Lake Cachuma, California 2024

crankbait2009 reply :

Looks like I'm going to be doing some travelling for work, and it just so happens I will be passing Lake Cachuma.

Figured id stop in for an hour or so and wet a line. Can anyone give me some tips on this lake? Are there places to fish from shore off of Route 154/San Marcos Pass Road

Can anyone give me any info?

BasshunterJGH reply :

When will you be there? This time is of year is super slow there and the fish are deep (10-40 feet) so bank fishing is even more difficult. You'll probably have the best luck fishing early in the morning with jerkbaits, jigs, and dropshot rigs. Jackrabbit flats and tequepis point are good places to fish along the pass. The ramp under Barona Shores campground used to be a great place to fish, now with the drought it's just a big shallow mud flat. Right now the smallmouth are definitely dominant, last fish I caught there was a 2 lb smallie on the left side of tequepis point by an old parking lot.

crankbait2009 reply :

from what I can tell, according to my route, I should be passing this lake on February 23rd. Estimating my actual time arriving at the lake should be around noon or so. I know that's another whammy against me, but it is what it is.

Even if I dont have any luck at all, its all good, i just need an entrance to the lake off of that San Marcos Pass Road, entrance not to far off the beaten path. get in, fish, get out, move on

when fishing from shore, is it muddy bottoms or boulder type rock?

BasshunterJGH reply :

On 2/14/2015 at 9:04 PM, crankbait2009 said:

from what I can tell, according to my route, I should be passing this lake on February 23rd. Estimating my actual time arriving at the lake should be around noon or so. I know that's another whammy against me, but it is what it is.

Even if I dont have any luck at all, its all good, i just need an entrance to the lake off of that San Marcos Pass Road, entrance not to far off the beaten path. get in, fish, get out, move on

when fishing from shore, is it muddy bottoms or boulder type rock?

February 23rd should be better than right now. It seems like the lake gets a little bit better every week. The structure on the lake is hard cover, mostly rock and timber. There are muddy areas too, be careful when walking around them you could lose your shoes! I forgot to mention fishing around the docks at the marina can be good as well. Marina is on Tequepis point. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck.

WRB reply :

I would fish the major point where the marina is located, the end of the point can be a good c-rig from shore (finesse slip shor rig) using 5"-6" Robo Oxblood red flake worms, 6 lb -8 lb leader with Owner 5133 size 1/0.

Tom

BasshunterJGH reply :

Follow WRBs advice and fish slow and you should be able to get some fish. Unfortunately there are few fishing situations harder than cachuma (which is already notorious for being a tough lake) in the middle of winter in the middle of a major drought from the bank. Don't be discouraged though, I've had some of my best days of fishing at cachuma.

crankbait2009 reply :

i really appreciate the feedback guys!! Once I return from the adventure, I'll definitely check back in with my results. good or bad

I see a Tequepis canyon, but i dont see a tequepis point.

BasshunterJGH reply :

On 2/15/2015 at 10:28 AM, crankbait2009 said:

i really appreciate the feedback guys!! Once I return from the adventure, I'll definitely check back in with my results. good or bad

I see a Tequepis canyon, but i dont see a tequepis point.

http://www.fishersnet.com/cachuma.htmlYou can see it on this map. Across from Johnson canyon.

crankbait2009 reply :

heyyyy, there it is.......

after looking at it on google, seems there are a number of roads back in there. Is there anywhere to park for free or do i have to pay a fee? Is it pretty easy to access the water at that point?

Here is what I see:

BasshunterJGH reply :

On 2/15/2015 at 10:10 PM, crankbait2009 said:

heyyyy, there it is.......

after looking at it on google, seems there are a number of roads back in there. Is there anywhere to park for free or do i have to pay a fee? Is it pretty easy to access the water at that point?

Here is what I see:

There is a 15 minute parking area just outside the gate (on the point) but that's it as far as free parking. There are parking lots on tequepis point if you pay the $10 fee to get in. It is easy to access the water from most of those parking areas.

crankbait2009 reply :

so lets break this down......

Obviously space is an issue since this thing called "work" gets in the way , if i were to bring three lures/baits with me.......what would you recommend for the waters and time of year im fishing at this lake? Would they be:

jerkbaits, jigs, and dropshot rigs (colors?)

BasshunterJGH reply :

On 2/16/2015 at 9:03 AM, crankbait2009 said:

so lets break this down......

Obviously space is an issue since this thing called "work" gets in the way , if i were to bring three lures/baits with me.......what would you recommend for the waters and time of year im fishing at this lake? Would they be:

jerkbaits, jigs, and dropshot rigs (colors?)

Jerkbaits, football jigs and drospshot/splitshot rigs are definitely a good place to start. Good colors for jerkbaits are see-through colors like ghost shad and ghost bluegill. Football jigs, black and blue, pb&j and green pumpkin will cover the bases. Dropshot rigs, I would use rigs with roboworms in purple and ghost colors.

crankbait2009 reply :

hey.....this sounds familiar

thanks

WRB reply :

Use the stuff I mentioned in your other CA fishing thread at Cahcuma.

Check out Cold Spring Tavern while you are in the area near San Marcos pass bridge, hwy 154.

As you can see our lakes are very low pool, easy shore walking.

I believe you can park at the marina free and walk the shore line.

Mid day you may not have much luck with reaction lures.

Tom

crankbait2009 reply :

very good, thank you

fisherrw reply :

Tubes on the points are another good option.

fisherrw reply :

Also as both wrb and BassHunterJGH said roboworms worked slow are another good option. Also jerkbaits such as lc Stacey 90s which you can find on tackle warehouse have always been good for me. Pm me and I'll let you know a few other secrets and were the best fishing spots are. Cachuma is my home lake.!!

nickyfins reply :

call the guys over at the fly stop in san diego and they can straighten you out, particularly john. They do a lot of kinds of san diego fishing out of there shop but the guys there love to bass fish. They are always posting fish on their twitter so I am sure they can give you dets on that particular lake.

