Natural Lefty
07-18-2009, 03:09 PM
This is purely coincidental that there is a report about flyfishing Lake Perris just ahead of mine by Flying.
My wife was feeling worn out by her project renovating my stepdaughter's house (which has also left us pretty broke), so she did not go. Since I had no leftover worms, and like catching Bluegills on flies at Perris (my home lake), I decided to go artificial and use flies or jigs there.
I got there around 4:30 and went to the west launch ramp (closest to the marina) which is closed to boats so people can fish from the docks. There was a guy fishing there with plastic worms, and he had caught one 14 inch Bass which he had kept. Well, the Bluegills were not cooperating. I could not even see any little ones in the water. Around 5 p.m. I left to check out other areas, since I had not First, I went to the marina. Once again, there were no fish to be seen near shore, although when I went to the 3 dollar dock area, I could see that some panfish had been caught there, not great numbers, but some. At that point, I relented, and bought a box of Dillies (small nightcrawlers). Since the 3 dollar docks were going to close at 6 p.m., I ruled it out. Next, I went to try lots 11 and 12, but for the first time I have ever seen, the gate to this area was locked, for no apparent reason! Then, I went toward the dam area. I saw a group of 5 float tubers near the corner of the dam, perhaps including Flying. However, the little pier in Sail Cove was taped off, and the entire area had been turned into a swimming beach. Wonderful! Just out of curiousity, I checked the old parking lot below the dam, you know, the one that has not been open since, say about, 9-12-2001. Well, it's still closed. Apparently, it's still considered a magnet for tackle box terrorists. If that were really such a concern, they should just close the entire lake to the public.
Frustrated, I went back to my original spot. I fished there until about 7 p.m., although nothing bit for me there, even on worms. However, while I was there, the Bass fisherman pulled in an approximately 17 inch Bass, which also went on his old-fashioned metal stringer. He was using 12 pound line and horsed the fish in surprisingly fast. Around 7, I decided to go back to the Marina, where they open the nearshore part of the docks to fishing after the 3 dollar docks and store are closed. Three are usually lots of Bluegills and/or Redears around there. At first, the fishing seemed as lousy as at the other place, with not a fish caught nor even seen in the water. There were a couple of guys who I believe had been fishing in the pay area earlier, who each left with a basket of around 10 average sized panfish each (around 1/4 to 1/2 pounders). What was surprising to me was that most of the fish appeared to be Redears, which made me happy, since they are one of my favorite fish. In the past, Bluegills used to dominate the docks, but for some reason, the Redears seem to be growing more numerous at Perris.
Eventually, I would say close to 8 p.m., as dusk was settling in, things improved on our nearshore docks. First, I started seeing quite a few miniscule flies flittering about, not the usual midges, but something much smaller, like the ones I saw at Woods Lake in the Sierras on my recent trip. Soon, I saw some fish surfacing, sure enough. I grabbed my fly rod, which already had a small, midge-like fly that works really well at Perris tied on, and quickly started catching some 3-5 inch whopper Bluegills. Even if they are small, just catching them on flies makes me happy.:Smile: I put them back to grow up, with a "Bye bye Baby Bluegill." Meanwhile, I noticed a red-haired teenage girl and her father trying frutilessly to catch something nearby. Finally, the father caught a Redear. It had swallowed the hook and he didn't know what to do with it, so I offered to remove the hook with my pliers. He told me that was the first fish he had ever caught. Afterward, he offered me the fish, which I gratefully accepted. (Hey, I call them Redear Yumfish.) I heard the daughter proclaiming that her goal was just to catch a fish, which gave me the brilliant idea of teaching her to use the flyrod and hopefully catch a Bluegill or two. Anyway, by that time, I had already caught 6 of the little critters.
