Lake Perris (East East End)

[Masher12]

Has anyone fished the pool of water (actually pretty decent size of water, it's probably the size of Green Valley Lake or a little bigger) that is east of the lake since they have lowered the water? My buddy and I found it by accident on Saturday.

[jpod]

ive seen it bfor wondering the same thing u can see it on google earth its a nice walk from bernasconi

[Masher12]

My buddy and I floated tubed from Bernasconi to the east end on Saturday. I caught 16 LMB & 1 Bluegill and my buddy caught 4 LMB and 1 Bluegill. We got in the water at 7am and kept floating east until 12:30pm before we thought about getting out. There was only one problem, there was no place to get out so we kept going east. We got out of our tubes and walked east for a while and ran into it. We fished it for a bit with no bites. We were looking for a place to get to the bike path. We had to float tube across it. We were drop-shotting it. It is pretty deep probably 30 to 40 ft deep. We fished 5 to 15 ft of water in the main lake.

[Hog Caller]

Used to catch a lot of bass in there a few years ago just before they lowered the lake and the weeds grew in and you couldn't get the bass boat through any more.
I would have to guess that if you can walk to it then it's been fished (poached) pretty clean by now.
caught the the 11.25 in my avatar just outside it in March 08.

Brent

[carpanglerdude]

My buddy and I floated tubed from Bernasconi to the east end on Saturday. I caught 16 LMB & 1 Bluegill and my buddy caught 4 LMB and 1 Bluegill. We got in the water at 7am and kept floating east until 12:30pm before we thought about getting out. There was only one problem, there was no place to get out so we kept going east. We got out of our tubes and walked east for a while and ran into it. We fished it for a bit with no bites. We were looking for a place to get to the bike path. We had to float tube across it. We were drop-shotting it. It is pretty deep probably 30 to 40 ft deep. We fished 5 to 15 ft of water in the main lake.

I've tried hiking to it from the bike path before. Really thick back there, not easy going at all. Never made it.

[TheAsianGuy]

Try that pool after a nice rise of water from a few days of rain or after a fill from the northern water diversions from the lakes in the mountains. Fishes get trapped in there. Some of us caught large fishes, ranging from 8lbs basses to 20lbs cats. Plenty of panfishes after the long wet season. I caught myself a nice 2lbs crappie and a 6lbs cat. A possible 6 to 10lbs bass got away. Just a warning though, during wet days, the little pond can be dangerous since there are sink holes that you may not be able to spot. During hot days, plenty of snakes searching for the birds' nests around that pond. Plenty of mosquitoes to make meals out of your blood, including ticks. Got 7 on my long overall on my last expedition last year, and one was actively sucking on my neck. Just becareful.

[Masher12]

The walk from the pond to the bike path wasn't fun. Thank god it was 82 that day and not 100. Didn't see any snakes either. The pond had no weeds. Our drop shot rigs did have any weeds at all while we fished it. Kinda glad the fishing wasn't good. It was a pain in the ***** to get in and out there. Might try it again after some rain.

[TheAsianGuy]

Just be careful on the snakes part. You will not see them until it's too late within their striking range. Most of the time, you'll probably spot gopher snakes. You can hear rattlers. Either one will be detrimental to your health if they happen to sink their fangs into you. The trick is, wait until there is a rise in water just before a hard day of rain. Better yet, wait for a few days of hard rain, wait for a nice two or three days of dryness, and visit the lake. You'll be pleasantly surprise of the fishes get trapped in that pond. They come in to take a feasting on the victims of the surrounding trees and shrubs. Even if there's only 1 foot of water clearance, they'll jump the gun and rush the pond. The oddest thing is, I saw fishes swam in, but they don't bother to swim back out after a good half day of swimming in that pond. It's like that pond is a one way ticket for them for some reason. The carps would swim up to the entrance of the pond, and just double back into the deep area of the pond. We did a few drop shots with floats to measure the deepest part of the pond during the peak of storms, and the deepest part was around 12ft. When the fishes in there get desperate, they will eat anything you throw in there. Birds love that pond quite a bit too. So do the mosquitoes.

[Masher12]

Thanks for the info. It took us about 3 hours to get back to our truck on bernasconi rd from the main lake to the pond and thru all the trees and brush.

Anyone know when they plan on rising the water? Can wait until the water gets into the trees again on the east end.

[karalm]

From Bernasconi thats a hell of a hike. How about going the other way around from the state park and ramp side to the small lake. From Google, that looks like a better hike and shorter??

[TheAsianGuy]

Both directions are equivalent. It may seem shorter, but both are just as trecherous. Some of us actually modified our bikes to haul gears. I'm lucky to have my kid's stroller-bike trailer modified for that. See my avatar? :LOL: Take the bike, ride up to the pond (roughly 5 minutes riding for a moderate pace, or 10 minutes in relax pace), park it near the two big trees closest to the pond, lock it up, and fish. If you're taking the other route, which is the Parking Lot 11 and 12 area, it seems to be closer, and that may be true, the the up-down hill battle through the hill side is a bit rough.

As for the water rising and falling, normally, before the wet season, they intentionally drop the water to prevent overburden the lake. When it rains hard, the lake get filled up real fast. Remember, this lake and the flood land just slightly north east of the lake take on the entire flow of the Moreno Valley area with very little water retention from the northern ends due to the past heavy development. Like I said, just wait a few good days of rain, and you'll see the lake rises like your bladder after drinking a Big Gulp. As for the summer time, water rises and drops all the time, depending on the requirement of water required by the DVL. When the DVL water drops due to the water usages, DVL pulls from LP. LP signal to pull water from the upper lakes when water volume is available. So, constant rise and fall..unpredictable timeline. Just pay attention to the anglers reporting in. We give pretty good details about when it rises and falls. If you read that the water rises beyond the stump at the Bernasconi ramp by a good 5 feet, that means the pond is getting filled slowly, with possible 1 foot of wading water into the pond. If the water goes all the way up to the trash bin, that means the pond is flooded. FISH TIME!