santa ana river (riverside)

[jimmy951]

any one catch anything in there?

[LunkerLover]

:Potty: god no....

[jimmy951]

well not to eat, i meant to just mess around.
im getting a little tired of my two usual spot.
so im trying to find something new.

[old pudd fisher]

any one catch anything in there?

Good question and often wondered that. I live in Riverside and would cross the river every day driving on the mission bridge when I was working. Thier is always water in it year a round....I wouldn't eat them if so.:Neutral:

[Skyler]

Little Santa Ana Suckers are about it in the section that runs through Riverside. I tryed it a few times when I was younger, when fairmont wasn't producing for me. Farther downstream (towards the prado wetlands) you can catch some scattered carp and panfish though.

[old pudd fisher]

Interesting! Thanks.

[PUDD MASTER BAITER]

Id recommend waders .there is also alot of quick sand. The fingers, where the water is slow, holds lots of carp, in the 2lb to 5lb range.ive seen big schools of them in the channels ,by liminite at goose creek, and paridise knolls golf courses. By el prado ,theres are big ponds and channels just after the parking lot ,for the golf course. Its were the road turns sharply.

[PHISHnutS]

Lots of dirty brown trout too, be sure to C&R!

[JediMindTricks]

wtf? there aint no fish in that ****...........
turd fish.

[BrownTrout]

catfish, small bass, panfish. i have fished the section in yorba linda near the 91 and weir canyon, at the end of la palma. used night crawlers, and a fly rod with corn. it is a great place to practice fly fishing as well.

[jimmy951]

wtf? there aint no fish in that ****...........
turd fish.

haha typical riverside POV of the river.
it is a river bro, so it has to have fish.

[JediMindTricks]

haha typical riverside POV of the river.
it is a river bro, so it has to have fish.

dude, u find the spot i'll roll with you.

[goodguy]

I know there are fish (carp and cats) in the river between the 71 and weir canyon... Also I have seen carp over by my house in orange here and there.. So I'd imagine you could find them if you looked. It might take some time though...

[castle]

Ive fished it several times behind the Costco on Savi Ranch road. Alot of small carp and some small bass.Nothing much exciting though.

[SkunkyZach]

So whos down to roll to the river bottom for some fishing. I want to find some Santa Ana suckers Skylers talking about, or some big nasty carp. I live right by martha mclean anza narrows park and have a pass, so lets go get some dirty three eyed somethings!!!
Hey, its free:Cool:

[dragracer]

Long time ago, I fished the holding ponds off of Lakeview and the 91 behind the hospital near the rental center (is it still there).... Basically, catfish, carp, bass and panfish... caught a lot of cats out of there....

[tacklejunkie]

I was thinking of trying that one day but you gotta wait till it's not 100* out there. :LOL: Gonna end up another fish in the wash. Lol you see that cartoon network game "floater"?

[TShaffer]

when I'm at my Dad's I fish the section of riverbed right across the street at Orange Olive and Riverdale. Big carps and cats. I guess the carp spawned too because I've been catching small ones lately (about 4in). From what I've seen the fishing gets better as you head upstream.

[SkunkyZach]

when I'm at my Dad's I fish the section of riverbed right across the street at Orange Olive and Riverdale. Big carps and cats. I guess the carp spawned too because I've been catching small ones lately (about 4in). From what I've seen the fishing gets better as you head upstream.

Man this is my backyard!!! Free fishing, and there might actually be some fish? I am going down there today to scout it out.... And just in case you are not aware, please, dont eat the fish or swim in the water, its pretty nasty..

[hoytrecurver]

Are there any parking places near any of those areas?

[SkunkyZach]

Yep... Just take a look on google maps.

[dragracer]

when I'm at my Dad's I fish the section of riverbed right across the street at Orange Olive and Riverdale. Big carps and cats. I guess the carp spawned too because I've been catching small ones lately (about 4in). From what I've seen the fishing gets better as you head upstream.

I know exactly where those are. I grew up in the area and haven't fished those in 20 years. I'm glad they still hold something!

[fishmounter]

There is (or was, have not been down there for some time) a creek just west of Van Buren Blvd. and south of the Van Buren bridge that empties into the Santa Ana River. There is a small dam that forms a pond and it used to have all kinds of fish in there. Bass, Bluegill, Bullhead, carp, someone even caught a nice Channel catfish once. Go to Microsoft maps and check this area out. I also have fished a pond that's down in the river bottom, just north of where Tyler and Jurupa meet. You have to park on Jurupa and walk down... about a 15 minute walk. I lived right there for 12 years and I took my sons fishing down there all the time. Mostly carp and bullheads, but we found a really great Tilapia bite there once when they opened up the canal to fill the pond. Lots of 1 to 2 pound fish! But this place could be dried up too. There are also more ponds further west closer to where Arlington goes around the hill on into Norco. Don't know if they are legal to fish or not. Heard one of them has big crappie in it. Probably just the crappie look-a-like...Tilapia.