I showed Nicole how I was catching the Bluegills with the flyrod, which was awkward at first, since my left-handed Natural Lefty way of doing things had me holding the rod in my left hand, but Nicole was right-handed. Pretty soon, she got the hang of it, though, and after a couple minutes, she pulled up a Bluegill. She was really excited, so I just let her keep using the fly rod. A few minutes later, she yanked another one all the way over the docks and into the water on the other side, which was pretty comical. Eventually, she got it onto the docks, and I unhooked the fish and put it in her hands for her to release it. After that, the flyfishing slowed down. Apparently, it was getting too dark. Worms weren't working very well either. I only had 1 bite on a worm, and I missed it. However, my red cooler became a magnet for other people's fish. A large group of around 10 people on the other side of the docks caught 1 Bluegill, and 1 Redear, both of which they gave to me, to my surprise.
When Nicole and her father left, they gave me a heartfelt thanks, and said they would be back the next day (today) to catch some more fish. As I was getting ready to leave around 9 p.m., I noticed a guy who had a stringer with a couple of Bass on it. He asked me if I wanted to buy them, and I was like "well, I catch my own fish." Then we recognized each other from earlier in the day. He was the guy from the launch ramp dock. I departed and marched straight up the Marina stairs to my car. As I was loading my car, I saw him again. He said he had been trying to catch up to me. This is the part that I hesitate to include, knowing about the Bass Police who patrol this website, but as an occasional eater of Bass, and a proud member of Basseaters Anonymous, I will include it. At that point, he offered me his two Bass, as he was tired and didn't feel like cleaning them. I said yes to his offer. Anyway, as I see it, Bass are vicious killers of my beloved Panfish, and biologists say that keeping about 1/3 of the Bass population per year helps the Bass fishing. Thus, even though I wound up releasing all 6 fish that I caught, I brought home 2 Redears, a Bluegill, and 2 Bass, all decent size. Before leaving, the Bass fisherman said "God Bless You," which seemed a little incongruous coming from a person who had just asked me whether I wanted to buy his fish, but his sentiments seemed genuine.
By the way, when I got home, I told my wife the truth about how I got the fish. She said that God was reimbursing us for all of the good things we do. I guess one could call that Karma as well. :Smile:
My wife was feeling worn out by her project renovating my stepdaughter's house (which has also left us pretty broke), so she did not go. Since I had no leftover worms, and like catching Bluegills on flies at Perris (my home lake), I decided to go artificial and use flies or jigs there.
I got there around 4:30 and went to the west launch ramp (closest to the marina) which is closed to boats so people can fish from the docks. There was a guy fishing there with plastic worms, and he had caught one 14 inch Bass which he had kept. Well, the Bluegills were not cooperating. I could not even see any little ones in the water. Around 5 p.m. I left to check out other areas, since I had not First, I went to the marina. Once again, there were no fish to be seen near shore, although when I went to the 3 dollar dock area, I could see that some panfish had been caught there, not great numbers, but some. At that point, I relented, and bought a box of Dillies (small nightcrawlers). Since the 3 dollar docks were going to close at 6 p.m., I ruled it out. Next, I went to try lots 11 and 12, but for the first time I have ever seen, the gate to this area was locked, for no apparent reason! Then, I went toward the dam area. I saw a group of 5 float tubers near the corner of the dam, perhaps including Flying. However, the little pier in Sail Cove was taped off, and the entire area had been turned into a swimming beach. Wonderful! Just out of curiousity, I checked the old parking lot below the dam, you know, the one that has not been open since, say about, 9-12-2001. Well, it's still closed. Apparently, it's still considered a magnet for tackle box terrorists. If that were really such a concern, they should just close the entire lake to the public.
