Three plants result in an excellent trout bite at Santa Ana River Lakes

Two trout plants on Wednesday and another plant on Friday led to excellent rainbow trout action at Santa Ana River Lakes last week. Add in the brown trout and sturgeon planted the previous week, along with the warm weather starting to turn on the catfish action, and it's easy to understand why SARL is one of the most popular fishing waters in Southern California.

Sierra Bows from Mt. Lassen Trout Farms and Nebraska Tailwalkers from Chalk Mound Trout Ranch were planted on March 24th, and that was followed up on March 26 with a plant of the Ruby Red Steelhead from Jess Ranch. The fish didn't waste any time to start feeding, whacking rainbow and chartreuse floating baits doused with garlic scent shortly after hitting the water. Meanwhile, the brown trout planted the previous week are showing almost exclusively on small spinners like Roostertails and Panther Martins. The sturgeon still aren't being targeted by anglers (shrimp are the best bait), but a few are being caught on nightcrawlers and floating trout baits by accident.

The big tout of the week was a 16 1/2-pound rainbow landed by Rey de Jesus, Lomita, while fishing with a Eagle Claw egg just to the right on the boat ramp. Six-pound rainbows were landed by Rodney Lopez, Hacienda Heights, to top off an 11-4 limit caught on nightcrawlers landed at Three Pipes, while Jimmy Chiu, Anaheim, landed his six-pounder on a nightcrawler at the Bubble Hole.

Robert Mitchell, Gardena, had one of the best stringers of the week, landing just four trout that weighed a total of 14-4, including a 5-2 rainbow, all caught from off the Toad Road on rainbow floating bait. Paul Carrasco and Tasha Hazelwood, both Highland, caught a mix of 11 browns and rainbows that weighed 27 pounds, including a five-pound 'bow. They were landed on nightcrawlers and dough baits at Three Pipes. Arturo Velasquez, West Covina, have five browns that weighed 14 1/2 pounds, all on Panther Martins at the spillway. Alex Matsuoka, Anaheim, had five rainbows that went 9-4, including a 5 1/2-pounder on chartreuse dough bait, also at Three Pipes.

The best sturgeon of the week was a 11 1/2-pounder caught by Pedro Villa Anaheim, from Chris' Pond on floating bait, while Bill Oune, Fountain Valley, had a 7 3/4-pound, also on floating bait. Ruben Nieto, San Jacinto, caught a six-pound sturgeon and three rainbows on nightcrawlers at Levitz' Corner.

One of the few anglers targeting catfish this past week, John Williams, Pasadena, caught a 9 1/4-pounder fishing squid off the sandy beach, while Connor Blake, Monrovia, landed an eight-pounder on a nightcrawler at the Bubble Hole.

Anglers landing a limit or a trout over five pounds can get a free one-year subscription to Western Outdoor News if they report their catch at the tackle shop and have photos taken. Existing subscribers can get half off on a one-year renewal.

Santa Ana River Lakes is open seven days a week with fishing allowed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on day passes or from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on an evening pass. Each of these passes is $22. Seniors only pay $20, with a special $17 pass sold on Wednesdays. All of these passes have a five-fish limit. For kids 4 to 13, a three-fish pass is just $9. The 24-hour passes are sold once a month on Friday and Saturday nights nearest the full moon. These passes remain just $60. Anglers can bring a spouse and up to three kids to help fill the 24-hour pass 15-fish limit. For Santa Ana River Lakes fishing information, call 714-632-7830 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com