Natural Lefty
10-22-2011, 12:26 PM
Here comes my next exciting installment of "As the Worm Turns: The Perris Chronicles."
I made it to the lake earlier yesterday, about 2:30 p.m., with gobs of leftover storebought and new homegrown worms for bait, plus a couple of grubs from the compost. As before, I cast a paternoster type rig baited with worms out as far as I could on my 6 pound line, while fishing around the pier with 2 pound line with worms on a microjig.
At first, nothing bit, but around 3 p.m., there goes my lucky pole with the paternoster rig bending over again, and I reeled in a decent size Bluegill. A little while later, I caught a slightly larger Bluegill on my other pole, again when I was working with my other pole. "A Watched Pole Never Bends" seemed to be a theme this day. Maybe the fish are slowing down with the cooler water and don't go for moving baits so much.
Between 3:30 and 4:30, nothing bit which was really disappointing. I did try a sinking bobber technique for awhile on another pole instead of the paternoster rig, but retired that pole for the day when I casted out and it went all the way to the knot at the bottom of the spool. I definitely need to put some new line on that reel. Also, I was expecting Juanmore and his family but they hadn't shown up. I remembered they showed up around 5 p.m. last time, so I was thinking that would be the case again most likely. At 4:30, I noticed my paternoster rig was a little tight but no obvious bite, so I picked it up, and sure enough, there was a fish on the line digesting its food. I knew right away that it was a Redear, just like what happened last week with my second Redear. It was about the same size as that Redear too. I have noticed that either Redears bite very lightly, which is most of the time, or they bite very hard. I usually use very light equipment and less weight, so I often feel or see the subtle bites, but I guess not with the 1/2 ounce weight and the paternoster rig.
After that, I started getting more bites again, but missing them on the pole not being watched. At 5 p.m., sure enough, Juan and Evelyn showed up, with the wife watching the napping little boy (Johnathan?) in the car. I showed them the fish which was interesting to them since they didn't know what a Redear was yet. They only had one pole because Juan had been very busy and so had forgotten Evelyn's pole. He let her borrow his pole which had a big red mealworm on a small fly, and next thing we knew, Evelyn reeled in a 10 inch Bass. I think she has that feminine fish karma thing going on the same way my wife does. Next, I let her borrow one of my poles, my traveller's 4 part ultralight with 2 pound line on it. It's a good thing I brought 4 poles with me. When I told her she could use that one, it immediately bent over with a bite, then stopped, then bent again, then stopped. By the time she got there, the fish was gone.
Juan's wife next showed up and she had to go to the gym for awhile so she needed Evelyn to watch her little brother. Evelyn and the mom went off and didn't return until after 6:30. In that time, Juan and I talked a lot, mostly about fishing, and began making top-secret plans for next week. The fishing wasn't particularly good, but we kept missing bites when we weren't paying attention. Maybe we were a bit distracted. At one point, the ranger showed up in the parking lot next to my car and lingered there, making me worried that I had forgotten my Poppy Pass. I went up to check, and my Poppy Pass was right where it should be. When I returned, my paternoster pole bent over, but I got there a moment too late. Another time, Juan was closer to the pole when it bent over, so he tried to set the hook but was too late again. Juan missed several bites too, and one time had a good puller on the line but it came off when he almost had it in.
Eventually, some small Bluegills started biting near the pier, but it was much fewer than two weeks ago, likely the result of the cooling fall weather. I caught 3 little ones around the pier, and Juan caught one, all of which we released. I also lost one that felt decent size during that period. Finally, Evelyn showed up again as it was getting dark, and brought her good fishing luck with her. Juan was saying he had a long day and was tired, but Evelyn wanted to fish a while more. I lent her that same pole. She soon had one on but it came off, and a moment later, I noticed somehow, although it was nearly dark, that the end of my paternoster pole was jiggling. Sure enough, there was a fish on it, which felt heavier. Actually, it felt somewhat as though I had hooked a small lawn chair, but finally, it did a few shakes. It turned out to be another Channel Catfish, on the small side, but big enough. I don't know what it is with me and the Channel Catfish since I returned from Taiwan. They seem to seek out my bait or lure even when I am not trying for them. I gave Juan and Evelyn a good look at my catfish which they were interested in. After showing them the catfish, I stopped fising and gave Evelyn one more worm to use on my ultralight pole, and sure enough, she quickly caught a juvenile Bluegill on it, which she released, ending her fishing day also on a positive note. We all headed home at that point, which was about 7 p.m.
