PDA

View Full Version : Perris Lake Labor Day Dock Fishing with Grubs (Real Ones)



Natural Lefty
09-06-2011, 03:35 PM
With the interesting weather yesterday -- it sprinkled off and on almost all day in MoVal -- the relatively cool temps and my not having gotten out of the house all weekend, I decided to go to Perris for a Labor Day afternoon/evening of fishing. I couldn't get away earlier because I remembered I already have to make exams and study guides for my classes, and worse, I gave the computer with all that stuff on it to Duo-Duo in Taiwan since my wife Eunice asked me to.

Anyway, I checked for worms, and found a bunch in the compost, but also a bunch of grubs of various sizes. We always have these grubs in the soil, although I don't know what they turn into. They grow pretty large, so maybe they turn into those big stink bug beatles. I have just started using them for bait though (more on that later). I found a quite a few small ones about the size of waxworms along with bigger ones, so I put them in along with the worms.

I got to Perris Lake around 4:45 after an unscheduled stop at Lasselle Lake which is near my school. I noticed what appeared to be an opening near the bridge, and sure enough, it was open and 4 people were fishing for Catfish there. They hadn't caught any though and I decided to head to Perris. I don't know if that place by the open gate is only open to residents or what, but if anyone here knows, I would like to know. I know anyone can walk in there.

Anyway, I headed for the marina docks although I knew they would be crowded. Hey, somebody has to post a report to represent the hordes of dock, pier and shore fisherpeople at Perris. I have been seeing lots of float tube and boat reports from there all summer with good results, but I guess the shore fishing hasn't been nearly as good. I've been out of state or out of the nation most of the summer, so not many trips to Perris for me this summer. Oh well! I can't complain.

Anyway, there were more people on the end than I had ever seen there, like 30-40, but I didn't pay and went to the free area closer to shore. There were no obvious signs of people catching fish, even on the end, but people did have a few fish on stringers or in baskets. They were small to medium-large Bluegills and Redears. One guy was walking around with a Bass on a stringer too, that looked of questionable size. I was thinking I might need to change locations before long, but after awhile, I got a bite on a redworm, then a fish almost pulled my pole into the lake while I was working my other pole. It turned out to be a smallish Redear, but I was happy. It was my first Redear since May I think, so I kept it. A while later, I caught a decent size (7 inch) Bluegill which walloped my redworm as I was creeping it along the bottom.

Around 6:15 p.m., I saw the employee go out to the end to fetch all those fisherpeople, so I moved to my favorite spot on the left side of the dock just in front of the gate. At that point, I decided to give my grubs a serious try, which turned out to be the secret of my success. I started catching Bluegills in short order, nothing big, but not too small, so I kept them. There were a couple of pretty pre-teen gals with their dad who were trying to learn how to fish, and their nightcrawlers were dead from the heat, so I gave them some of the grubs to use, but sadly they didn't catch anything. They might have, but the older gal's spool fell into the lake which annoyed their dad and put an abrupt end to their fishing. They were at least able to get the spool back, but the line had a big tangle in it. Before long, some of the other kids there were asking me for any Bluegills I didn't want, so I gave a couple of the smaller ones away.

Eventually, the fishing slowed some, and finally, I ran out of grubs. I noticed that the fish bit better on the small ones, even decent size Bluegills. They also bit on medium size grubs, but didn't seem to bite on the large grubs. I guess they were too big for their mouths, or didn't look like food to the fish. I switched back to redworms after the grubs ran out, and fishing was pretty good with them too, for me, but I seemed to be catching more fish than the rest of the people there combined, and I counted 19 people fishing, including myself around 7 p.m. People started leaving, but I was still getting bites and fish here and there, so I stayed until 8:30 p.m. They were still biting when I left in fact, but it was late and I was hungry, so I went home.

There was a guy fishing across from me after the gate was closed, who had been out on the end of the docks earlier, and he had done pretty well on Bluegills. He had about a dozen of them in his basket, mostly fairly good size, and he was using crickets. When he left, however, to my surprise he gave all of his fish to a group of about 5 teenagers who only had one small Bluegill between them. (They were also using crickets.) He told them that he had just come to fish, anyway. I had the impression that he was planning to give his fish to someone else all along. Actually, I once was the recipient of an even more generous fish supply at Perris Lake once. This was probably around the late 1980s, when I fishing by lots 11 and 12. A boat parked near me with 3 men in it, and they asked me if I wanted some fish. I said "sure" and to my surprise, they proceeded to unload about 20 large Redears and Bluegills averaging around a pound each into my cooler! Why they didn't want to eat those fish, I have no idea.

