Natural Lefty
05-29-2010, 03:13 PM
This was the first time I was able to get out fishing since the trip to the lower Colorado River with my wife, and I almost didn't get to fish yesterday as it was. My wife asked me to take her to her daughter's house to have some people fix the sprinker system there. As it turns out, we didn't leave here until 4 p.m., and by the time I got to Lake Perris after waiting around in atrocious Memorial Weekend traffic, it was 7:30 p.m.
That must be the latest I have ever gotten there to fish, but no problem. There were tons of police and rangers watching as I drove by, so make sure you stick to the 25mph speed limit there. I went to the west side of the launch ramp area where I had the fastest bobber/fly fishing for Bluegills last year, and found to my surprise only a few cars in the parking lot. I can remember trying to go to Perris on Memorial Weekend in the past, and being turned back at the gate because the entire park was full, but perhaps yesterday a lof of people had left by the time I got there.
I saw a group of people fishing right at the abandoned launch ramp (which has no boat docks at this time), but I headed for the west corner of the cove where the action was even faster last year. The weather was surprisingly cool and breezier than I expected, but that area was somewhat protected from the north wind that was blowing, and I could see fish surfacing as I approached. I quickly caught 1 small Bluegill on my Adams, but then lost it due to a poorly tied knot. Thus, I decided to use the rod with the 2 pound line, and a little tan fly of unknown pattern that looked close enough to the midges that were flitting about.
The new setup worked great, though the fish were pretty small. I tried to keep track of how many I caught, but I am not too sure. According to my official count, I caught 27 Bluegills in 1 hour, 15 minutes. That calculates to more than a fish every 3 minutes. Of course, I spent much of the time reeling in fish, unhooking them, and moving from spot to spot in the area out of curiosity, although moving wasn't really necessary. I hooked a fish, or at least had a couple of strikes, on nearly every cast. It was happy time for a fly fishing, Bluegill loving person like me. My wife told me to keep only fish that were over 7 inches, and as it turned out, I caught 1 larger adult female Bluegill (fish number 11 by my count) that measured at 8 1/4 inches, but the rest were juvenile Bluegills that I let go. About 10 of the fish swallowed the fly deeply enough that I needed the pliers in order to remove the hook, but I think I managed to do so without injuring any of these fish, and released them safely. I tried using a steady retrieve briefly, but it didn't seem to work like the stop and go retrieve that I usually use. I normally turn the handly one revolution, stop for a second or two, then turn another revolution. The fish usually bite during the pause, but sometimes swallow the hook.
I saw the people on the launch ramp catch a few small Bluegills that looked like they came from the same batch of fish as the ones I was catching. Eventually, all but one woman left. A few minutes later, I saw her catch a larger fish, so I started talking to her. As it turns out, the fish was a nice size Redear, and she caught it on a waxworm under a bobber. She said her husband was up at the car, and asked me to unhook the fish. Then she asked me if I wanted it. Who am I to turn down such a tasty offering? I gladly obliged. To my surprise, they had been releasing all of their fish, but she told me they had just been catching little Bluegills. As if to prove the point, she then caught a small Bluegill which I also unhooked for her. Then, her husband returned, and told me they had caught about 20 fish in all, mostly big Bluegills and Redears anywhere from 9-12 inches. Isn't that interesting how different the descriptions of the husband and wife were regarding the fishing? Based on what I saw, and my past experience in that cove, I strongly suspect that the wife's description is more accurate, although they might have caught a few other good size ones. Maybe the husband didn't want to be outdone by my wide open fly fishing action.
After that, I fished near them on the launch ramp, and the fishing was just as fast there. It was surprising how well the fish kept hitting the fly even when it was almost dark. At one point, the husband lost his bobber, so I gave him a new one. They kept getting bites also, fishing by feel, but were having trouble hooking them. Finally, the fishing seemed to slow a bit, and it being 8:45 already, I decided to go, but the couple was still trying. Maybe they were camping at the campground, so no urgent need to go, but I needed to get back.
All in all, it was a super little evening "catching" trip, with something like 27 fish caught, all on flies, although I only kept the one larger one, plus the Redear the young woman gave me (which measured 9 1/4 inches). No pictures this time-- anyway, not many larger fish and I wouldn't want people to mistakenly think that I caught the Redear. That one Bluegill was a nice one for being on a fly and 2 pound line, though. By the way, I brought the leftover nightcrawlers from the Colorado River trip, but never even broke them out of the cooler, the bobber/fly setup action was so fast. The Bluegill and Redear populations are definitely doing very well at Perris. I only saw one Bass though, and it was a dead one (about 12-13 inches) on the shoreline.
