View Full Version : Fun day at Lake Perris
fishmounter
04-23-2011, 03:36 PM
Fished LP yesterday with "skunked again" (thanks again man), and we did pretty good on the Bluegill and Redear. Found a couple of new spots and we both caught a couple of nice fish. Redears are spawning and the Bluegills are just starting to. Had a blast with ultralights and 1 & 2 lb test line. The Redear can really put on the speed and pull out the reel's drag! Fish were in about 15 to 7 ft. of water.
Added note: Circle hooks rock! (See my post on "Fishing gear and tackle")
10 inch Redear
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m121/fishmounter/JeffchunkRE.jpg
10 inch Bluegill
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m121/fishmounter/JohnsLPBG.jpg
24 we kept to fillet
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m121/fishmounter/LPcatch4-22-11.jpg
GdHkSet1
04-23-2011, 04:40 PM
Had to look at the pic twice, thats a funny looking panfish in that bunch! Well done fellas-love this time of the year.
Natural Lefty
04-23-2011, 08:37 PM
Good job on those drag burning panfish, fellas. Oh, that is a Trout I see that snuck in there too.
Socal Bassman
04-23-2011, 09:17 PM
Redears and bluegills are a lot of fun on UL tackle. Looks like you guys had a blast. Good job and thanks for the report.
JigStop
04-23-2011, 10:27 PM
I am sickened by this because you kept breeder females in a lake that is totally overfished. It's OK to keep EACH & EVERY STRIPER. But can you possibly think about letting the girls go? There are tons of those smaller fish like you caught, in the boat docks that you could harvest too. The "free swimming" redear and bluegill are very difficult to replenish with the resident population of LMB that nobody will keep.
mudskipper76
04-24-2011, 12:48 AM
nice job fm! i've never tasted panfish but they sure look like they'd fry up tasty!
fishmounter
04-24-2011, 01:10 AM
Don't worry JigStop, we let go all gravid female Redears. There is just a ton of food for the panfish in Perris, especially with all the new high water. It's almost impossible to overfish Bluegill because they spawn twice a year and lay thousands of eggs. In fact, if you don't harvest quite a few, they will overpopulate a lake and within a few years there will be nothing but a lot of small sized fish. You can see this at many of our lakes. Perris has had a very healthy population of good-sized Bluegill and Redears for many years and it will only get better in the years to come. And contrary to your opinion, the panfish are NOT overfished, and some people are keeping bass. Personally I don't usually keep ANY fish, but I was in the mood for some fresh fish. By the way, what kind of fish do you have on your stringer in your avatar pic? Bass? Bluegill? Redear? 'Nuff said.
QB7940
04-24-2011, 02:05 AM
Jigstop Im a fisheries management major and I dont think the panfish in Perris are overfished at all. Plus the fish he kept were pretty small. The panfish that people can catch from shore at Perris are going to be all pretty small, but anyone with a boat or tube can get ten inch class panfish easily with a cricket and split shot. There are tons and tons of those big girls that are going to be able to spawn. Idk what all this lot 11 and 12 business is about that paticular area has been overfished for years and has never produced for me. But this guy is fishing nowhere near 11 or 12. These fish are deeper than people expect. The key is to fish the euphotic zone where you'll find more densities of fish and more active fish.
bassgrabber1
04-24-2011, 09:36 PM
Jig Stop....I volunteer with the DFG and there are so many pan fish in Perris that it needs to be harvested. There is an abundance of food in that lake. If you have ever shocked a lake then you would under stand. Way to go Jeff!!!!
Perris Bluegill Chaser
04-24-2011, 09:47 PM
Fished LP yesterday with "skunked again" (thanks again man), and we did pretty good on the Bluegill and Redear. Found a couple of new spots and we both caught a couple of nice fish. Redears are spawning and the Bluegills are just starting to. Had a blast with ultralights and 1 & 2 lb test line. The Redear can really put on the speed and pull out the reel's drag! Fish were in about 15 to 7 ft. of water.
Added note: Circle hooks rock! (See my post on "Fishing gear and tackle")
grea
10 inch Redear
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m121/fishmounter/JeffchunkRE.jpg
10 inch Bluegill
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m121/fishmounter/JohnsLPBG.jpg
24 we kept to fillet
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m121/fishmounter/LPcatch4-22-11.jpg
great job out there
Thanks for the report and great pics! must of been a blast. I can't wait to get back out to perris. Looks like you have that lake dialed in. GOOD TIMES and GOOD EATS:Smile:
Natural Lefty
04-27-2011, 03:41 PM
Perris isn't really overfished for panfish at all. For Bass, I don't know, since they had to increase the size limit for those, but other factors might have had more to do with that. I disagree with the fisheries majors' characterization that all of the ones near shore or in shallow water are small ones, though. Some of the fish near shore are very large as panfish go. Did you see the Redear I caught on a dry fly? I have caught even larger panfish from shore at times in the past.
In any case, the panfish are very prolific and have an abundant supply of crustaceans, midges, midge larvae, snails, clams, aquatic worms and minnows to eat, plus probably some stuff I am unaware of. I see large numbers of them being kept every year but they remain abundant in a variety of sizes from babies to mega panfish.
Natural Lefty
04-27-2011, 03:44 PM
p.s. I don't believe it matters whether the ones kept are males of females. It is probably best to keep equal number of both sexes, because the males guard the nest and are just as important as the females to spawning success. Males cannot spawn with multiple females, I think, although perhaps a biologist can inform us better about that.
Ifishtoolittle
04-27-2011, 10:08 PM
Those are small compared to what Perris can really produce. WTG out there Jeff.
christainmetalhead909
04-27-2011, 10:32 PM
nice slay!
QB7940
04-28-2011, 12:50 AM
Natural Left, Right on I dont doubt it at all. Theres definitely some bigger models to be found shallow. At the same time Ive caught dinks real deep. If you find an active school of big fish deep, its on.
Your ecological info on Perris is right on, you must be an old timer!
Ifishtoolittle I think Jeff has a pic of a 16inch redear he caught
Natural Lefty
04-28-2011, 11:34 AM
QB, I have been fishing at Perris ever since it opened, but I was only 14 or 15 years old then. (I am 51 years old now but a lot of people say I look like I am about 40.) I don't think of myself as an old timer, but I have been fishing for a long time.
I forgot to mention the hordes of little white flies that the fish also feed on, plus other terrestrial and aquatic insectes.
The 16 inch Redear was caught by a bass fisherman, not Fishmounter. I think it was at Diamond Valley Lake, but I have yet to see a Redear at Diamond Valley in my times there.
HuskerRod
04-28-2011, 12:30 PM
Great job, fishmounter. I do see the bucket brigade out their practically all year keeping all sizes of panfish (and keeping plenty of them). Its to bad California didnt take some of the proactive steps to protect fisheries like one of my home states, minnesota. Up their they have seasons for all species, open and closed, lakes managed by incorporating slot limits, all catch and release lakes, etc. Yes, even for panfish.
fish-o-haulic
04-28-2011, 01:01 PM
Great job, fishmounter. I do see the bucket brigade out their practically all year keeping all sizes of panfish (and keeping plenty of them). Its to bad California didnt take some of the proactive steps to protect fisheries like one of my home states, minnesota. Up their they have seasons for all species, open and closed, lakes managed by incorporating slot limits, all catch and release lakes, etc. Yes, even for panfish.
here if im not mistaken theres no limit on blugill last time i checked, because bluegill reproduce so quickly if you put a limit on them theyd overrun everything else
blackberg
04-28-2011, 08:23 PM
crappie/bluegill/redear have a combined limit of 25
I need to get out there and help thin out the population a bit :D
nice job guys
-bb
Natural Lefty
04-29-2011, 05:11 PM
Blackberg is correct. This is only the second year of the combined panfish limit in California though. Before that, it was 25 for Crappie and no limit for other panfish.
Huskerrod, I went to Minnesota a few years ago, in August and fished a lot, mostly for panfish. The fishing was ridiculously good at some places, not so good at others, but where it was good we usually didn't even bother using bait, just jigs. I got the regs there and don't remember a lot of complications in them, but since it was August, I think it was open season on the panfish (Yellow Perch, Bluegills, Pumpkinseeds). I did manage to catch my first Northern Pike on that trip, too.
ghetto dad
04-29-2011, 05:16 PM
some new panfish gurus in town..lol....i should i say OG panfisherman!
great job guys!
GD
fish-o-haulic
04-30-2011, 12:23 AM
Blackberg is correct. This is only the second year of the combined panfish limit in California though. Before that, it was 25 for Crappie and no limit for other panfish.
Huskerrod, I went to Minnesota a few years ago, in August and fished a lot, mostly for panfish. The fishing was ridiculously good at some places, not so good at others, but where it was good we usually didn't even bother using bait, just jigs. I got the regs there and don't remember a lot of complications in them, but since it was August, I think it was open season on the panfish (Yellow Perch, Bluegills, Pumpkinseeds). I did manage to catch my first Northern Pike on that trip, too.
Thats why i like fishing Nevada, NO complicated rules. But the ones they do have they enforce.
Ifishtoolittle
04-30-2011, 12:36 AM
Great job, fishmounter. I do see the bucket brigade out their practically all year keeping all sizes of panfish (and keeping plenty of them). Its to bad California didnt take some of the proactive steps to protect fisheries like one of my home states, minnesota. Up their they have seasons for all species, open and closed, lakes managed by incorporating slot limits, all catch and release lakes, etc. Yes, even for panfish.
Slot limits would be a great idea; for any species really.
dockboy
05-01-2011, 05:25 AM
Slot limits only really do a good job with strict enforcement, something that is unlikely to happen in California. Not even close to enough wardens here for the amount of fisherman. We as good sportsmen and conservationists will follow slots and limits all day long, but the bucket fisherman won't. They don't care, they will keep the fish anyways, and the only way to enforce slots and restricted limits is to employ enough wardens and rangers to check people regularly. This state could probably pay more than a couple wardens in revenue from license and over-the-limit tickets for the amount of poachers and illegal fisherman we get here.