I was using split small hooks with split shots a little way up the line for weight. One was a mosquito hook on 6 pound line, and the other was actually an Adams fly left over from last Wednesday, on 2 pound line. Other people were mostly using crickets, mealworms or nightcrawlers. I think they should have been checking their yards for small grubs or redworms. I did find several mealworms the stomach of one of the larger Bluegills when I cleaned it. Another one, when I caught it, strangely seemed to have a mouthful of what appeared to be purple Power Bait.

Strangely, there was very little surface activity, and most of what I saw, I suspect were shad feeding on small flies. The lack of fly fishing action this summer at Perris has been bizarre. I guess there aren't as many midges or other flies around as usual. There were several actual mosquitos trying to bite me after dark, though.

I wound up catching the 1 Redear and 12 Bluegills.

Here is the breakdown:
1 Redear on a redworm, kept;
7 Bluegills on homegrown grubs, 5 kept, 1 given away, 1 released;
5 Bluegills on redworms, 3 kept, 1 given away, 1 released.

I wound up with a pretty good pile of Bluegill fillets, but none of the fish were noteworthy, so no pictures. They were 6- 7 1/2 inch Florida Bluegills and the one Redear, averaging around 1/4 pound for the keepers.

A second semi report:

I went to the little pier in Sail Cove last Wedenday evening from about 5 - 8 p.m., and caught 6 smallish Bluegills, keeping 3. I also lost a 12-14 inch Bass on my 2 pound line which went under a cable and my line broke when I tried to get it out. Last Wednesday is when I discovered that the grubs work as bait. I also caught a Bluegill on an Adams fly when they were surfacing near shore in the evening. I have had good success from that pier this year.

Well, believe it or not, I realized a while ago that I have to go to school to xerox some stuff, so I will leave it at that.

fishmounter
09-06-2011, 05:58 PM
Natural Lefty is finally back with his nice dock reports! Welcome back. Yea, I have found several kinds of grubs (larval stage of various beetles) in my garden too and have taken them out on my float tube for sunfish. All worked great except for the giant grubs that turn into those big metallic green Japanese Beetles...or is that a June Bug? Those big nasty grubs can bite pretty good too I found out!

jeepnkal
09-06-2011, 06:02 PM
F.R.A.T

J/K :)

Great report!

Natural Lefty
09-06-2011, 08:03 PM
jeepnkal, you may have to explain your joke. I don't know what F.R.A.T. stands for. Thanks though.

Fishmounter, I think I only went to Perris Lake once this summer (not counting last Wednesday which I mentioned in the report), believe it or not, the time I lost something big (probably a bass) on my 2 pound line, accidentally snagged the line later on, the fish was still on, but I couldn't control it and it broke again. I really expected to go more often but I was gone much of the time. Fishing was better than I expected.

I think those might be the larvae of the metallic green Japanese beetles, but I don't see those around here and I do see stinkbugs, plus the metallic green beetles always seem to hang around figs. Anyway, the size seems to be the crucial thing. They want something that looks food-size to them. I happened to have found quite a few baby ones about the size of waxworms, atlhough they were the same kind as the big ones, and found that the baby ones or smallish ones worked better. By the way, I accidentally wrote Beatles. I meant Beetles, not John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Cartman
09-06-2011, 08:15 PM
Wow, thanks for the great report. Excellent reading and excellent trip. I keep saying that there are other baits out there.

SirBluegill
09-06-2011, 08:30 PM
Great report Lefty, I need to try some shore fishing again, float tubing has spoiled me :)

carpanglerdude
09-06-2011, 09:13 PM
Great report. Lefty, I also have noticed that the topwater bite at dusk for 'gills has been awful at Perris this summer. Last year, I killed it on topwaters around dusk, but this year has been very disappointing. Not sure why.

vortec_cruiser
09-06-2011, 11:30 PM
Nice job there on the panfish. I've had best luck with crickets, but sometimes I think it just boils down to what the fish feel like eating.

By the way, those big grubs turn into Green Scarab Beetles.