That must be the latest I have ever gotten there to fish, but no problem. There were tons of police and rangers watching as I drove by, so make sure you stick to the 25mph speed limit there. I went to the west side of the launch ramp area where I had the fastest bobber/fly fishing for Bluegills last year, and found to my surprise only a few cars in the parking lot. I can remember trying to go to Perris on Memorial Weekend in the past, and being turned back at the gate because the entire park was full, but perhaps yesterday a lof of people had left by the time I got there.
I saw a group of people fishing right at the abandoned launch ramp (which has no boat docks at this time), but I headed for the west corner of the cove where the action was even faster last year. The weather was surprisingly cool and breezier than I expected, but that area was somewhat protected from the north wind that was blowing, and I could see fish surfacing as I approached. I quickly caught 1 small Bluegill on my Adams, but then lost it due to a poorly tied knot. Thus, I decided to use the rod with the 2 pound line, and a little tan fly of unknown pattern that looked close enough to the midges that were flitting about.
The new setup worked great, though the fish were pretty small. I tried to keep track of how many I caught, but I am not too sure. According to my official count, I caught 27 Bluegills in 1 hour, 15 minutes. That calculates to more than a fish every 3 minutes. Of course, I spent much of the time reeling in fish, unhooking them, and moving from spot to spot in the area out of curiosity, although moving wasn't really necessary. I hooked a fish, or at least had a couple of strikes, on nearly every cast. It was happy time for a fly fishing, Bluegill loving person like me. My wife told me to keep only fish that were over 7 inches, and as it turned out, I caught 1 larger adult female Bluegill (fish number 11 by my count) that measured at 8 1/4 inches, but the rest were juvenile Bluegills that I let go. About 10 of the fish swallowed the fly deeply enough that I needed the pliers in order to remove the hook, but I think I managed to do so without injuring any of these fish, and released them safely. I tried using a steady retrieve briefly, but it didn't seem to work like the stop and go retrieve that I usually use. I normally turn the handly one revolution, stop for a second or two, then turn another revolution. The fish usually bite during the pause, but sometimes swallow the hook.
I saw the people on the launch ramp catch a few small Bluegills that looked like they came from the same batch of fish as the ones I was catching. Eventually, all but one woman left. A few minutes later, I saw her catch a larger fish, so I started talking to her. As it turns out, the fish was a nice size Redear, and she caught it on a waxworm under a bobber. She said her husband was up at the car, and asked me to unhook the fish. Then she asked me if I wanted it. Who am I to turn down such a tasty offering? I gladly obliged. To my surprise, they had been releasing all of their fish, but she told me they had just been catching little Bluegills. As if to prove the point, she then caught a small Bluegill which I also unhooked for her. Then, her husband returned, and told me they had caught about 20 fish in all, mostly big Bluegills and Redears anywhere from 9-12 inches. Isn't that interesting how different the descriptions of the husband and wife were regarding the fishing? Based on what I saw, and my past experience in that cove, I strongly suspect that the wife's description is more accurate, although they might have caught a few other good size ones. Maybe the husband didn't want to be outdone by my wide open fly fishing action.
After that, I fished near them on the launch ramp, and the fishing was just as fast there. It was surprising how well the fish kept hitting the fly even when it was almost dark. At one point, the husband lost his bobber, so I gave him a new one. They kept getting bites also, fishing by feel, but were having trouble hooking them. Finally, the fishing seemed to slow a bit, and it being 8:45 already, I decided to go, but the couple was still trying. Maybe they were camping at the campground, so no urgent need to go, but I needed to get back.
All in all, it was a super little evening "catching" trip, with something like 27 fish caught, all on flies, although I only kept the one larger one, plus the Redear the young woman gave me (which measured 9 1/4 inches). No pictures this time-- anyway, not many larger fish and I wouldn't want people to mistakenly think that I caught the Redear. That one Bluegill was a nice one for being on a fly and 2 pound line, though. By the way, I brought the leftover nightcrawlers from the Colorado River trip, but never even broke them out of the cooler, the bobber/fly setup action was so fast. The Bluegill and Redear populations are definitely doing very well at Perris. I only saw one Bass though, and it was a dead one (about 12-13 inches) on the shoreline.