Frustrated, I went back to my original spot. I fished there until about 7 p.m., although nothing bit for me there, even on worms. However, while I was there, the Bass fisherman pulled in an approximately 17 inch Bass, which also went on his old-fashioned metal stringer. He was using 12 pound line and horsed the fish in surprisingly fast. Around 7, I decided to go back to the Marina, where they open the nearshore part of the docks to fishing after the 3 dollar docks and store are closed. Three are usually lots of Bluegills and/or Redears around there. At first, the fishing seemed as lousy as at the other place, with not a fish caught nor even seen in the water. There were a couple of guys who I believe had been fishing in the pay area earlier, who each left with a basket of around 10 average sized panfish each (around 1/4 to 1/2 pounders). What was surprising to me was that most of the fish appeared to be Redears, which made me happy, since they are one of my favorite fish. In the past, Bluegills used to dominate the docks, but for some reason, the Redears seem to be growing more numerous at Perris.
Eventually, I would say close to 8 p.m., as dusk was settling in, things improved on our nearshore docks. First, I started seeing quite a few miniscule flies flittering about, not the usual midges, but something much smaller, like the ones I saw at Woods Lake in the Sierras on my recent trip. Soon, I saw some fish surfacing, sure enough. I grabbed my fly rod, which already had a small, midge-like fly that works really well at Perris tied on, and quickly started catching some 3-5 inch whopper Bluegills. Even if they are small, just catching them on flies makes me happy.:Smile: I put them back to grow up, with a "Bye bye Baby Bluegill." Meanwhile, I noticed a red-haired teenage girl and her father trying frutilessly to catch something nearby. Finally, the father caught a Redear. It had swallowed the hook and he didn't know what to do with it, so I offered to remove the hook with my pliers. He told me that was the first fish he had ever caught. Afterward, he offered me the fish, which I gratefully accepted. (Hey, I call them Redear Yumfish.) I heard the daughter proclaiming that her goal was just to catch a fish, which gave me the brilliant idea of teaching her to use the flyrod and hopefully catch a Bluegill or two. Anyway, by that time, I had already caught 6 of the little critters.
I showed Nicole how I was catching the Bluegills with the flyrod, which was awkward at first, since my left-handed Natural Lefty way of doing things had me holding the rod in my left hand, but Nicole was right-handed. Pretty soon, she got the hang of it, though, and after a couple minutes, she pulled up a Bluegill. She was really excited, so I just let her keep using the fly rod. A few minutes later, she yanked another one all the way over the docks and into the water on the other side, which was pretty comical. Eventually, she got it onto the docks, and I unhooked the fish and put it in her hands for her to release it. After that, the flyfishing slowed down. Apparently, it was getting too dark. Worms weren't working very well either. I only had 1 bite on a worm, and I missed it. However, my red cooler became a magnet for other people's fish. A large group of around 10 people on the other side of the docks caught 1 Bluegill, and 1 Redear, both of which they gave to me, to my surprise.
When Nicole and her father left, they gave me a heartfelt thanks, and said they would be back the next day (today) to catch some more fish. As I was getting ready to leave around 9 p.m., I noticed a guy who had a stringer with a couple of Bass on it. He asked me if I wanted to buy them, and I was like "well, I catch my own fish." Then we recognized each other from earlier in the day. He was the guy from the launch ramp dock. I departed and marched straight up the Marina stairs to my car. As I was loading my car, I saw him again. He said he had been trying to catch up to me. This is the part that I hesitate to include, knowing about the Bass Police who patrol this website, but as an occasional eater of Bass, and a proud member of Basseaters Anonymous, I will include it. At that point, he offered me his two Bass, as he was tired and didn't feel like cleaning them. I said yes to his offer. Anyway, as I see it, Bass are vicious killers of my beloved Panfish, and biologists say that keeping about 1/3 of the Bass population per year helps the Bass fishing. Thus, even though I wound up releasing all 6 fish that I caught, I brought home 2 Redears, a Bluegill, and 2 Bass, all decent size. Before leaving, the Bass fisherman said "God Bless You," which seemed a little incongruous coming from a person who had just asked me whether I wanted to buy his fish, but his sentiments seemed genuine.
By the way, when I got home, I told my wife the truth about how I got the fish. She said that God was reimbursing us for all of the good things we do. I guess one could call that Karma as well. :Smile: