Natural Lefty
10-10-2009, 03:17 PM
With the cooler weather, I decided to go back to Perris Lake. This time, I headed to Lots 11 and 12. When I got there, the one near the manmade jetty (presumably Lot 11) was closed. It looks like it is closed long term to me, but I have no idea why. Thus, I parked at the nearby Jet Ski Launch parking lot (presumably Lot 12). I thought about fishing toward the east end of the lake, but decided to go to my original idea, the jetty by lot 11. At least that way, I could compare the fishing and conditions with the last time I was there, which was probably over a year ago. I used to have the best success catching large Redears there in the fall. I knew conditions had changed, but I wanted to check it out.
I hiked out toward the end of the jetty, noticing that the water had dropped even further, and there were reeds which had never been there before, some of which were out of the water. There were hundreds of little young of the year Largemouth Bass in the shallows, especially near the reeds. The water was completely below the rocks all along the jetty. I finally stopped near the end, when this fact had become clear, and cast out my mini-jig, but it landed in the veggies. I reeled it in, put on a bobber, and cast out about 25 feet, safely beyond the veggies. Before I could even close the bail of my reel, my bobber was being dragged under. A moment later, I landed a good size Bluegill with my jig in its mouth. It was clearly a male with classic Florida Strain characteristics. I looked at my watch then, which read 3:30.
That seemed like a great harbinger of good fishing to come, and it usually is when I catch a good fish so quickly. However, over the next couple of hours, I tried the bobber and jig, the bobber and jig with worms, bottom fishing with worms, a Rebel lure, and my fly from last time, up and down the peninsula, with a total of one more light strike on the jig. It made me think that that first fish was either total luck, my fishy ESP at work, or the good karma I mentioned last time. (By the way, I did go fishing last week, at Newport Pier, mostly hoop netting for Crab, but no long boring report as it was a total dud and disappointment. There were lots of fisher people, zero crabs, which is strange for there, and few fish. The only ones I "caught" were 2 Black Perch and one baby Kelp Bass in the hoop net -- all released as required with hoop net caught fish -- not the fishing line, and those don't really count. I would advise people not to go to Newport Pier anytime soon.) Finally, around 5:30, I parked my gear in the sandy area just to the east of the corner of the jetty. It looked like there were fewer veggies there, so I thought it would be better for bottom fishing. I also saw other people fishing there.
I casted out as far as I could with a slowly sinking, nearly filled clear bobber, the kind typically used for the bobber and fly technique, but with more water in it. The other pole I cast out with the bobber, jig and worm. At first, nothing bit, but the lady fishing next to me caught a smallish Redear on a mealworm. After that, there was about an hour of really good fishing as the sun set and dusk came on, from about 5:45 to 6:45. I caught 2 Redears and 2Bluegills, all on the bottom fishing pole around 100 feet or so from shore. I kept one Redear and one Bluegill which were okay size, let go a plump baby Redear, and gave the other smallish Bluegill to the lady next to me who said she wanted to turn it into a crispy fried Bluegill.
Meanwhile, I had little success with the other pole, despite seeing many fish surfacing nearby and being serenaded by the constant buzz of a swarm of midges. I tried worms, the jig, the fly from last time, and an Adams fly, which usually works well when fish are feeding on midges. I did get a few strikes on the flies, one a good one on the Adams which surprised me, but I missed it. I noticed that this time, the midges were hovering over land, not the water, so perhaps they weren't falling into the water. I also noticed those tiny white flies which are too small for any imitation I know of, and several small moths hovering around my line. All the catching was on the bottom fishing pole, however. The lady next to me also caught several fish, including a good size Redear. Her husband, who was about 50 feet to my left, did not seem to be where the fish were, but finally, he did catch a good size Redear. The fish seemed to like their mealworms best. They were also using Crickets, with less success. I would use mealworms for bait, but I am allergic to them. :Confused:
There was also a group of 4 young men farther east along the shoreline. I witnessed one of them catch 2 Bass dropshotting, about 13 inches apiece, which he promptly put in his basket just like any old long, thin Sunfish. His friends appeared to get skunked. I was kind of greateful for the constant buzz of the midges flying around me (they seem to like me), since these guys couldn't seem to finish a sentence without using a cussword or three. Apparently, crass references to sex are like ketchup to these people; it goes with everything. :Rolls Eyes:References to waste elimination are also quite versatile among these people, too. :Embarrassed: I don't understand why so many people talk this way. Why don't they try increasing their vocabulary, so they can really communicate, instead of simply conveying negative emotions for no particular reason? Maybe 3 of them were frustrated because they weren't catching anything. I heard one of them announce in his way that there were a bunch of "mosquitoes" around him -- which were really midges --and they quickly left after that. Oh well! :EyePop:
The fish stopped biting around 6:45, about the time it got dark. The Crispy Fried Bluegill Lady and her husband left around 7, and I left around 7:15. Even though I caught fewer fish this time, I was happy that there was a better ratio of keeper size fish (3 out of 5), a better Redear ratio (about equal numbers of Redears and Bluegills caught) and discovered a new fishing spot for long-cast bottom fishing, at least. I wound up catching tonight's main course, plus a good amount of Dragon Fruit food.
Here's the catch:
1 good sized Bluegill (measured at 8 3/4 inches) on a mini-jig (Trout Magnet);
2 Bluegills on assorted worms 1 smallish one given to the Crispy Fried Bluegill Lady, 1 average size one kept);
2 Redears on assorted worms (1 baby released, 1 smallish one kept).
Photo captions: Photo number one shows four of my fish fed Dragon Fruit; Number two shows my jig-caught Bluegill, the "catch of the day," as it turned out; Number three shows the flower which resulted from the same bud which could barely be seen the previous time. I took this photo this morning. Notice the two Bees which are dwarfed by the flower.