Natural Lefty
09-07-2011, 11:03 AM
voctec cruiser, I don't use crickets very much, only due to lack of availability. I use homegrown baits a lot when I use bait, or buy worms at places like Wal-Mart that don't have crickets. I think crickets were working that day, but not as well as the baits I was using. I was also outfishing other people around me because I had a good spot, and many of them were inexperienced fisherpeople who had hooks that were too large, line too heavy, didn't pay proper attention to their lines, etc., all the things that fishing novices do.

I think the Green Scarab Beetles were the same thing that Fishmounter was referring to. That could be the case, but I don't see many of those around here. I do see a lot of them in Riverside though, like hanging onto the figs at my parents' house.

carpanglerdude, it's really puzzling to me. I had a day when I met SirBluegill when they were biting great on flies at Sail Cove in April, but since then, very little surface activity. The fish are there, though. Maybe they are hanging deeper and feeding on scuds (shrimp) or whatever is down there. Perhaps we should try scuds or nymphs close to the bottom. They were biting on bead-headed nymphs drifted down from the marina docks in May, I think it was, but not now.

SirBluegill, it's good to hear from you. I am back from my globetrotting now. I envy all of you float tubers when I see your reports. Sometimes I wonder what I could catch that way, but I am sticking with shore-based fishing for now.

Cartman, were you the person who was growing maggots and catching a bunch of fish on them at Puddingstone? I know someone was. There are lots of good baits out there, perfectly legal, a lot of them better than the commercial stuff. It's a matter of discovering them and trying them. As I recall, SirBluegill was said to be catching fish on an earwig a few months ago.

TheAsianGuy
09-07-2011, 11:05 AM
Nothing better than reading your report there Lefty. Very nice job!

Natural Lefty
09-07-2011, 11:10 AM
Asianguy, it's been loads of fun. Eating my fillets from Monday is scheduled for tonight, maybe tomorrow too.

MichelleBedore
09-07-2011, 12:26 PM
Wow---it was a real pleasure to read your report/story. I love it when anglers include little hints sprinkled throughout a well-written report! Thanks :)

Natural Lefty
09-07-2011, 07:50 PM
Michelle, Perris Lake isn't exactly a secret around here, nor are its docks, but people can fish it poorly and not do well. This is an informational site, so I don't mind telling people exactly how I catch -- or don't catch -- fish. Anyway, it can be difficult to copy another person's successful techniques. We have to work ours out on our own, but information always helps.

La-Califa
09-11-2011, 06:02 PM
Just went to Perris for the first time... Came up empty, too much moss from the shore. went deep but still nothing. Had proper hook size & line. just no luck... used mealworms & nightcrawlers. will tru again soon though. lots of good tips here.

Natural Lefty
09-12-2011, 11:13 AM
La-Califa, sorry to hear you came up empty at Perris. Where exactly did you fish? In the coming weeks, fishing should get better for shore and dock anglers as more decent size and bigger fish move closer to shore. Meanwhile, maybe you should try smaller baits such as waxworms or redworms, although mealworms and nightcrawlers should work too.

smokehound
09-13-2011, 12:41 PM
Excellent read, as always.


I always use these when i find them in the compost. They are trout-killers.
http://www.walterreeves.com/uploads/JPGs/rtmaggot1.JPG

That's the larva of a drone fly, which is attracted to compost heaps.

http://www.growingproduce.com/articles/image/FLG/2007/July/Pest%20Of%20The%20Month/grub1.jpg
Those work pretty well, too. May-Beetle larvae. They arent all that common in compost though, unless it's mature compost.

In our backyard, under some rotting wood, I found some of these once

http://www.dannesdjur.com/bilder/dynastes_hercules_lichyi_1.jpg

never used em, left them alone to grow into adults.

white belt
09-13-2011, 12:53 PM
Great job Lefty! How do you find those Green Scarab Beetles grubs?? I have them ALL OVER my back yard right now and my dog loves killin' em.

smokehound... that's the biggest grub I've ever seen. Holy cow.

TheAsianGuy
09-13-2011, 01:07 PM
Just went to Perris for the first time... Came up empty, too much moss from the shore. went deep but still nothing. Had proper hook size & line. just no luck... used mealworms & nightcrawlers. will tru again soon though. lots of good tips here.

Shoreline fishing the hit and miss thing. If you fish along the shore, max amount of time you want to spend at one spot is 30 minutes, unless the entire shoreline is pack arms-to-arms. The trick is, cast your line straight, bait and wait for 10 minutes. Cast to the left about 15 feet at an angle. 10 minutes of wait. same to the right. If no bite occurs by now. Move on. Find that school of fishes. This is the reason why we use tubes. We like to hunt for the schools, by moving with them. Good luck!

