Location: Santa Margarita Lake is located about 225 north of Los Angeles, 8 miles off Hwy 101, just east of the community of Santa Margarita.

Elevation: 1300 above sea level.

Size: Santa Margarita is 7 miles long, has 1100 surface acres, and has 22 miles of shoreline.

Phone Numbers: Main Phone (805) 438-5485. Marina (805) 438-4682.

Fees: Day use is $5.00. Boat Launch is $4.00. Annual day use is $50.00. Annual Boat Launch is $50.00.

Species Present and Lake Records: Largemouth Bass 10lbs 12oz. Smallmouth Bass 5lbs 8oz. Striped Bass 32lbs. Channel Catfish 23lbs 8oz. Crappie 3lbs 14oz. Bluegill no record. Rainbow Trout 7lbs 7oz. Also present are, threadfin shad, golden shinners,and green sunfish.

Facilities: There are 2 multi-lane launch ramps, full service marina, store, boat rentals, pic-nic areas, campgrounds, and swimming pool.

ANGLERS OUTPOST MARINA....THEY ARE OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND ARE FULLY STOCKED.....THEY SAY....IF YOU ARE TOO BUSY TO FISH...YOU ARE JUST TOO BUSY.

About the Lake: The best thing about Santa Margarita is that there are NO WATER SKIERS or JET SKIERS. This is a drinking water reservoir for the City of San Luis Obispo, and body contact is strictly forbidden. Santa Margarita is a great fishing lake. It is open year-round, and has good supplies of bass and catfish. Boats must be off the lake at dusk. The lake is nestled in among oak and pine covered hills, with some fantastic rocky crag formations. Just recently, camping has been allowed within the lakes park boundaries. The lake and campgrounds are operated by San Luis Obispo County.

Margarita can offer some great bass fishing. They can be taken in all the usual ways. The lake is loaded with all kinds of structure, and it is not difficult to locate fish. The biggest fish are taken in March and April, during the spring spawn. When the water begins to warm there is an explosion of weed growth. This makes shore fishing difficult. This also gives the bass a good place to hide. Late summer fishing requires you to fish deep into these weeds. Twitching a weedless frog across the tops of the weeds, can result in some heartstopping strikes. Largemouth average 2 to 3lbs here. Some say there are smallmouth in the lake, and there is an established lake record, but I've never caught one or even talked to anyone who has caught one.

Stripers can be taken throughout the year. During the summer months they tend to suspend in deeper water, and are very difficult to locate. November thru April is the best time for stripers. During this time both San Luis Obispo County and the DFG plant rainbow trout. When these trout plants occur, the stripers really turn on. They will gorge themselves on these trout. At this time trout imitations like the AC Plug work best. The county does'nt like feeding the stripers, so they have recently started stocking larger trout, some up to 8lbs. This makes the trout fishermen very happy.

Crappie fishing here at Margarita can be pretty good. Mid to late March will find the crappie in their spawning season. They can be found the easiest at this time. They seem to prefer 4 to 10 feet of water, directly in front of the tule patches. Most of the usual crappie jigs will work, but I have found that a 1/16oz leadhead with a 1 1/2 inch chartreuse curly tail grub works best. Cast it out toward the tules and reel in very slowly. The bites will be light, so be alert. Later in the summer crappie can be found in 10 to 20 feet of water around submerged brush or trees that have fallen into the water. The Narrows and the docks at the marina are good places to find them.

Margarita offers some good opportinities to catch some really nice catfish. The lake record is 23lbs 8oz, and 15 to 18lb fish are often caught. Channel cats are the most abundant, but yellow cats are also present. Cut mackerel is the best bait, although fresh or fresh dead shad works well also. I use a sliding sinker rig with a #2 baitholder hook. A baitcasting reel with a line out alarm is helpful in catching these catfish. Find an underwater hunp with weeds growing on it and fish in 12 to 20 feet of water, around the hump, up close to the weed line. The swimming pool cove and the back of the Narrows are two of my favorite spots.

Bluegill here, like most lakes, are prolific and can be found just about anywhere around the lake. The backs of coves are excellent bluegill spots. For larger bluegill, fish deeper water, 10 feet or more. Larger bluegill, believe it or not, can be taken with a tiny piece of cut mackerel. Standard bluegill baits are red worms, meal worms, and micro-mini jigs.