Before the skies darkened and started to rumble, the trout bite on Big Bear was pretty darn good. Anglers trolling the lake from Trout Alley to the dam enjoyed limit fishing from the surface to 15 feet down. Three colors of leadcore was the mark for Thomas Buoyants in gold and Needlefish in red dot frog. The surface action was best with Rapalas in gold/black, trolled way back at 150 feet. While flashers and crawlers had been hot, the bite fell off for this setup for now.

Lake temperatures are holding at 67 degrees at the dam to 69 near the west boat launch ramp. Temperatures should begin to drop as the days get shorter with less direct sunlight. Oxygen levels improved with high levels throughout the lake. While the oxygen is good everywhere the water temperatures are the reason the trout are concentrated in the western third of the lake. This last week Mike Stephenson, general manager of Big Bear Municipal Water District (BBMWD) gained enough confidence with the current conditions to do a trout plant. The BBMWD plant along with a Department of Fish and Wildlife plant has made for a lot of happy anglers.

Pan fish remain elusive as they are in other Southern California lakes. Nobody knows why they seem to be hiding out. They are not near the shore and appear to be suspended in deeper water, not willing to bite, or hold in large schools. Bass fishing remains good as the bass are holding in deeper water and coming up for buzz and crank baits and also drop-shotted baits. No news from the nocturnal anglers on the whisker fish at this time.

Big Bear Lake Marinas:
Big Bear Marina, 500 Paine Ct.: 909-866-3218
Captain John's Marina, 39369 North Shore Dr. (Hwy. 38)
Holloway's Marina & RV Park, 398 Edgemoor Road: 909-866-5706
Pine Knot Marina, 439 Pine Knot Ave.: 909-866-7766
Pleasure Point Marina, 603 Landlock Landing Road: 909-866-8455
North Shore Landing, 38573 Northshore Drive: 909-878-4386