Natural Lefty
09-13-2011, 04:33 PM
La-Califa, Asian guy's advice is quite correct. I also move around a lot if fish are not biting, and try different techniques if I think there are fish there but they aren't responding. The only problem I have is when I get some sort of action, like a nice bite, or see some intriguing fish in the water, and keep trying to catch something without success. It is so easy to lose track of time that way.

White Belt, I am not really sure what kind of grubs they are, but I found them in a compost container we have. My wife always throws stuff in there like fruit peels, and fish bones. They look like what Smokehound says are May-beetle larvae. How big are those, Smokehound?

All of those larvae look huge. That first one looks like a worm more or less. That's really an insect larva? Interesting. I have never seen anything like that. The last one is huge and I have never seen anything like that either, but as I said, the ones I used resemble the second one. They grow quite large but the smaller, baby ones worked better.

white belt
09-13-2011, 05:12 PM
How do you keep the flies away from your compost?

smokehound
09-13-2011, 05:40 PM
La-Califa, Asian guy's advice is quite correct. I also move around a lot if fish are not biting, and try different techniques if I think there are fish there but they aren't responding. The only problem I have is when I get some sort of action, like a nice bite, or see some intriguing fish in the water, and keep trying to catch something without success. It is so easy to lose track of time that way.

White Belt, I am not really sure what kind of grubs they are, but I found them in a compost container we have. My wife always throws stuff in there like fruit peels, and fish bones. They look like what Smokehound says are May-beetle larvae. How big are those, Smokehound?

All of those larvae look huge. That first one looks like a worm more or less. That's really an insect larva? Interesting. I have never seen anything like that. The last one is huge and I have never seen anything like that either, but as I said, the ones I used resemble the second one. They grow quite large but the smaller, baby ones worked better.May beetle larvae are about the size of a quarter, and are found in compost, or around the roots of plants/grass. Figeater beetles (the "green june bugs") Seem to prefer soft rotting wood, and when curled up, are about the size of a silver dollar. They do not look like May-Beetle larvae, and lack that translucent dark blueish-gray backside.

Here's what the larvae of Fig-Beetles look like:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/PC180002JuneBeetleLarvae_wb.jpg

That Huge grub i showed was a western hercules beetle larva. That photo I did not take, it's just a picture of one.

Here is an adult hercules beetle. They prefer soft, rotting logs or branches, and are never found in compost, because they prefer cooler temps.

http://myrmecos.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/dynastes51.jpg

La-Califa
09-14-2011, 03:43 PM
I first went to the left of the boat ramp by parking lots 11 & 12. It was infested by ants. Then went to the shore by the dam. fished a couple of hours, but water seemed shallow. some people were wading in and having a little success with Bass. I then went back to 11 & 12 area. but was really mossy. first time at the lake. so it's just trial & error. can you fish off the Marina area? I saw a shall pier off parking lot 1 & 2. People around me wrren't catching either. just might be a little slow that day.

TheAsianGuy
09-14-2011, 04:07 PM
I first went to the left of the boat ramp by parking lots 11 & 12. It was infested by ants. Then went to the shore by the dam. fished a couple of hours, but water seemed shallow. some people were wading in and having a little success with Bass. I then went back to 11 & 12 area. but was really mossy. first time at the lake. so it's just trial & error. can you fish off the Marina area? I saw a shall pier off parking lot 1 & 2. People around me wrren't catching either. just might be a little slow that day.

La-Califa, when the condition at the parking lots 12&13 is not good, best thing to do is to move to the rock shoreline. It's a bit tougher to get to, but it's more productive. Parking lots 12&13 always yield interesting fishes, but you have to cast at least 100ft out to nail that 10 to 15ft depth. What you can also do is use the slip bobber technique if you're using redworms or nightcrawler, to prevent the lake salad from grabbing your hook. You can use a 3/16 jig head to add a bit of weight to it, or a couple of the split shot weight on the leader to get hook down into the water. The leader total length (from bobber to hook) should be around 3 ft. That's a nightmare to toss that kind of a length 100ft out. This is the reason why we use tubes :Wink: simply drop the bobber rig, and float away.

