Fishing Palisades Reservoir in Orange County, California

• Overview

  The Orange County end of California holds Palisades Reservoir. What surrounds it is scrub and brush. The water measures roughly 6 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Our Orange County list holds plenty of bigger water. You are 2.7 miles from San Juan Capistrano. Further out sit Dana Point (2.7 miles) and San Clemente (3.4 miles). The line between counties passes nearby, which can change who manages the water.

• Where to Fish on Palisades Reservoir

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Nearby survey and observation records mention jack mackerel, yellowtail amberjack, flathead grey mullet, cabezon and Pacific sardine. The records cover the area rather than this water alone. The shape of Palisades Reservoir rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 71°F; the cold one sits at 55°F. There is no dead season here at all. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to be out. Late winter often fishes better here than midsummer does. The season on Palisades Reservoir follows the weather closely. Falling water concentrates fish into the deeper parts.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. You can park half a mile away and walk in from there. Barramundi and estuary fish want hard-bodied lures and soft plastics worked around snags and drains. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Sulphur Creek Reservoir, 6.5 miles out. Treat Palisades Reservoir as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.