The total catch for me was 5 Bluegills (2 kept, 3 released), 1 Redear Sunfish (kept) and 1 Channel Catfish (kept), all on worms. To show that I am no braggart, I accurately weighed the panfish I kept, with both Bluegills weighing in at about 4 ounces, the Redear, at 6 ounces, and the catfish, at a whopping 7 ounces. They had commensurate length measurements ranging from 7 inches minus to 10 inches plus. Anyway, they will do fine as part of my panfish diet. Juan is making plans to put his family on a panfish diet in the near future.
In addition, Juan caught one Bluegill on a mealworm which he released, and Evelyn caught a Bass on a mealworm and a Bluegill on a redworm which were released.
I took a photo of Gorjilina "eating the fish." Actually, it was a "trick" photo, as I put the kitty treat in between the fish and took the photo as Gorjilina was eating it. I guess one could say Gorjilina was trick-or-treating. My male cat Smurfull showed up this morning and I would have liked to have gotten his photo too, but he had gone back to patrolling the neighborhood by the time I took the photo. (If you think Gorjilina is a big cat, wait until you see Smurfull.) By the way, Juan has been having troubles uploading photos to this site too. He said he tried to upload some photos of Evelyn with her fish 2 weeks ago, but the computer said they were too big.
Stay tuned for another exciting episode of "As the Worm Turns." Next week's episode is shaping up to be a real humdinger. Here's a hint: We are planning to actually fish somewhere other than Perris Lake for a change.
I made it to the lake earlier yesterday, about 2:30 p.m., with gobs of leftover storebought and new homegrown worms for bait, plus a couple of grubs from the compost. As before, I cast a paternoster type rig baited with worms out as far as I could on my 6 pound line, while fishing around the pier with 2 pound line with worms on a microjig.
At first, nothing bit, but around 3 p.m., there goes my lucky pole with the paternoster rig bending over again, and I reeled in a decent size Bluegill. A little while later, I caught a slightly larger Bluegill on my other pole, again when I was working with my other pole. "A Watched Pole Never Bends" seemed to be a theme this day. Maybe the fish are slowing down with the cooler water and don't go for moving baits so much.
Between 3:30 and 4:30, nothing bit which was really disappointing. I did try a sinking bobber technique for awhile on another pole instead of the paternoster rig, but retired that pole for the day when I casted out and it went all the way to the knot at the bottom of the spool. I definitely need to put some new line on that reel. Also, I was expecting Juanmore and his family but they hadn't shown up. I remembered they showed up around 5 p.m. last time, so I was thinking that would be the case again most likely. At 4:30, I noticed my paternoster rig was a little tight but no obvious bite, so I picked it up, and sure enough, there was a fish on the line digesting its food. I knew right away that it was a Redear, just like what happened last week with my second Redear. It was about the same size as that Redear too. I have noticed that either Redears bite very lightly, which is most of the time, or they bite very hard. I usually use very light equipment and less weight, so I often feel or see the subtle bites, but I guess not with the 1/2 ounce weight and the paternoster rig.
After that, I started getting more bites again, but missing them on the pole not being watched. At 5 p.m., sure enough, Juan and Evelyn showed up, with the wife watching the napping little boy (Johnathan?) in the car. I showed them the fish which was interesting to them since they didn't know what a Redear was yet. They only had one pole because Juan had been very busy and so had forgotten Evelyn's pole. He let her borrow his pole which had a big red mealworm on a small fly, and next thing we knew, Evelyn reeled in a 10 inch Bass. I think she has that feminine fish karma thing going on the same way my wife does. Next, I let her borrow one of my poles, my traveller's 4 part ultralight with 2 pound line on it. It's a good thing I brought 4 poles with me. When I told her she could use that one, it immediately bent over with a bite, then stopped, then bent again, then stopped. By the time she got there, the fish was gone.
Juan's wife next showed up and she had to go to the gym for awhile so she needed Evelyn to watch her little brother. Evelyn and the mom went off and didn't return until after 6:30. In that time, Juan and I talked a lot, mostly about fishing, and began making top-secret plans for next week. The fishing wasn't particularly good, but we kept missing bites when we weren't paying attention. Maybe we were a bit distracted. At one point, the ranger showed up in the parking lot next to my car and lingered there, making me worried that I had forgotten my Poppy Pass. I went up to check, and my Poppy Pass was right where it should be. When I returned, my paternoster pole bent over, but I got there a moment too late. Another time, Juan was closer to the pole when it bent over, so he tried to set the hook but was too late again. Juan missed several bites too, and one time had a good puller on the line but it came off when he almost had it in.
Eventually, some small Bluegills started biting near the pier, but it was much fewer than two weeks ago, likely the result of the cooling fall weather. I caught 3 little ones around the pier, and Juan caught one, all of which we released. I also lost one that felt decent size during that period. Finally, Evelyn showed up again as it was getting dark, and brought her good fishing luck with her. Juan was saying he had a long day and was tired, but Evelyn wanted to fish a while more. I lent her that same pole. She soon had one on but it came off, and a moment later, I noticed somehow, although it was nearly dark, that the end of my paternoster pole was jiggling. Sure enough, there was a fish on it, which felt heavier. Actually, it felt somewhat as though I had hooked a small lawn chair, but finally, it did a few shakes. It turned out to be another Channel Catfish, on the small side, but big enough. I don't know what it is with me and the Channel Catfish since I returned from Taiwan. They seem to seek out my bait or lure even when I am not trying for them. I gave Juan and Evelyn a good look at my catfish which they were interested in. After showing them the catfish, I stopped fising and gave Evelyn one more worm to use on my ultralight pole, and sure enough, she quickly caught a juvenile Bluegill on it, which she released, ending her fishing day also on a positive note. We all headed home at that point, which was about 7 p.m.
The total catch for me was 5 Bluegills (2 kept, 3 released), 1 Redear Sunfish (kept) and 1 Channel Catfish (kept), all on worms. To show that I am no braggart, I accurately weighed the panfish I kept, with both Bluegills weighing in at about 4 ounces, the Redear, at 6 ounces, and the catfish, at a whopping 7 ounces. They had commensurate length measurements ranging from 7 inches minus to 10 inches plus. Anyway, they will do fine as part of my panfish diet. Juan is making plans to put his family on a panfish diet in the near future.
In addition, Juan caught one Bluegill on a mealworm which he released, and Evelyn caught a Bass on a mealworm and a Bluegill on a redworm which were released.
I took a photo of Gorjilina "eating the fish." Actually, it was a "trick" photo, as I put the kitty treat in between the fish and took the photo as Gorjilina was eating it. I guess one could say Gorjilina was trick-or-treating. My male cat Smurfull showed up this morning and I would have liked to have gotten his photo too, but he had gone back to patrolling the neighborhood by the time I took the photo. (If you think Gorjilina is a big cat, wait until you see Smurfull.) By the way, Juan has been having troubles uploading photos to this site too. He said he tried to upload some photos of Evelyn with her fish 2 weeks ago, but the computer said they were too big.
Stay tuned for another exciting episode of "As the Worm Turns." Next week's episode is shaping up to be a real humdinger. Here's a hint: We are planning to actually fish somewhere other than Perris Lake for a change.