With very little angler or boat pressure now and until the snow blows, the fishing can only be described as AWESOME! Water temperatures have dropped to an ideal 54 degrees from top to bottom and east to west on the lake. Oxygen levels are high enough to support the trout throughout the lake. The bottom lines is that the trout are everywhere.

Whatever your favorite method of fishing for trout is, it should work now and for weeks to come. Trolling with leadcore line is the best way to fish the lake. If you don't have leadcore don't be afraid to troll the surface with straight mono. When trolling the leadcore try Needlefish, Buoyants, Helgys or Rapalas in your favorite colors, for the flatline mono go with CD Rapalas in gold/black, silver/black or my favorite rainbow. Bait anglers can score trout in their favorite spots, or by drift fishing the lake with Eagle Claw Nitro and nightcrawlers.

There are a lot of big fish in the lake, perhaps a new lake record, so keep a loose drag, take your time and wear the fish down. Tip up...tight line and good fishing to you!

A very large catfish was landed at Big Bear Marina on 10/20 Marco Cervantes and Joe O'Neal (local newspaper article did not specify who caught it) from Orange County took the reported 32 lb. fish on a nightcrawler. The lake record is 28lb. 4oz. and this could have been the new record if the angler had brought it to a marina or the Municipal Water District.

Two large Big Bear Bows did come in recently....Tracy Stockett of Las Vegas took a 6lb. 5oz. while trolling a needlefish off Metcalf Bay with Cantrell Guide Service. Mike Wells of Erwin Lake landed a 6lb. 3oz. rainbow west of the Observatory while trolling a Thomas Buoyant.