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View Full Version : 5 days Vacation with tough fishing at Big Bear Lake...):}+{:(...



The Fishing Queen
10-06-2013, 08:52 PM
9/29, I had 5 days of vacation time to spend at Big Bear Lake alone. My husband made arrangements for the kid's school schedules, so that I could get away without any worries. My family is very supportive and they even went out shopping and packed a big cooler with groceries and snacks ...... I arrived at Big Bear Lake around 3pm and checked in at the resort. Nice condo unit with a great 180 degree view of the lake.

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9/30, I woke up with a bad headache. Had a cup of coffee and rested in bed after taking some headache meds. I finally stated to feel better around 3:30pm. Got up, and got out at 4:20 and fished on the dock till 6:00. I fished with a Tenkara rod (with a fly) and a spinning rod with power bait. No bites, no fish and no luck! I talked to an older man who had been fishing there all afternoon, he said that he hadn't caught anything for 3 days.

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10/1, Shopped at Big Bear Lake Sporting Goods, Steve ( a staff member) told me that some people had caught a few trout at the Dam. After I left the store, I drove to Boulder Bay, took my Tenkara rod and fished on the dock for 45 mins, I didn't see any bluegills or crappies, only a few juvenile bass that swam near the fishing dock. I talked to a few people and they didn't have any luck with trout either.

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I decided to stop at Big Bear Village to have a lunch, the Himalayan Restaurant is my favorite place in town. I ordered lamb saag. I love exotic food, and oh yes, extra spicy please! Yummy, yummy!

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I drove to the Bear Valley Dam after my delicious lunch. There were a lot of weeds near the shore so I took two spinning rods. I fished there for an hour and half. Again, no catch! I tried power bait and power worms, but nothing was working for trout that day. Well, as some of you know, I am the fishing queen and I always catch fish on my trips. But this time, I had the biggest 'skunk' ever. Not even a single bite! I'm not going to complain too much about fishing, I have to say that I had a wonderful day even though I didn't catch anything. Big Bear Lake is beautiful - with fresh air and nice scenery. It was a pleasure to go out, fun to talk to other fishermen, listen to their stories, and share some relaxing times with them at the shore. What else can I say? It's good to spend time by the lake.

Took some pretty pictures to share with you all, wish you were here, even on this tough fishing day!

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10/2, I enjoyed a relaxing day - did some shopping at Big Bear village, stopped at Starbucks to have a Green Tea Frappuccino. My poor feet got some good rest.

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After a nice rest, I drove around the lake and checked out a few fishing areas. First stop was Stanfield Cut-off, the wind was very strong on the side of lake where I was. I only saw one brave soul fishing there. I asked if he had caught any fish. He said: "No". So I jumped back in my car and continued driving to the next stop.

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I stopped at the Carol Morrison Boat Launch. The I went to the fishing dock and asked a few people who were fishing there if they had any luck fishing. One guy caught 2 bullhead catfish and another lady had a trout. The other two had none.....

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I took some photos, went back on the road and drove to Juniper Point. There was a sign hanging on the gate.... It was closed. Next, Meadows Edge - closed. Then, Dana Point Park - closed. Windy Point - closed..... I finally arrived at the Duane Boyer Boat Launch. I couldn't believe how bad the weed situation was - the weeds were 30-40 feet from the shore and nobody was fishing there....

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I continued my drive to the North Shore, parked my car at the side of the road and went down the trail to see if anyone was there. The shore line was empty and the wind was harsh in this area....so I drove to the Bear Valley Dam, got out and talked to 4-5 fishermen. Two guys caught 2 bullhead catfish and 1 baby bass with worms....

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My last stop was Boulder Bay. There have to have some fish there, I thought. I put on my fishing hat and polarized sunglasses, took my Tenkara fly rod and my little straw bag and I was ready to go. There was a couple fishing on the dock. I didn't ever bother to ask as I spotted their empty fishing basket laying on the ground. I fished for 40 mins and I only had 3 bites and hooked 2 small bass. That was it for today. Finally, I broke the "skunk spell" and came back to the resort with blisters on my feet due to the high heels that I was wearing.... As I drove I thought to myself: "A nice bubble bath and a tasty seafood dinner will help to ease all of these pains...."

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10/3, Mike and his wife Maria came to visit me at the resort. We had a great day. I took them to Big Bear Village and we had fun browsing through the stores. Then we stopped in a restaurant to having dinner. The two brave souls wanted to try the Himalayan restaurant so they ordered some shrimp dishes, and they enjoyed their dinner. The restaurant owner was very kind and gave me 10% off as a gift to an appreciated customer. That was a nice surprise! It was fun to have friends here visiting, I enjoyed their company and we had a wonderful time together.

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10/4, Checked out of the resort and drove down with harsh winds. I finally made it home to a warm reception from my family. A vacation is nice every once in a while but it's good to be back home with my family and pets....let's hope for better fishing next time!

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old pudd fisher
10-06-2013, 09:16 PM
Very nice, great pics and glad you are back with your awesome reports.

The Fishing Queen
10-06-2013, 09:33 PM
Thank you OPF! Things got busy unexpectedly. I just didn't have time to post like I used to. I'll be around and will checking on you guys once in a while....lol...

shift21
10-06-2013, 10:30 PM
well that is pretty awesome, that sounds like some good vacation alone time. good time for thinking and relaxing and fishing. i cant do that for a while since my 10month old is a handfull.

But i am happy that your family sees you need some me time.

Troutin Man
10-06-2013, 11:38 PM
What an awesome family you have. 5 days of fishing sounds so great! BBL can definitely be tough especially with all the weeds. I think boats are best way to go right now. Once it gets cold, shore fishing should improve. I love fishing bbl during the winter months and early spring.

Good to see you are posting once again. great pics as well.

DEVOREFLYER
10-07-2013, 06:35 AM
Fishing Queen your picture pictorials are the best of the best. Great scenery to view in your pics as always, any sign of color change up there yet? Sorry to hear you had the Skunk, now that is unusual, very unusual. I'm thinking you should moonlight as a Food Editor or Restaurant Reviewer with the great pics and your food choices. Fishing in high heels had me laughing out loud. Better fishing next time I am sure.

The Fishing Queen
10-09-2013, 08:18 AM
well that is pretty awesome, that sounds like some good vacation alone time. good time for thinking and relaxing and fishing. i cant do that for a while since my 10month old is a handfull.

But i am happy that your family sees you need some me time.

Thank you shift21! Welcome! We all need some time to be alone and relax once in a while. I was in your position about 10 years ago with two kids and they truly kept me busy during that time. Your time will be coming too. Enjoy your little one as much as you can, they grow up quick! :Smile:

The Fishing Queen
10-09-2013, 08:26 AM
What an awesome family you have. 5 days of fishing sounds so great! BBL can definitely be tough especially with all the weeds. I think boats are best way to go right now. Once it gets cold, shore fishing should improve. I love fishing bbl during the winter months and early spring.

Good to see you are posting once again. great pics as well.



Troutin Man, thanks for your reply! :Razz: I'm very lucky and I am proud of my great family. They've been very supportive of me with everything I do - from art, music, fishing, and writing..... I was aware of the weeds, that's why I also brought my spinning rods with me on this trip. A couple people I talked to said they were catching two weeks ago, but they got skunked this time as well. I just hope that the fishing will be better during the winter and next spring. I also met a regular, his name is Rudy, he told that that fishing hasn't been that good this year compared to the last few years. Did you notice the difference?

The Fishing Queen
10-09-2013, 08:31 AM
Devoreflyer, thanks you for your compliment on the pictures! Autumn is starting to show itself in some areas. I stopped at my mountain home on the way up to BBL, and sat in the backyard to enjoy a nice afternoon. Then 5 days later I went back to the house to drop off some stuff on my way down and it was cold, windy and there were a lot of leaves and pine needles on my porch and dock. I noticed the difference just in a few days.

I just read about some other fishermen's reports and it seems like fishing has been terrible the past of 3-4 weeks. Its comforting to know that it wasn't because of my technique. :Wink: We just have to blame it on the lake and the fish, ha,ha.... As for fishing in high heels, I've done that a lot, I normally dress like a classy lady and wear high heels all the time. Sometime I get the urge to fish so I just stop at the lake, pull out my Tenkara and have a short fishing session. My friends used to tease me about that. Addiction is a dangerous for us fishermen and fisherwomen. Lol....

Troutcz swimbait
10-09-2013, 06:16 PM
Nice write up and pics you'll get them next time.

The Fishing Queen
10-09-2013, 06:52 PM
Nice write up and pics you'll get them next time.

John, are you back in town yet? I'll see you around when they start to plant trout again.

Hoot951
10-09-2013, 07:37 PM
Awesome report fishing queen. I always enjoy your pictures and the details of your adventures. I was up at Big Bear on the 5th so I missed you by a day. It was my first trout trip of the year. I was up there for about 5 hours and managed 4 small stocker trout.

Natural Lefty
10-09-2013, 10:38 PM
How disappointing to have such poor fishing at BBL. It's a good thing that fishing is about more than catching fish, and you have such a supportive family.

The Fishing Queen
10-10-2013, 07:08 PM
Awesome report fishing queen. I always enjoy your pictures and the details of your adventures. I was up at Big Bear on the 5th so I missed you by a day. It was my first trout trip of the year. I was up there for about 5 hours and managed 4 small stocker trout.

Hoot951, Glad that you enjoyed the report and thanks for your kind words! I was disappointed about the fishing when I was there. 3 out of the 5 days were very windy down by the lake..... I wonder if they stocked trout on Thursday or Friday (10/3 and 10/4) for the Saturday tournament.

I am glad to know that you caught some trout when you were in Big Bear. Big Bear is a nice lake, if this was your first time fishing there, I'm sure it won't be you last trip. :Cool:

The Fishing Queen
10-10-2013, 07:10 PM
How disappointing to have such poor fishing at BBL. It's a good thing that fishing is about more than catching fish, and you have such a supportive family.

Robert, you're right! Even though I didn't do good with fishing, I can't complain too much about this relaxing vacation. It was wonderful to be there and I enjoyed to have an entire condo just to myself...lol...

If you are planing come up to the mountain and fish on Saturday, we can meet and I'll be happy to introduce my family to you. I'll double check with you on the other website.

seal
10-10-2013, 07:13 PM
Ya know I guess I picked a good year to take off from fishing Big Bear Lake. Seems a lot of these slow days this year even the LMB chasers aren't posting too much. Weird? Any thoughts Queen? Love those holdover trout might have to chase them one time before it gets too cold to tube.

Great vacation you are lucky with the blessing of a family that allows you to take some alone time in such a great place!

The Fishing Queen
10-10-2013, 09:36 PM
Ya know I guess I picked a good year to take off from fishing Big Bear Lake. Seems a lot of these slow days this year even the LMB chasers aren't posting too much. Weird? Any thoughts Queen? Love those holdover trout might have to chase them one time before it gets too cold to tube.

Great vacation you are lucky with the blessing of a family that allows you to take some alone time in such a great place!


Seal, I have no clue why. Big Bear was a big surprise to me on this trip, I usually do good there, I caught some nice size trout in the past, but not this time though. I had a few friends from FNN that I chat with online and they've been very helpful in giving me some suggestions for trying different techniques and different locations. Nothing worked for me. I stopped at Big Bear Sporting Goods and talked to Steve (The shop keeper). He told me that by the dam was the only place that people were catching trout these days. After my skunk, I went back to him and told him that I was fishing with Rudy ( a local fisherman that I met by the lake who fishes 3-4 time a week). Steve said fishing must be bad since even Rudy got a big skunk as well.....A friend had mentioned that barometric pressures were all over the place and that might be the reason that trout fishing was tough for shore fishermen. He even suggested that I get a boat or kayak and try to fish in the middle of lake. But I decided not to do it since I was fishing alone and didn't feel comfortable to rent a boat. I did see a couple who had a boat and they both managed 9 trout with trolling (4 rods with lures). So you might have luck with your float tube. Just stay near the dam.

