Natural Lefty
09-27-2011, 03:32 PM
There is a lake very close to where I teach which I have been wondering about for a long time, Lasselle Lake. However, it is in one of those gated communities. Recently, I noticed an open gate by where Lasselle Street crosses the lake, and a couple of nearby parking areas. Yesterday is the day I decided to try fishing there, then maybe check our Perris which is nearby, in the evening.
Around 3:15, I parked in a pretty deserted looking apartment area, and made the short walk to Lasselle Lake by the bridge, feeling rather conspicuous carrying my fishing equipment along the sidewalk. I started out fishing by casting a crappie jib that was on my line, and felt a couple of likely bumps from fish and maybe a harder hit, but there must have been a bunch of cables or some such around there, and I soon lost my jig. Next, I put on a little bead-headed fly since it made a good hook, with a tiny bobber and a worm or homegrown grub, and before long, I started catching Bluegills. They weren't very large, with the bigger ones around 6 inches or so and some smaller, but hey, it was my first time fishing in my hometown of Moreno Valley, and I was already catching fish. I kept some of the bigger ones. After a little while, the fishing by the bridge slowed down, so I headed away from the bridge a ways and casted, which drew immediate bites. I caught another Bluegill soon, and the worm was gone, so I decided to try the fly, which I think is a chironomid emerger or something like that, although I am not sure. I decided to work it like a crappie jig, in short jerks behind the bobber. A couple of casts later, sure enough, I caught a small Bluegill on it.
I kept walking down the shore casting my fly and working it enticingly, and caught several more Bluegills, some of keeper size but nothing big. Then, my bobber was dragged under by something which was bigger. After awhile, I got this bottom hugging fish to shore, and amazingly enough, it was a Channel Catfish, stocker size, like 1/2 pound. I don't know what it is with me this year, but I keep catching catfish even when I am not trying. My wife caught one back in May, too. I caught a Channel Catfish myself last time I was fishing, from the Perris docks. Well, I kept catching fish on that fly, or when the action was a bit slow, on redworms. At one point, back by the bridge, I saw several splashes only a few feet away from me, so I put on another jig, and managed to catch two Largemouth Bass, about 9 and 10 inches long I guess, before the structure grabbed this jig too. I was hoping to catch Crappie, but I don't even know whether or not this lake has them.
I had decided to leave around 6 p.m., because I wasn't sure if anybody would be closing the gate at dark where I was parked. A little before 6, I made one final foray well down the shoreline with my fly, caught one small Bluegill, then lo and behold, a slightly larger Channel Catfish on the fly. This time, I knew almost immediately that it was a catfish. After that, it was about 6 p.m., I made a few more casts with the fly but nothing bit, so as an act of thanks to Lasselle Lake, I cleaned up a bunch of the trash left by litterbug fisherpeople there (disgusting how irresponsible a lot of visitors are), although I couldn't come anywhere close to fitting all of it into my cooler. Then I headed to the Perris Lake Marina docks, where fishing wasn't very good. The gate was still open even though it was after 6, and people were having better luck out on the end at the pay area, mostly small Bluegills but some large ones too, mostly on crickets. However, I stayed near shore and only caught one small Bluegill, which I fed to the birds, something I had never done before, but the bird looked friendly, and I don't see anything in the regulations about not feeding part of your bag limit to animals. I intended to try my new fly fishing technique at Perris, which I did, but it didn't work there as it did at Lasselle Lake. I left around 7:15 and drove by Lasselle Lake on the way back to check the parking lot gate. It turns out it was still open, plus one can park at the shopping center nearby. I think I should have stayed at Lasselle Lake. Maybe I would have caught my limit of catfish on my little fly there. The fact that I caught two on the fly there indicates to me that it was no fluke, plus Lasselle Lake has a lot of Channel Catfish. I think they stock it with catfish in the summer. I did see the head of one larger catfish there, probably about 1 1/2 pounds. By the way, one of the old chicken liver containers I was planning to put in my cooler and dispose of properly (hopefully to be recycled) was not empty. I opened it, and it was full of what I guess was rotting chicken liver with a bunch of maggots in it, so anybody who wants maggots for bait, you can get them there. I left the stinky container there. It was one of the foulest things I had ever smelt, certainly smellier than the smelliest smelt that I ever smelt. :Rolls Eyes:
Overall, I found the fishing to be surprisingly good, and the water didn't look dirty.
My totals for Lasselle Lake were, according to my accounting:
17 Bluegills (6 kept), 8 on the fly, 9 on worms or grubs;
2 Channel Catfish on the bead headed fly, kept;
2 undersized LMB, released.
It turns out that the same people I made friends with last time, Aldo and Charlotte, were at the Perris docks again, and they gave me their Bluegills again, 8 good sized ones. :Smile: Thanks, Aldo and Charlotte. It gave me more fish cleaning work to do though, and I think I am getting a bit tired of eating Bluegills. At least I have my catfish, so things aren't too monotonous. I have caught bullhead catfish on jigs before, but these Channel Catfish, caught on a tiny fly fished near the surface in the middle of the afternoon, were a first, and pretty remarkable catch, in an expectation defying sense.
