Diamond Valley Lake in Riverside, California For Fishing & Camping

Fish Species

• Catfish
• Largemouth Bass
• Smallmouth Bass
• Striped Bass
• Sunfish
• Trout

Diamond Valley Lake, located in the Domenigoni/Diamond valleys, four miles southwest of the city of Hemet, CA. This lake is an important storage reservoir in the California State Water Project of Southern California. It's one of the largest and newest reservoirs in the region. Holding over 800 thousand acre-feet of water, or roughly 260 billon U.S. gallons, making it six times the capacity of Lake Perris. The lake's purpose almost doubles Southern California's storage capacity and provides additional water supplies for drought protection and peak summer needs.

Diamond Valley Lake was designed from the ground up specifically for fishing. The lake has several species of freshwater fish: largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, crappie, rainbow trout, striped bass, channel catfish, and shad. It is considered one of the best fisheries in California. In addition to fishing: camping, hiking, water skiing, and jet skiing are allowed on Diamond Valley lake.

Since its opening in 2003, Diamond Valley Lake has made a name for itself as a world-class largemouth bass fishery. This is underscored by the fact that over 50 bass tournaments are scheduled to take place on the lake annually. Hardcore bass fishermen always have their own preferred baits for different conditions and times of year, but a variety of artificial lures have been proven consistently effective here including swimbaits, buzzbaits, rubber worms, crankbaits, and jigs. Natural baits also produce big ones, with anglers reporting success on nightcrawlers and live crawdads.