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Lake San Antonio Information
Location: Lake San Antonio is located west of Hwy 101, between Paso Robles and King City. It is about 250 miles north of Los Angeles. Take the Jolon Rd exit and follow the G-18 for the north shore. For the south shore, take the 24th St exit in Paso Roble and follow the G-14 to the lake.
Elevation: 800
feet above sea level. 
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Size: San Antonio
is about 16 miles long and has 5000 surface acres. It has over 60 miles of shoreline. 
Phone Numbers: Main Phone (805) 472-2311. South shore Marina (805) 472-2818. North Shore Store (805) 472-2203.
Fees: Day use is
$6.00. Boat Launch is $5.00. Annual Day use is $65.00. Annual Boat Launch is $50.00.
Species Present and Lake Records: Largemouth Bass 9lbs 4oz. Smallmouth Bass 3lbs 14oz. Striped Bass 36lbs 4oz. Crappie 3lbs 8oz. Channel Catfish 25lbs. Bluegill 1lb 12oz. Also present are European Carp, Squawfish, Threadfin Shad, Redear
Sunfish, and Giant Goldfish.
Facilities: San Antonio has over 650 campsites. There are 3 multi-lane launch ramps, a full service marina, a restaurant, 2 stores, a laundry, picnic area, hiking trails, bicycle trails, and a swimming beach.
About the Lake:
San Antonio has alot to offer the outdoors enthusiast. The 650 campsites at the lake are
located in the Lynch, Harris Creek, and North Shore areas. Some of these campsites are
visited by deer that will take a piece of bread right out of your hand. There are miles of
well marked hiking trails, and bicycle trails too. The Wildflower Festival is held here
every spring, and is a popular event for many of the locals. At certain times of the year
eagle watching tours are available. There are lots of Bald Eagles, that call the area
around San Antonio, home. The lake is surrounded by oak covered hills on the south shore
and sparsely vegetated hills on the north shore. The lake is operated by the Monterey
County Parks and Recreation Department.
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Striper
fishing at San Antonio is like the song, when you're hot you're hot and when you're not
you're not. Stripers here are big, with the lake record at 36lbs 4oz. The average striper
will weigh about 15lbs. During the summer, casting into boiling surface feeding stripers
is a guaranteed hook-up. You should always keep a rod ready, with a Zara Spook tied on,
just in case a boil erupts in front of you. If you don't, the boil will be gone before you
have a chance to tie on that topwater bait. Trolling is a popular method of fishing for
stripers, both shallow and deep with downriggers, depending on the feeding pattern.
Casting into the shoreline, in shallow water with topwater baits like Zara Spooks can also
be productive. This works best in early morning and late evening hours. Another good
method is to catch some live shad and flyline a live bait with a #6 lightwire hook and a
splitshot. Shad can be dipped early in the morning, from the docks at the marina. Popular
striper lures here are, Zara Spooks, 1 to 2oz White Hair Raisers, Big Macs, AC Plugs, and
Hopkins Spoons. Good striper hang-outs are, around the marina, Three Fingers Cove, The
Chalk Cliffs, and The Dam.
Smallmouth
are abundant at San Antonio. They average 1 1/2 to 2lbs, with the lake record at 3lbs
14oz. I have personally caught smallies larger than that, not knowing what the lake record
was at the time. Shad and crawdad color crankbaits work good here for smallies. The best
time for smallmouth is March thru June. The points around the mouth of Harris Creek, the
White Chalk Cliffs, and most other main lake rocky points are good spots.
Largemouth
bass average 2lbs here at San Antonio, with the record at 9lbs 4oz. The spring, early
summer and fall are prime largemouth times. All the usual plastics and jigs work well
here, with main lake points holding lots of fish. The south shore, from Harris Creek to
the dam is good largemouth territory. Shad colored crankbaits account for good catches and
topwaters are productive early and late. One good rule to remember here is, fish shallow
early and move out to deeper water as to day progresses.
Catfish
bite good from March thru November. The usual baits are, cut mackerel, anchovies,
nightcrawlers, and live or fresh dead shad. Waterdogs work good to entice the bigger cats
to bite. There are channel cats and blue cats here. They average a respectable 10lbs, with
the lake record at 25lbs even. The last cove to the right of the dam, Bee Rock Cove, and
the Shallows are top producers of catfish. Night fishing is allowed at San Antonio and
many catfishermen will take advantage of the nightfishing opportunity.
Crappie
fishing here has been good for the past few years. Crappie here average 1 1/2lbs, with the
record a 3lbs 8oz slab. The best crappie fishing occurs October thru June. 1/16oz white,
or chartreuse crappie jigs work best here. Most good crappie fishermen here, will tip
their jigs with a meal worm to increase their catch. Harris Creek, the marina, any of the
boat docks, and any of the brushy coves, including the Shallows with all the stick-ups,
are good crappie spots.
Redear
and bluegill bite all year long. They can be found just about anywhere along the shore.
Redear fishing use to be good here, but for some reason has really dropped off. Bluegill,
however continue to be good bitters and can offer the kids and adults an enjoyable day.
The usual baits are red worms, meal worms, and micro jigs. Try the Shallows. They feature
lots of brush and stick-ups and are located at the north end of the lake.
This page was last updated on Jan 1, 1999
E-mail me at dherndon@tcsn.net .....