[TShaffer]

Man this is my backyard!!! Free fishing, and there might actually be some fish? I am going down there today to scout it out.... And just in case you are not aware, please, dont eat the fish or swim in the water, its pretty nasty..
Oh dude don't even worry I know about the water quality. The only people I see eating those fish are Mex***ns who have cast nets and pull five BIG carp in about 20min and sometimes a big cat comes out too. It sucks because each spillway is secluded and my catch has definately been declining.

[SkunkyZach]

Well, I went down there today, and the water level is suprisingly high in most places.:Razz: I also saw many fish lurking in the shady areas. I didn't fish it today, but I definetly will soon..

[The Angler]

There is (or was, have not been down there for some time) a creek just west of Van Buren Blvd. and south of the Van Buren bridge that empties into the Santa Ana River. There is a small dam that forms a pond and it used to have all kinds of fish in there. Bass, Bluegill, Bullhead, carp, someone even caught a nice Channel catfish once. Go to Microsoft maps and check this area out. I also have fished a pond that's down in the river bottom, just north of where Tyler and Jurupa meet. You have to park on Jurupa and walk down... about a 15 minute walk. I lived right there for 12 years and I took my sons fishing down there all the time. Mostly carp and bullheads, but we found a really great Tilapia bite there once when they opened up the canal to fill the pond. Lots of 1 to 2 pound fish! But this place could be dried up too. There are also more ponds further west closer to where Arlington goes around the hill on into Norco. Don't know if they are legal to fish or not. Heard one of them has big crappie in it. Probably just the crappie look-a-like...Tilapia.

Exactly what I was thinking I used to go there alot when I was a kid theres a huge park there on Jurupa I think u have to pay to get in like 5-10 bucks I havent been there in years. U can then walk down to the river bottom to look for fish. But be carefull down there. When I was younger I would hear storys of man eating wild boars & quick sand down there. Man i think I need to go down there and remember all the funs times I had down there Rding bikes along the bike trail & all the little hidden Lagoons we just to swim in :ROFL: Yea i know now that the water is gross but back then when i was a kid it was fun as hell some spots had ropes & tire swings to swing into river.
There was a few spots where the water was probably 8-10 feet deep.

[matt duarte]

you might catch a mexican hahahaha (no offence to anybody) you all are mexican-american anyway lol


peace

[castle]

There is (or was, have not been down there for some time) a creek just west of Van Buren Blvd. and south of the Van Buren bridge that empties into the Santa Ana River. There is a small dam that forms a pond and it used to have all kinds of fish in there. Bass, Bluegill, Bullhead, carp, someone even caught a nice Channel catfish once. Go to Microsoft maps and check this area out. I also have fished a pond that's down in the river bottom, just north of where Tyler and Jurupa meet. You have to park on Jurupa and walk down... about a 15 minute walk. I lived right there for 12 years and I took my sons fishing down there all the time. Mostly carp and bullheads, but we found a really great Tilapia bite there once when they opened up the canal to fill the pond. Lots of 1 to 2 pound fish! But this place could be dried up too. There are also more ponds further west closer to where Arlington goes around the hill on into Norco. Don't know if they are legal to fish or not. Heard one of them has big crappie in it. Probably just the crappie look-a-like...Tilapia.

That place was called Horseshoe Lake. It is dry now.

[fishmounter]

No it's not Horseshoe. That was north of the Van Buren bridge. And yes, it is dry and full of trees and bushes. The place I'm talking about is right below what once was Hole Lake, back in the 50s...

[SkunkyZach]

Exactly what I was thinking I used to go there alot when I was a kid theres a huge park there on Jurupa I think u have to pay to get in like 5-10 bucks I havent been there in years. U can then walk down to the river bottom to look for fish. But be carefull down there. When I was younger I would hear storys of man eating wild boars & quick sand down there. Man i think I need to go down there and remember all the funs times I had down there Rding bikes along the bike trail & all the little hidden Lagoons we just to swim in :ROFL: Yea i know now that the water is gross but back then when i was a kid it was fun as hell some spots had ropes & tire swings to swing into river.
There was a few spots where the water was probably 8-10 feet deep.

Man, thats funny... I was out there doing the same when I was a youngin.. That park is only two blocks away from my house so I used to go all the time. I'm gonna hit a little spot down there probably later today or tommorow if you wanna roll. During the week nobody is in the gate house so you can just drive in for free :Cool:

[The Angler]

So did anyone ever go and scout/ fish this place out? Im down if anyone else is .

[Manny]

Long time ago, I fished the holding ponds off of Lakeview and the 91 behind the hospital near the rental center (is it still there).... Basically, catfish, carp, bass and panfish... caught a lot of cats out of there....

Just a heads up, my office overlooks the river between Imperial Hwy . and Lakeview. The river gets diverted into holding pools which I believe feeds SARL. Anyhow, I fished the holding pools often before I got booted and caught plenty of dinky LMB's and tons of Carp cruising around too. Turns out that the pools are patrolled by the Metro Water District and no fishing is allowed (yeah right). The patrolman did tell me that you can fish the river that runs parallel to the 91 fwy. but be sure you have your license because DFG checks often.

[castle]

While fishing the part at the end of Tyler Ave, I saw a carp that had to be 10 lbs. There is mostly dink panfish there though.

[plumbertom]

I want to make the point that the water from the river is what supplies SARL.
In the Prado basin there are biologic filtering basins to clean the nitrates from the water. So any fish caught below Prado are most likely safe to consume, just like those from SARL.
There are no places along the river where sewage is dumped into it, other than by the homeless that live in the river bed.
You may see the treatment plants along the river but the highly treated effluent from them is pumped into the line that runs down to the ocean where it's discharged into deep water.

[carpanglerdude]

The LA Times had several articles on Santa Ana, most of them old articles (90's), but they do mention the sewage being pretty raw:
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-06-03/news/mn-69_1_santa-ana-river?pg=1

Manny, how is the public supposed to know not to fish those spots? I've looked up the Santa Ana River in the Regs, and there is basically nothing for the areas not in the mountains. I'm glad the officer wasn't writing tickets or anything-it's kinda rough when they don't let people know were they can/cannot fish.

I checked out the park Mclean (sp?) Anza Narrows park in Riverside, off of Jurupa over Labor Day. The water was crawling with sunbathers and familys, looked waaaay to shallow to fish, although it was about 10-20ft across.

[old pudd fisher]

Well said.

[vortec_cruiser]

So, did anyone ever try the fishing? If anyone wants to head down there for some fishing, I'm interested. However, I have never fished the river myself.

[contextminded]

I fished the SAR off the 91 and 57 fwy with no luck. I did get two hits on nightcrawlers.

[carpanglerdude]

So, did anyone ever try the fishing? If anyone wants to head down there for some fishing, I'm interested. However, I have never fished the river myself.


I checked out the Santa Ana in Riverside, near the Van Bure (spelling?) bridge. Basically, it was really shallow, side channel near it was deeper, might be a little better for fishing. Here's the long report:

I parked in a nearby neighborhood, walked down the bike trail until I hit the bamboo forest/cane forest thing. I walked into that, found a stream running through there, then followed the path through it and onto a big sand bank on the river. On one side was the main river, on the other was a slow moving, deeper offshoot.
There was some people swimming there, friendly and all that, but they probably scared the fish. I followed the sand bank upriver, towards the Van Buren bridge, and saw 2-3 16 inch carp in the deep side channel, and one sunfish. The fish were all really, really shy and easily spooked, the sunfish hit my lure but that was it. Carp didn't seem to be feeding . I wish there were more and that they were bigger, these were really, really wary and not too large.
The brush fires we had came through that area pretty bad, alot of the side creek is choked by follow debris from the fire. I wish I could have seen the area before the fire, I'm sure it was alot more fishable. The main river itself seems to be waaay too shallow to fish, it about 15-20 ft across, 1-2 ft deep at the very most.
Pics:
The main river:
http://i33.tinypic.com/2s9c8ow.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/xnt1t1.jpg
The side channel:
http://i33.tinypic.com/s4vsih.jpg
After being a little let down by the river, I decided to hit up one of my favorite bass spots. Nailed a ton of dinks, caught this little fatty (pic below, focus is off), caught a huge bluegill on a Rapala, and lost a really nice largemouth after an epic battle (forgot to drop the rod tip when he took off into the air, meh).
http://i34.tinypic.com/155i54w.jpg

[The Angler]

Yea some spots a real shallow, Well thats the way i remember it. I think in the next few days im going to go to the park of Jurupa and hike down to the river from there. I wanna see if the river still has the few deep areas i know of as a kid. I remember one spot is under an old train track bridge thats not in use for a very very long time used to be at least 10-12 feet deep. Kids would swing down the tracks on a rope.

[vortec_cruiser]

Great report and pictures carpanglerdude.

[vortec_cruiser]

Angler, be sure to post the results of what you find.

[fishmounter]

In that side channel in your photo, just under the edges of the bamboo and plants, there used to be good sized schools of Tilapia swimming around. Also down further in one of the deeper channels we saw a big South American Red-Tailed Catfish come up and swim by the shoreline. We also saw a few of those big wild pigs crossing the river right there one evening. But this was years ago. Probably around 1990 or so.

[carpanglerdude]

Stopped by the Santa Ana River just off of Lakeview, near SARL. Water level in the main river wasn't very high, but definitely had spots were fish could live, looked much more fishable than the spots I hit up in Riverside. Those holding pools on the northern shore looked pretty intriguing....

[jason77]

i go down there to mess around right by my house, and i catch green sunfish all day long, i take my son and nephew down there. nothing big, just some thing to do.

[castle]

Theres some catfish in there also.

[The Angler]

I talked to my cousin the other day about the river. He used to live about 10 mins away off van buren he said he would always go down there with his nephews and he remebers seeing huge carp in there. When I asked him he had totally forgot then got all excited saying oh yea We used to go down there all the time. then went on telling me were he used to see the huge fish. He also mentioned the "side" Channel that had lots of bluegill in it.

[castle]

May be worth a try now that it has more water in it?

[Juventino]

brought back from the dead

[vortec_cruiser]

brought back from the dead

That's because it's about an interesting local water.

[Danny300]

die post die lol