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tunagod1
09-18-2011, 06:03 PM
Dad called and wanted to fish perris today so we met at the lake at about 6:30. The water was flat calm and a little fog on the lake. We headed to the backside of the island first, not much happening ther so next stop, bernasconi, fished bernasconi a bit but didn't see what we were looking for. Next stop rockclimbers cove. fish some nice marks there for a good while but no takes. so it was back to the island. made one stop on the south side for about 10 nice redear, ended up fishing the backside of the island in 18 ft of water to catch the remainder of our limits. Almost all redear 4/1, to bluegill.
The redear were all very nice size 1/2 - 3/4lb, dad caught one that was over a pound. The bite seemed to get better in the afternoon, we caught 35 fish between 12 and 1:30. In the same spot we started the morning.

tight lines

Tuna out

TheAsianGuy
09-18-2011, 06:33 PM
Nice one TG. That's what I noticed too. Most panfishes bite during mid day, and not during the morning hours for some reason. Warmer water bring better bodily activities, even though it's just 1 to 2 degrees? The reef is definitely not putting up some major haul. You practically have to stroll back and forth along the southside, from reef to the far east side of the island to put some pressure on the fishes. Great haul nonetheless.

M@M
09-18-2011, 09:12 PM
WTG! Seems you always find those Perris Panfish:Envious:

Natural Lefty
09-19-2011, 10:38 AM
Tunagod, Last Friday at the docks, people were saying that the Redears were biting in the morning for people casting out from the end, but they weren't biting in the afternoon, so go figure.

One consistent thing I have noticed, is that in the winter, what few Redears that do bite, usually do so in the early afternoon. In the summer, it's hard to predict. It's interesting they were biting in the original spot in the afternoon after not biting in the morning. Maybe they moved during the day.

SirBluegill
09-19-2011, 11:21 AM
Lefty, am not sure the fish really move, well the fish in the morning might not be the same ones in the afternoon. I think it has a lot to do with presentation. after watching this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBcbrH5MQQ4 is amazing how long a bluegill will just stare at a bait before it decides to take a bite. Thats why you have some people hooking up left and right sometimes and other not getting a single bite around the same area. Now if only I knew what was working before hand :(

TheAsianGuy
09-19-2011, 11:45 AM
Anthony is half right on it. Fishes will stare down on the baits to ensure it's something that's edible. I'm not a fish, but seeing all the underwater feeding videos since the National Geographics back in the 80's, I come to understand that if the foods seem to be out of place, not the normal food types that they encounter, all fishes will circle the foods to ensure it's edible. Once it considers safe to eat, it will chomp. Just imagine us and the foods we ate. Are we to dig into anything that looks edible? Not really.

Anthony, there was some studying done by a biologist on a few fish species here. The fishes do move around a bit, but not too much. Fishes that hatched from the original area will stay within the area, and expand to roughly 1/4 miles radius for feeding and mating. If competitions are high, and food sources are low, the species will move beyond the 1/4 mile, but slowly, to evaluate the conditions and availability of resources. I also noted on the cats and stripers within the aqueducts based on all the researches done talking to the elite anglers. The 1/4 mile sound about right. However, for the ducts, you're expanding the linear travel to 1/2 to 3/4 miles. They did the same study with basses and cats as well. If something resemble the same food sources as the hunting ground, they will attack the foods without hesitation. Anything out of the ordinary, they will wait.

This proofs my theory about Mr. Gary Yamamoto's panfish watermelon color plastic worms, or the Rapala X floater. The worm and the crankbait resemble the bait fishes in the lake, so, basses and panfishes attacked without second thought. 6" to 10" gills attacked the Rapala X that's about 1/3 their size, but didn't even care for the juicy wiggling nightcrawlers and redworms? They even attack the large thumb size fake grasshopper that mimics the bugs oftenly dropped into the water. Major source of foods without too much work.

But left, dang boy, those grubs sure come in handy. I have got to start my major compost pile again. My yard is a tiny yard, so, composting can be a pain in the behind. My Euro crawlers and redworms bins are at optimal stages right now, and quite easy to manage inside the garage. Compost pile should be up and operational by winter time. Mind saving me some of those massive grubs that you have when we met? Sure love to plant them into the pile.