P.S. I couldn't get my cat Gorjilina to "pose" for her photo this time. She kept pacing around, meowing happily.
I hiked out toward the end of the jetty, noticing that the water had dropped even further, and there were reeds which had never been there before, some of which were out of the water. There were hundreds of little young of the year Largemouth Bass in the shallows, especially near the reeds. The water was completely below the rocks all along the jetty. I finally stopped near the end, when this fact had become clear, and cast out my mini-jig, but it landed in the veggies. I reeled it in, put on a bobber, and cast out about 25 feet, safely beyond the veggies. Before I could even close the bail of my reel, my bobber was being dragged under. A moment later, I landed a good size Bluegill with my jig in its mouth. It was clearly a male with classic Florida Strain characteristics. I looked at my watch then, which read 3:30.
That seemed like a great harbinger of good fishing to come, and it usually is when I catch a good fish so quickly. However, over the next couple of hours, I tried the bobber and jig, the bobber and jig with worms, bottom fishing with worms, a Rebel lure, and my fly from last time, up and down the peninsula, with a total of one more light strike on the jig. It made me think that that first fish was either total luck, my fishy ESP at work, or the good karma I mentioned last time. (By the way, I did go fishing last week, at Newport Pier, mostly hoop netting for Crab, but no long boring report as it was a total dud and disappointment. There were lots of fisher people, zero crabs, which is strange for there, and few fish. The only ones I "caught" were 2 Black Perch and one baby Kelp Bass in the hoop net -- all released as required with hoop net caught fish -- not the fishing line, and those don't really count. I would advise people not to go to Newport Pier anytime soon.) Finally, around 5:30, I parked my gear in the sandy area just to the east of the corner of the jetty. It looked like there were fewer veggies there, so I thought it would be better for bottom fishing. I also saw other people fishing there.
I casted out as far as I could with a slowly sinking, nearly filled clear bobber, the kind typically used for the bobber and fly technique, but with more water in it. The other pole I cast out with the bobber, jig and worm. At first, nothing bit, but the lady fishing next to me caught a smallish Redear on a mealworm. After that, there was about an hour of really good fishing as the sun set and dusk came on, from about 5:45 to 6:45. I caught 2 Redears and 2Bluegills, all on the bottom fishing pole around 100 feet or so from shore. I kept one Redear and one Bluegill which were okay size, let go a plump baby Redear, and gave the other smallish Bluegill to the lady next to me who said she wanted to turn it into a crispy fried Bluegill.
Meanwhile, I had little success with the other pole, despite seeing many fish surfacing nearby and being serenaded by the constant buzz of a swarm of midges. I tried worms, the jig, the fly from last time, and an Adams fly, which usually works well when fish are feeding on midges. I did get a few strikes on the flies, one a good one on the Adams which surprised me, but I missed it. I noticed that this time, the midges were hovering over land, not the water, so perhaps they weren't falling into the water. I also noticed those tiny white flies which are too small for any imitation I know of, and several small moths hovering around my line. All the catching was on the bottom fishing pole, however. The lady next to me also caught several fish, including a good size Redear. Her husband, who was about 50 feet to my left, did not seem to be where the fish were, but finally, he did catch a good size Redear. The fish seemed to like their mealworms best. They were also using Crickets, with less success. I would use mealworms for bait, but I am allergic to them. :Confused:
There was also a group of 4 young men farther east along the shoreline. I witnessed one of them catch 2 Bass dropshotting, about 13 inches apiece, which he promptly put in his basket just like any old long, thin Sunfish. His friends appeared to get skunked. I was kind of greateful for the constant buzz of the midges flying around me (they seem to like me), since these guys couldn't seem to finish a sentence without using a cussword or three. Apparently, crass references to sex are like ketchup to these people; it goes with everything. :Rolls Eyes:References to waste elimination are also quite versatile among these people, too. :Embarrassed: I don't understand why so many people talk this way. Why don't they try increasing their vocabulary, so they can really communicate, instead of simply conveying negative emotions for no particular reason? Maybe 3 of them were frustrated because they weren't catching anything. I heard one of them announce in his way that there were a bunch of "mosquitoes" around him -- which were really midges --and they quickly left after that. Oh well! :EyePop:
The fish stopped biting around 6:45, about the time it got dark. The Crispy Fried Bluegill Lady and her husband left around 7, and I left around 7:15. Even though I caught fewer fish this time, I was happy that there was a better ratio of keeper size fish (3 out of 5), a better Redear ratio (about equal numbers of Redears and Bluegills caught) and discovered a new fishing spot for long-cast bottom fishing, at least. I wound up catching tonight's main course, plus a good amount of Dragon Fruit food.
Here's the catch:
1 good sized Bluegill (measured at 8 3/4 inches) on a mini-jig (Trout Magnet);
2 Bluegills on assorted worms 1 smallish one given to the Crispy Fried Bluegill Lady, 1 average size one kept);
2 Redears on assorted worms (1 baby released, 1 smallish one kept).
Photo captions: Photo number one shows four of my fish fed Dragon Fruit; Number two shows my jig-caught Bluegill, the "catch of the day," as it turned out; Number three shows the flower which resulted from the same bud which could barely be seen the previous time. I took this photo this morning. Notice the two Bees which are dwarfed by the flower.
P.S. I couldn't get my cat Gorjilina to "pose" for her photo this time. She kept pacing around, meowing happily.