Brite Lake, Tehachapi Report

[Trout-Tuna-For.Me]

Read the thread about Brite Lake a while ago, decided to go check it out anyways.
Got there at 6am, started fishing using other than the norm (PB) using a fly and bubble rig with a bead head prince nymph since I didn't see any trout feeding off the surface. Made about 30 casts using different retrieves with no luck, then switched to a pink beadhead scud with no luck again.
Then tried a non floating Berkley Pinched Crawler with no luck again.
I also tried a few different lures (Kastmaster, Thomas Boutant, and Rapala) with just one bump on the Rapala......the skunk was starting to show it's colors.
So I thought I'd go back to the normal PB that I always seem to catch fish on. At 8:30 got a nibble on Chartreuse with glitter PB but no fish. Then started using another fav PB for that lake (Salmon Peach) and 10 minutes later the first trout of the day was caught. From then on there was another fish about every 10-15 minutes. Limited out by 10:30 with three of them going about 1.5 lbs apiece. Not a bad ending for the morning.
I talked to another guy that was in a boat that caught his limit in a couple hours and he said that he was using just nightcrawlers on the botton. He also said that Kern County had made 3 unscheduled plants in the past few weeks....maybe that's why the fish were so easy to catch compared to the weeks before that.
The lake water level has gone down quite a few feet, but the fish are willing to cooperate if you can cast far enough out.
So best baits now are Salmon Peach PB and night crawlers on the bottom.
Hope this helps others that frequent the fishery to avoid the skunk.
Tight Lines
TTFM

[christainmetalhead909]

Thanks for the report i have been wanting to float tube that lake!

[DangerFishin]

Read the thread about Brite Lake a while ago, decided to go check it out anyways.
Got there at 6am, started fishing using other than the norm (PB) using a fly and bubble rig with a bead head prince nymph since I didn't see any trout feeding off the surface. Made about 30 casts using different retrieves with no luck, then switched to a pink beadhead scud with no luck again.
Then tried a non floating Berkley Pinched Crawler with no luck again.
I also tried a few different lures (Kastmaster, Thomas Boutant, and Rapala) with just one bump on the Rapala......the skunk was starting to show it's colors.
So I thought I'd go back to the normal PB that I always seem to catch fish on. At 8:30 got a nibble on Chartreuse with glitter PB but no fish. Then started using another fav PB for that lake (Salmon Peach) and 10 minutes later the first trout of the day was caught. From then on there was another fish about every 10-15 minutes. Limited out by 10:30 with three of them going about 1.5 lbs apiece. Not a bad ending for the morning.
I talked to another guy that was in a boat that caught his limit in a couple hours and he said that he was using just nightcrawlers on the botton. He also said that Kern County had made 3 unscheduled plants in the past few weeks....maybe that's why the fish were so easy to catch compared to the weeks before that.
The lake water level has gone down quite a few feet, but the fish are willing to cooperate if you can cast far enough out.
So best baits now are Salmon Peach PB and night crawlers on the bottom.
Hope this helps others that frequent the fishery to avoid the skunk.
Tight Lines
TTFM

went up there day before yesterday, got 4 small fish in about 25 minutes as soon as i arrive....using a rooster tail off the rocks... so, continued fishing for a couple hours catch&release, caught 13 fish, kept 5. 8 on yellow/black rtail, 5 on salmon peach pb. (got lazy and switched to bait and wait haha) had alot of fun, and decided to brave the wheather YESTERDAY and brought my brother-in-law, ended up with 29 fish between the two of us (all catch and release besides 10 stockers for dinner today at our overly crowded house.) i stuck to yell/black rtail and pb while he used nightcrawlers only sprayed with garlic the whole day. caught a real nice 3 lber, but I released it because most all the fish they stock are tiny. so we kept the 1-1.5ers

the bite was pretty much wide open all day, hit a couple of 45 minute blanks but other then that, we were getting hits and hookups constantly, thus why we decided to hang out all day in the cold.