Shoreliners always use the modified drop shot rigs, such as a nice weight at the very end of the leader, follow by a Snell or Clinched knot hook rig about 2 feet away from the sinker to avoid the salad and present the bait. The bobber sits about a foot to 18" above the hook. Still, a very very long leader to deal with when casting out.

When you're using the rocky shoreline, you don't have to deal with much salad down below. However, you have to deal with the water fleas (watercraft users) that ride near the shoreline, causing plenty of waves and noises that scare the fishes away. This is the reason why people like to hang near the parking lots 11&12, as well as hang along the south side called the Bernasconi & dam outlet.

Let us know how you fair with your second visit to Lake Perris. It's a great lake to play in, plenty of fishes, and trust me when I say winter will only bring about better fishing. Fishes are hungry, not enough bugs to share around because bugs are no longer mating, and the only worms laying around are the one we're tossing into the water. So, get ready for some fun! Not too many water fleas to worry about either. However, more of us water hobos will be flocking the chilly water :LOL:

TheAsianGuy
09-14-2011, 04:15 PM
By the way guys, saw the plastic version of the Drone Fly larvae at Bass Pro. I was flipping out that they actually have a mimic version. Bass Pro has its own version in a bag, 20 counts, for $3.49. Mr. Gary Yamamoto bag of 15 for $4.49 (3 bi-colors combos..I bought one out of sheer curiosity and experimentation since I won't find a shop that sale them around here). Another brand for $3.49 with 20 counts (white color only).

netdawg
09-14-2011, 04:15 PM
La-Califa, another option on bait is to try crickets near the rock shorelines near dusk... an almost lights out experience for panfish

Natural Lefty
09-14-2011, 04:16 PM
So the grub talk continues. I love it!

Smokehound, thank you for the grub photos. They are most informative. Maybe an interest in biology comes naturally to me, since many of my family members are biologists of one type or another. I opted for psychology, though.

The grubs I am finding, specifically, look like those "June Bug" larvae, so I think that's what they are, even though I don't see a lot of the adults around here.

White Belt, I think maggots prefer to eat rotting flesh, so if you just put other stuff in the compost, flies probably won't lay their eggs there. Different types of flies larvae eat different things though. In any case, having maggots would also be an excellent panfish bait source. Just ask Cartman.

La Califa, skunked again? Sorry about that. This report was fishing from the marina docks. You have to pay $3 if you go out to the end, but not the beginning of the docks. You can also fish from shore in the marina. The small pier by parking lots 1 and 2 (Sail Cove) is where I had the best success this spring. I went there a couple of weeks ago, and small Bluegills were biting, but not on the end, only about halfway out. I would recommend fishing either from the marina docks or the little pier in Sail Cove to get the skunk off and catch some panfish, although most of them are probably running small.

TheAsianGuy
09-14-2011, 04:27 PM
La-Califa, another option on bait is to try crickets near the rock shorelines near dusk... an almost lights out experience for panfish

Using drop shot rig with at least 18" leader if there's windy condition or watercraft users already breaking water surface. Otherwise, a bobber, 18" of leader, and let that cricket sinks naturally to present a nice slow sink condition. Use 4lbs or 2lbs test line. It will spook the fishes if you have a 6 or 8lbs test line.

La-Califa
09-14-2011, 04:47 PM
Using drop shot rig with at least 18" leader if there's windy condition or watercraft users already breaking water surface. Otherwise, a bobber, 18" of leader, and let that cricket sinks naturally to present a nice slow sink condition. Use 4lbs or 2lbs test line. It will spook the fishes if you have a 6 or 8lbs test line.

Thanks! I will try all the advise given! I'm sure when I find the tendencies of the lake I will be successful! :)

Natural Lefty
09-14-2011, 05:14 PM
La-Califa, AsianGuy brings good advice, although I would say fall brings better fishing. Winter is the most difficult period to catch fish, although I usually catch something around dusk from pier or docks in the winter.

Fishing around rocky areas around dusk as netdawg suggests can be lights out using almost anything when they are biting, or even in non-rocky areas around dusk. In usual years, I typically catch anywhere from 10-30 Bluegills using a bobber and fly technique in about the 1 1/2 hour period around dusk. Why that hasn't worked this year, I don't know, but the fly hatches must be fewer than usual. Line size probably isn't as critical around dusk either, although 2-4 pound line still works better than heavier. I actually think one reason lighter line works better, is that it imparts better subtle motion to the bait, certainly with artificials, and maybe even with natural baits.