park, Lone Pine Tree, and near the boat ramp will see the best results.

DIXON LAKE – Slow to fair fishing for bass and catfish right now. There is a year-round population of shallow bass here, but they’re generally the toughest to catch so anglers should focus on deeper water with t-rigs or dropshots. Catfish will hit mackerel at the bouyline or Trout Cove. Trout season should be happening in the second or third week of November, but it all depends on water temps.

DIAMOND VALLEY LAKE – Several 6- to 8-pound stripers have been weighed in in the past few weeks. Shrimp, anchovy or sardine pieces have been getting both the school sized fish, with shrimp taking some of the nicer models. Light line, 8 pound at the heaviest, leads to some tough battles against the bigger ones. The largemouth are available on primary and secondary points in 25- to 30- feet of water. They’ll hit a jig, t-rigged worm, or dropshot. A swimbait is a good fall option here too, although few anglers fish them before the trout arrive. The lake is open Wednesday through Sunday, with half-off boat rentals on Wednesday. Also, effective immediately, the lake no longer accepts boats with Lake Perris or Lake Silverwood Stickers. Anglers that arrive with said stickers will be subjected to extra inspection. Hours are now 6:30a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.

EL CAPITAN RESERVOIR – Crowds are light with the ramp being closed, and the reports from tubers, yakkers and shore guys range from very good to slow. A few fish are being reported on topwater, while others say they can only land them on plastics. Creature baits worked just offshore in that 5- to 8- foot zone is a good bet. As the water cools, a spoon vertically jigged off of deeper points is a good option too.

GREGORY LAKE – Not a lot of reports showed up on the high-speed WON radar, but we can confirm trout season kicked off with 1,700 pounds of DFW rainbows going in on Oct. 7, and 1,000 pounds of Calaveras trout are slated to go in this week. A pair of follow up plants from that hatchery are already on the books after the one that went in this week. Over 3,000 pounds of catfish were stocked over the last three months. There is now a “walk-in” tackle shop open on site. Gregory popped up on the DFW stocking schedule for the week of October 6, so that will be worth keeping an eye on.

HEMET LAKE – Trout season kicked off in “surprise” fashion as the DFW snuck in and made a delivery. There is still an algae bloom going on, and it has resulted in lake officials to postpone the first private stocking of Mount Lassen rainbows and lightning trout until January. That being said, it looks like the DFW fish are doing fine despite the bloom, so there are trout to catch right now. Lake Hemet marina is now closed every Tuesday and Wednesday. Keep tabs on WONews.com under the TOURNAMENTS tab for the announcement of the dates for the 2026 WON Big Trout Campout (likely late April).

HENSHAW LAKE— Fishing pressure is pretty light right now with the launch ramp out of action due to low water levels. WON will be keeping an eye out for any announcement of the ramps opening back up. Shore fishing is still available.

HESPERIA LAKE – A 1,000 pound stock of catfish went in last Friday, and the fishing is getting more consistent now with the weather cooling and more anglers making it out. The catfish here prefer mackerel or shrimp, but there are occasionally nightcrawler or chicken liver fish caught too. Trout season will kick off in mid-November, depending on water temps. Night fishing has ceased here, and as of October 1, the lake is open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The lake will be closed to fishing on October 25 for a car show and Fall Festival.

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