there was a mexican family (about 6 people) that had their limits (all of them) at about noon, but just as i suspected, they have a really big freezer at home. so they put their fish in their two trucks, then continued to fish and keep what they were catching. all together they must have had 50+ fish when we left at about 5, and they continued to fish after we left. cant stand people like that. probably didnt pay to get in. the camp host never came out and about i think he was in his rv enjoying the warmth and staying out of the cold.

was windy, cold, rained for awhile, and right as we left late afternoon it began to snow,

this was the best fishing i have had at brite lake since i began fishing there a few months ago, have only caught 3 fish there in the past 5 trips.
two 2lb rainbows and my gf caught a 2lb brown trout. other then that have been going up there trying to figure a way to get the fish there. i knew there was alot of fish even before they started regular trout season stocking because i went out on my small boat with a fish finder and the lake is jam packed with fish everywhere.

cant wait to try for some cats (real cats not them damn bullheads) and the LMB everyone talks about being in there.

I Love brite lake.

[fishinarteest]

I fish this place twice a year every year since i was little. i can count on one hand how many skunks i had. On really good days i'll limit in about an hour or 2, i have caught pretty much every species of fish in that place. Its definetly a great place to fish, i often see guys out there catching double limits with no license. but rangers and sherriffs are always inspecting the fishermen, i've seen guys get caught, its funny. I didn't hit up brite lake last year because i took a fishing trip outta state but i do plan to go there in a couple weeks.

[fishinarteest]

went up there day before yesterday, got 4 small fish in about 25 minutes as soon as i arrive....using a rooster tail off the rocks... so, continued fishing for a couple hours catch&release, caught 13 fish, kept 5. 8 on yellow/black rtail, 5 on salmon peach pb. (got lazy and switched to bait and wait haha) had alot of fun, and decided to brave the wheather YESTERDAY and brought my brother-in-law, ended up with 29 fish between the two of us (all catch and release besides 10 stockers for dinner today at our overly crowded house.) i stuck to yell/black rtail and pb while he used nightcrawlers only sprayed with garlic the whole day. caught a real nice 3 lber, but I released it because most all the fish they stock are tiny. so we kept the 1-1.5ers

the bite was pretty much wide open all day, hit a couple of 45 minute blanks but other then that, we were getting hits and hookups constantly, thus why we decided to hang out all day in the cold.

there was a mexican family (about 6 people) that had their limits (all of them) at about noon, but just as i suspected, they have a really big freezer at home. so they put their fish in their two trucks, then continued to fish and keep what they were catching. all together they must have had 50+ fish when we left at about 5, and they continued to fish after we left. cant stand people like that. probably didnt pay to get in. the camp host never came out and about i think he was in his rv enjoying the warmth and staying out of the cold.

was windy, cold, rained for awhile, and right as we left late afternoon it began to snow,

this was the best fishing i have had at brite lake since i began fishing there a few months ago, have only caught 3 fish there in the past 5 trips.
two 2lb rainbows and my gf caught a 2lb brown trout. other then that have been going up there trying to figure a way to get the fish there. i knew there was alot of fish even before they started regular trout season stocking because i went out on my small boat with a fish finder and the lake is jam packed with fish everywhere.

cant wait to try for some cats (real cats not them damn bullheads) and the LMB everyone talks about being in there.

I Love brite lake.

catfishing there during the summer is crazy. Theres some big channels in there, as well as an abundance of bullheads that i generally catch by accident while fishing for trout. I don't know if you have caught any other species of trout besides rainbows, but they also have browns, lake trout, and i usually catch one or two cutthroat rainbow hybrids. As far as largemouth fishing i catch one or two of those on accident sometimes. They have some real big ones in there.

[Trout-Tuna-For.Me]

The DFG sometimes patrol the lake and they usually make a couple busts whenever I see them. You guys and gals that see over limits and illegal fishing call the Cal Tip number and make a report, taking down their license plate numbers and whatever pertinate info the warden can use. I'd also drop by the Camp Hosts trailer and report it to them also.
It's people like that that screw things up for the rest of us.
That Cal Tip # is 1-888-334-2258
TTFM