And thanks for the nice words about my family, we are strongly bonded and we have great understanding for each other's needs.

fishermanx14
10-10-2013, 09:43 PM
Awesome report as allways FQ....i allways used to do half way decent the the damn this time of year.

Troutin Man
10-10-2013, 10:41 PM
Troutin Man, thanks for your reply! :Razz: I'm very lucky and I am proud of my great family. They've been very supportive of me with everything I do - from art, music, fishing, and writing..... I was aware of the weeds, that's why I also brought my spinning rods with me on this trip. A couple people I talked to said they were catching two weeks ago, but they got skunked this time as well. I just hope that the fishing will be better during the winter and next spring. I also met a regular, his name is Rudy, he told that that fishing hasn't been that good this year compared to the last few years. Did you notice the difference?

Yes. I agree. Like many of the posts, it was tougher fishing this year. But I will say this...if you catch one it is a trophy in my book because you really have to work and earn it. And fish here just taste much better than trout in other lakes. It may be all in my psyche, but that is what I believe. It will probably and hopefully pick up again. Think the lake needs to be reset with a cold winter, kill off all the weeds, and start all over next spring. Fishing will pick up this winter...at least I hope so.

Jenks has been hot and a lot of action. There are still a good amount of holdovers and planting continues...the last stock was this week according to the website. I am going to try and head up to Jenks over the next week! The lake is closed so won't be too many anglers.

The Fishing Queen
10-12-2013, 07:06 PM
Awesome report as allways FQ....i allways used to do half way decent the the damn this time of year.

Thanks Chris! The temperature is getting cooler now in the mountains and I think Big Bear trout fishing is going to pick up again. Can't wait for them to stock trout at my local lake.






Yes. I agree. Like many of the posts, it was tougher fishing this year. But I will say this...if you catch one it is a trophy in my book because you really have to work and earn it. And fish here just taste much better than trout in other lakes. It may be all in my psyche, but that is what I believe. It will probably and hopefully pick up again. Think the lake needs to be reset with a cold winter, kill off all the weeds, and start all over next spring. Fishing will pick up this winter...at least I hope so.

Jenks has been hot and a lot of action. There are still a good amount of holdovers and planting continues...the last stock was this week according to the website. I am going to try and head up to Jenks over the next week! The lake is closed so won't be too many anglers.

Me too, I favor the holdovers from BBL over other lakes. They are the best tasting trout that I've had from SoCal lakes. The trout with pink meat tastes very tender almost like salmon.

Jenks Lake is another of my choice. I like the scenery and I had pretty good luck over there as well. I only fished with my Tenkara rod and I caught a lot of panfish and some trout on flies. I like to hike in and fish during the winter when I've almost had the entire lake just for myself....ha, ha...

rucksters
10-21-2013, 03:55 PM
hi fishing queen, just wondering where is that condo you are staying in and how much. Would like to take my family up big bear and stay in something like that.

The Fishing Queen
10-21-2013, 08:56 PM
That is a private vacation resort, and it requires ownership to fish. I don't know how much it costs since I received it as a present. But there are other lake front properties around and I'll shoot you a PM to help you start.

fishermanx14
10-21-2013, 09:20 PM
[QUOTE=The Fishing Queen;700738]Thanks Chris! The temperature is getting cooler now in the mountains and I think Big Bear trout fishing is going to pick up again. Can't wait for them to stock trout at my local lake./QUOTE]

I know how you feel....i cant wait until they start stocking them out here so all the stripers get nice and fat