>Capt. G,
>
>What exactly are these fish going to eat to reach the size
>that we in cali are looking for?
>
>Just looking for the facts, because obviously you know!


How about the Delta. No trout plants (to my knowledge), and plenty of big fish. Stripers get pretty big there too, without a diet of trout.
How about that place called "Clear Lake". Fish do pretty well there with a diet of hitch, and crawfish.
Read Bill Murphy's book and you will find that 20 lb. bass have been caught at San Diego Lakes, ones that do not receive trout plants.
There are some ponds in Orange County that Mickey (from 316 Lures) took me to that are loaded with frogs, and crayfish, and bass over 10 are caught from time to time.
When I fished with Mr. Bob Crupi, at Casitas, he told me that crayfish, rich in protein, are a major reason why the bass there get so big, which is why he focuses on a crawfish pattern (both live bait and jigs). So the big bass will not all die of malnutrition at Casitas, and I will still target them on swimbaits, just as I do in the summer, when there are no trout plants.
Did you know there are a 10 inch specie of shad in Lake Perris? Mike Long and Mike Gash do, and showed me some amazing tactics using big wood swimbaits working the "Shad Pattern). Most of my bass over ten pounds at Perris are caught on 12 inch swimbaits, not　rainbow trout color, fishing the shad pattern.
The list goes on and on.
So with a little study and water time, I am sure you and all the others that enjoy swimbait fishing as much as I do, will adapt, and do just fine.
Thinking outside the swimbait box is OK!:-(