Shanes7614 reply :

Isn't cachuma near ventura/LA counties border?

fisherrw reply :

no its near santa ynez ca in between that and santabarbra

BasshunterJGH reply :

On 2/24/2015 at 12:21 AM, Shanes7614 said:
Isn't cachuma near ventura/LA counties border?

You might be thinking Casitas. Cachuma, Castaic and Casitas are easy to get confused.

fisherrw reply :

Yep got that BassHunterJGH

Shanes7614 reply :

my mistake. I was actually thinking cachuma was lake pyramid. I don't know the exact location of cachuma. Lol

crankbait2009 reply :

here is a disappointing update.

I did end up making it to the lake as I wanted; well sorta.

with me travelling for work, and not knowing what was around (on the fly), I didn't want to go off the beaten path trying to look for a store to obtain a fishing license. I called a few sporting goods stores in the area and they both told me they didn't sell them. So I ventured out to the lake in hopes they'd sell them there or id run into a shop that did. It just so happens that the marina does in fact sell licenses, but there printer was broke, and has been since the first of the year. So the kid there helped me buy one online, as I ventured through the site to purchase, I got to the end and it said visa or master card ONLY. I have one credit card to my name and it was not one of those!! I was disappointed at that point. Thought about chancing it just so I could wet the line but figured it was not worth the risk of getting caught. So I enjoyed the 65 degree weather for about 20 minutes and watched the lake. The water level was really low. There were a few pontoon boats out and about. Few people came in saying they got skunked. the kid at the marina said the largemouth and smallmouth were hitting crankbaits. (Berkley flickershad to be exact). He even told me where to fish from shore where the bass were, But I never got the chance.

so, I drove in, paid $10, got denied a fishing license, and 30 minutes later, I left to head to my next location for work. ah well, money went back to the park anyways.

thanks for the help everyone, Hopefully someone else can use the info you offered.

till next time.

fisherrw reply :

That sucks I'll give you a report since I'm going there tommorw.

BasshunterJGH reply :

On 2/25/2015 at 1:26 PM, crankbait2009 said:

here is a disappointing update.

I did end up making it to the lake as I wanted; well sorta.

with me travelling for work, and not knowing what was around (on the fly), I didn't want to go off the beaten path trying to look for a store to obtain a fishing license. I called a few sporting goods stores in the area and they both told me they didn't sell them. So I ventured out to the lake in hopes they'd sell them there or id run into a shop that did. It just so happens that the marina does in fact sell licenses, but there printer was broke, and has been since the first of the year. So the kid there helped me buy one online, as I ventured through the site to purchase, I got to the end and it said visa or master card ONLY. I have one credit card to my name and it was not one of those!! I was disappointed at that point. Thought about chancing it just so I could wet the line but figured it was not worth the risk of getting caught. So I enjoyed the 65 degree weather for about 20 minutes and watched the lake. The water level was really low. There were a few pontoon boats out and about. Few people came in saying they got skunked. the kid at the marina said the largemouth and smallmouth were hitting crankbaits. (Berkley flickershad to be exact). He even told me where to fish from shore where the bass were, But I never got the chance.

so, I drove in, paid $10, got denied a fishing license, and 30 minutes later, I left to head to my next location for work. ah well, money went back to the park anyways.

thanks for the help everyone, Hopefully someone else can use the info you offered.

till next time.

Well sorry to hear it didn't work out. Better luck next time.

WRB reply :

Big 5 Sporting Goods stores sell fishing license, most smaller mom & pop stores don't.

Take the information and apply it to where you fish, the presentations work everywhere.

Tom

crankbait2009 reply :

to change directions on this thread a bit..........

as I was heading to different cities for work, I passed through a city called Moreno Valley. Between the site visits I had to do and the hotel I was in at the end, I was able to stop at a lake called Lake Perris or Perris Reservoir.

Had to ask a gas station attendant where to obtain a fishing license. Luckily there was a walmart 2 miles down the road. CHA CHING!!

took the associates awhile to figure out how to get me a license since I was not a resident of Cali. but whatever, I got it and was happier than a pig in mud!

So off to the lake I went. Had to pay $10 to get in to this lake as well. d**n, California is expensive. (don't see these type of fees in Ohio ) But whatever. Water was super duper low at this lake too. temps were between 60-70. I was out there from 2:30-4:00. Threw some cranks, plastics, but no luck. There were about 4-5 other boats on the water, all around the boat docks fishing, which is where I was. I didn't see anyone catch anything in that time frame either. I saw the guys on the boats throwing chatterbaits and spinnerbaits.......

Seems the whole mid-southern part of the state is going through a drought.

At least I got my license now. I will need it on Monday and Tuesday when I hit the San Diego area.

tight lines

fisherrw reply :

Good luck hope you have some since you had not so good luck at Cachuma!!

BobbyNitro reply :

How'd you do in San diego? It has been a while since i fished down there.

Fisherwr reply :

Any recent reports for the lake??

WRB reply :

WON 31 July reports the smallmouth are biting soft plastics and crankbaits, the report is usually about 2 weeks old.

The last I heard was no private boat launching, marina ramp is dry.

Tom

*Hank reply :

On 8/4/2015 at 11:01 AM, Fisherwr said:
Any recent reports for the lake??

I was there recently catching Lmb's and Smbs on football jigs and tubes.

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Lake Cachuma, California 2024

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