Here is a photo of the two catfish along with the fly I caught them on, and yes, both of them were hooked in the mouth, as well as all the Bluegills I caught on this fly.
Around 3:15, I parked in a pretty deserted looking apartment area, and made the short walk to Lasselle Lake by the bridge, feeling rather conspicuous carrying my fishing equipment along the sidewalk. I started out fishing by casting a crappie jib that was on my line, and felt a couple of likely bumps from fish and maybe a harder hit, but there must have been a bunch of cables or some such around there, and I soon lost my jig. Next, I put on a little bead-headed fly since it made a good hook, with a tiny bobber and a worm or homegrown grub, and before long, I started catching Bluegills. They weren't very large, with the bigger ones around 6 inches or so and some smaller, but hey, it was my first time fishing in my hometown of Moreno Valley, and I was already catching fish. I kept some of the bigger ones. After a little while, the fishing by the bridge slowed down, so I headed away from the bridge a ways and casted, which drew immediate bites. I caught another Bluegill soon, and the worm was gone, so I decided to try the fly, which I think is a chironomid emerger or something like that, although I am not sure. I decided to work it like a crappie jig, in short jerks behind the bobber. A couple of casts later, sure enough, I caught a small Bluegill on it.
I kept walking down the shore casting my fly and working it enticingly, and caught several more Bluegills, some of keeper size but nothing big. Then, my bobber was dragged under by something which was bigger. After awhile, I got this bottom hugging fish to shore, and amazingly enough, it was a Channel Catfish, stocker size, like 1/2 pound. I don't know what it is with me this year, but I keep catching catfish even when I am not trying. My wife caught one back in May, too. I caught a Channel Catfish myself last time I was fishing, from the Perris docks. Well, I kept catching fish on that fly, or when the action was a bit slow, on redworms. At one point, back by the bridge, I saw several splashes only a few feet away from me, so I put on another jig, and managed to catch two Largemouth Bass, about 9 and 10 inches long I guess, before the structure grabbed this jig too. I was hoping to catch Crappie, but I don't even know whether or not this lake has them.
I had decided to leave around 6 p.m., because I wasn't sure if anybody would be closing the gate at dark where I was parked. A little before 6, I made one final foray well down the shoreline with my fly, caught one small Bluegill, then lo and behold, a slightly larger Channel Catfish on the fly. This time, I knew almost immediately that it was a catfish. After that, it was about 6 p.m., I made a few more casts with the fly but nothing bit, so as an act of thanks to Lasselle Lake, I cleaned up a bunch of the trash left by litterbug fisherpeople there (disgusting how irresponsible a lot of visitors are), although I couldn't come anywhere close to fitting all of it into my cooler. Then I headed to the Perris Lake Marina docks, where fishing wasn't very good. The gate was still open even though it was after 6, and people were having better luck out on the end at the pay area, mostly small Bluegills but some large ones too, mostly on crickets. However, I stayed near shore and only caught one small Bluegill, which I fed to the birds, something I had never done before, but the bird looked friendly, and I don't see anything in the regulations about not feeding part of your bag limit to animals. I intended to try my new fly fishing technique at Perris, which I did, but it didn't work there as it did at Lasselle Lake. I left around 7:15 and drove by Lasselle Lake on the way back to check the parking lot gate. It turns out it was still open, plus one can park at the shopping center nearby. I think I should have stayed at Lasselle Lake. Maybe I would have caught my limit of catfish on my little fly there. The fact that I caught two on the fly there indicates to me that it was no fluke, plus Lasselle Lake has a lot of Channel Catfish. I think they stock it with catfish in the summer. I did see the head of one larger catfish there, probably about 1 1/2 pounds. By the way, one of the old chicken liver containers I was planning to put in my cooler and dispose of properly (hopefully to be recycled) was not empty. I opened it, and it was full of what I guess was rotting chicken liver with a bunch of maggots in it, so anybody who wants maggots for bait, you can get them there. I left the stinky container there. It was one of the foulest things I had ever smelt, certainly smellier than the smelliest smelt that I ever smelt. :Rolls Eyes:
Overall, I found the fishing to be surprisingly good, and the water didn't look dirty.
My totals for Lasselle Lake were, according to my accounting:
17 Bluegills (6 kept), 8 on the fly, 9 on worms or grubs;
2 Channel Catfish on the bead headed fly, kept;
2 undersized LMB, released.
It turns out that the same people I made friends with last time, Aldo and Charlotte, were at the Perris docks again, and they gave me their Bluegills again, 8 good sized ones. :Smile: Thanks, Aldo and Charlotte. It gave me more fish cleaning work to do though, and I think I am getting a bit tired of eating Bluegills. At least I have my catfish, so things aren't too monotonous. I have caught bullhead catfish on jigs before, but these Channel Catfish, caught on a tiny fly fished near the surface in the middle of the afternoon, were a first, and pretty remarkable catch, in an expectation defying sense.
Here is a photo of the two catfish along with the fly I caught them on, and yes, both of them were hooked in the mouth, as well as all the Bluegills I caught on this fly.