Natural Lefty
09-19-2011, 03:28 PM
Sir Bluegill, the other possibility is that the fish were there all along, but didn't feel like biting in the morning, just like this spring at the little pier in Sail Cove. Remember when the fish were sleeping, literally? Maybe they were sleeping in the morning. I thought of mentioning that, but didn't, since the same two people were fishing the same area with the same baits and the same setup morning and again in the afternoon. I would have thought that the fish would respond at least somewhat if they were there in the morning, but maybe they were sleeping and totally out of it. I know Tunagod's father, Steve, and he is a whiz at fishing, so if they weren't catching fish, I think they either weren't there or totally not biting.

AsianGuy, I assume you saw my thread hijack of your thread, where I caught 26 fish last Friday at the marina in a few hours, mostly on the grubs. Too bad they were running small, but at least I caught that catfish. I agree that baits usually need to resemble familiar food sources in order to be effective, but I have to wonder how closely crappie jigs, for instance, really resemble minnows, or what in the world spinners resemble. How often do Bluegills in the wild get to eat crickets or grubs? There are small aquatic worms, so worms can look like natural food. I suspect that certain sizes and shapes, or maybe smells and colors, trigger instinctive feeding responses in fish.

I have been using the small grubs (the baby ones). I would be glad to give you some. I suppose you could let some hatch in order to see what they turn into and tempt them into laying their eggs in your compost. I think if you have an outside compost area, the beetles should lay their eggs there. You could try buying a fig tree to attract the beetles, too, since we seem to have concluded that those fig beetles are most likely the parents.

TheAsianGuy
09-19-2011, 03:49 PM
Lefty, you're dead on about the fig beetles. If you actually scavenge along the campground, and the natural vegetation along the shore lines, you'll see nestling of beetles. So, those grubs you have match the ultimate food sources exactly! Damn, you're freaking lucky! Fig beetles heh? I'll definitely get a mission fig tree to tempt those crazy beetles to the compost pile. Strange how manage to hammer that cat. I toss the concentrated stink bait for the bait-and-wait tactic I normally do..but no go on the last round. Really odd. However, I did notice a group, and I do mean a huge group, of fishes on the fish finder. I know the identification of the cats on the fish finder, and the school of bulls and/or channel cats swim together. I followed the two schools with baits hanging over at their levels, and still, they would not take any of my crazy baits. Not sure why they don't feed with such enticement. Oh well. Hope to see you on the water for some future fun.

Natural Lefty
09-19-2011, 09:01 PM
AsianGuy, I think there is something irresistable to many fish about a squirming piece of nutritious food dangled in front of its face. Maybe they actually do eat fig beetle larvae or something that looks similar, though, since you say they are around the campgrounds. I just find it hard to imagine that they spontaneously crawl into the lake to get eaten by Bluegills and Redears.

My parents used to have a fig tree with a lot of figs on it in Riverside, and those beetles were always hanging onto the figs. Now, my stepdaughter in Rowland Heights has a fig tree with a bunch of fruit, and those beetles are hanging out there too.

I don't know why it's so difficult to get the catfish to bite for you at Perris. Maybe your crazy stink baits smell too stinky to the catfish or not like the stink they normally eat. I rarely try for catfish but I just got lucky the other day. It was sort of a small one, though. I hope to see you at Perris too. You have probably seen photos of me so no surprises when you see me.

tunagod1
09-20-2011, 03:22 PM
I think the fish were already there, did not meter a school. seems like free swimmers that just were passing by at the time. I was making long casts into the riverchannel. I think the fish were moving up and down that channel.

The bite was not wide open but consistant every 5 min a fish or 2. We caught fish earlier in the morning but was to slow. We wanted to find a larger school to fish. Unfortunately, we couldn't find what we were looking for so went back to the spot where we caught a few. I/m sure if we would have stuck it out we probably caught our limit by 10:00 instead we looked for a quicker bite and found nada. I know, you don't leave fish to find fish, but we can usually find a better bite than we had Sun.

Tuna

TheAsianGuy
09-20-2011, 03:29 PM
I hear ya TG. Leave the small school in hoping to find the bigger school, or bigger fishes. End up with a dry spell for a few hours, and try to run back to the spots that had the fishes. End up with just picking up small fries for some fun. Too bad we can't just toss the lines over and hook up some major games that will last for a good 20 minutes every time. Imagine the day that would be..broken rods, snapped lines, and one worn out body.