Small Schoolie Stripers in Perris Lake

[Natural Lefty]

Hello everyone.

It's been a while since I have posted any reports, but I had a very unusual (but perhaps not in the future) catch two days ago.

I was planning to go to Silverwood Lake but it got too late with all my errands, so I headed to nearby Perris Lake and arrived at Sail Cove around 3:40 pm.

It was very windy and chilly, and the last people had just left the little fishing pier. They told me that bass (largemouth presumably) had been biting there earlier in the 12 inch range.

The water is lower than ever now, which is a good sign that people are working on the dam and the lake will subsequently be raised. The first wide spot in the pier was at the edge of the water sitting on the sand. The water last week was the murkiest ever at Perris, only about 6 inches or so visibility and very green. This Friday, visibility had increased to a foot or so.

Within a half hour, I had a good bite and caught a LMB of about 12 inches on a redworm, which I quickly released. This was already better than last week, because I was skunked then with nothing more than maybe a couple of nibbles, although I witnessed some people catching bass on plastics. (I was using worms.)

Anyway, around 5:30, I decided to try a microjig under a bobber. Nothing bit on it, so I put a piece of nightcrawler on it and casted out. As I worked it toward me, I had a good bite and hooked an active fish. I didn't know what it was, but when I saw a slash of silver in the murky water, I thought it was a trout. To my great surprise, when I got the fish up again, it was a small schoolie striped bass. I put it in my cooler, put another nightcrawler piece on my jig and cast out again. I immediately caught another one. After a bit of a lull, I caught two more stripers that were somewhat larger, back to back again. The last one was a bit after 6 p.m. After that, I didn't even have another bite, but I was very happy with my unusual catch. I would have taken photos there to prove that I was at Perris Lake, but I didn't have a camera with me. I stopped fishing around 7:15 p.m. and headed back home.

Anyway, I brought them home and took a few photos in the sink. The two largest were 11 inches, and the smallest was about 9 1/2 inches, which is still bigger than most of the ones I catch at Silverwood from the docks. LOL

Clearly, these fish have spawned at Perris Lake and are in the process of establishing themselves, so expect more for better or worse there. it might be bad news for the trout and other fish in the lake, but there is another species to catch there.

[JAG107]

Thanks for the report! Very unusual indeed, I've only heard of toad stripers caught once in a while.

[HuskerRod]

Ohhhh Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[GhettoBasster]

Ohhhh Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lol! Now I don't have to drive all the way to Silverwood for my weekly mercury dose.

[Skinny]

These things are more problematic than quaggas. If this is true and they are spawning here say goodbye to bluegill, crappie, and most bass. This lake is too little to support them and to allow any other species to thrive. In my opinion, now let me have it. I know its coming, but these things are like the asian carp in the midwest.

[Natural Lefty]

Same here, Jag107. I had seen a few photos of large stripers from Perris, but not any of them in person before.

LOL Husker Rod and Ghetto Basster. That's why, although I was glad to catch them, I certainly didn't feel bad about taking them home for a meal. :)

Their numbers should be limited if possible. I wasn't sure if enough water is being pumped from Silverwood for these critters to spawn (since they spawn in running water), but now I have my answer.

They will eat other fish (all kinds) and compete with Bass and Crappie for fish to eat. There will still be Bluegill, Redear, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Trout etc. but life will be more perilous for them.

Maybe when the dam repair is finished and the lake is brought back up, the increase in lake size will help some, Skinny. That should help the fishing overall, but the influx of water will also make for better spawning conditions for the stripers.

[old pudd fisher]

Thanks for the report.

[Ian]

Ohhhh Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo

OH YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

muAHHAHAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh)

[fishmounter]

It doesn't necessarily mean that these small Stripers were spawned in the lake. They could have just been washed in through the aqueduct system just like the big ones that are in the lake.

[QB7940]

It doesn't necessarily mean that these small Stripers were spawned in the lake. They could have just been washed in through the aqueduct system just like the big ones that are in the lake.

+1, that area is right by where the water comes in. Still yet, I don't want anymore of these things in Perris. Bye Bye big crappie.

[HuskerRod]

You know mother nature, all its takes is one male and one female to find each other..........and just a trickle of running water somewhere and a little luck. Bamm.........................stripers everywhere........nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o

[crappiemike]

These things are more problematic than quaggas. If this is true and they are spawning here say goodbye to bluegill, crappie, and most bass. This lake is too little to support them and to allow any other species to thrive. In my opinion, now let me have it. I know its coming, but these things are like the asian carp in the midwest.

Agree......





" slabs are fun to catch"



Cm

[Natural Lefty]

It's possible that they came in from Silverwood, but unlikely. There were only an occasional Striped Bass in Perris before, as far as I know, and there were simply too many of them to be just an occasional fish last Friday. There was definitely a school of them which came my way for a while, most likely in the hundreds of fish.

[Natural Lefty]

Where I caught them is near the underwater inlet, indeed, but also where stripers would presumably spawn.

LOL HuskerRod. Striped Bass are very prolific. I think a large female can produce a staggering number of eggs.

[BassinPLS]

Ohhhh Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I second that opinion!!

[Ian]

Clearly, I am in the minority. Crappie are much tastier than stripers no doubt but since I have a hard time locating the Crappie at Perris, I don't care for them there. Schoolie stripers may be easier to locate on the fishfinder - but not really sure about that. If I can bait and wait up a schoolie 10" striper and maybe watch out for their boils in the fall for some boil chasing, go stripers!!!!! Perris is closer to me than Skinner and I can tube it too.

Stripers are survivalists. How many fish can both live in salt and fresh?? Badass. I wouldn't be surprised if they learned to spawn without current! Isn't Canyon Lake in the same system....? ;)

(Darth Vader voice:) Never underestimate the power of the striped side.

[carpanglerdude]

Clearly, I am in the minority. Crappie are much tastier than stripers no doubt but since I have a hard time locating the Crappie at Perris, I don't care for them there. Schoolie stripers may be easier to locate on the fishfinder - but not really sure about that. If I can bait and wait up a schoolie 10" striper and maybe watch out for their boils in the fall for some boil chasing, go stripers!!!!! Perris is closer to me than Skinner and I can tube it too.

Stripers are survivalists. How many fish can both live in salt and fresh?? Badass. I wouldn't be surprised if they learned to spawn without current! Isn't Canyon Lake in the same system....? ;)

(Darth Vader voice:) Never underestimate the power of the striped side.

?I think Canyon is too shallow to support Stripers...but one can dream :)

[Natural Lefty]

Are there stripers in Canyon Lake, Ian?

I am not that familiar with that lake. The San Jacinto River runs near Perris Lake but not into it, then it runs into Canyon Lake, so it's not exactly in the same system.

I have caught a couple of Yellow Bullheads in Perris Lake before, which I suspect came down from the Hemet Lake area through the San Jacinto river somehow during high water. The carp might have gotten into Perris Lake that way, too.

[Natural Lefty]

Oh, my wife and I ate the stripers for dinner today. They were tasty. :Big Grin:

[Ian]

Are there stripers in Canyon Lake, Ian?

I am not that familiar with that lake. The San Jacinto River runs near Perris Lake but not into it, then it runs into Canyon Lake, so it's not exactly in the same system.

I have caught a couple of Yellow Bullheads in Perris Lake before, which I suspect came down from the Hemet Lake area through the San Jacinto river somehow during high water. The carp might have gotten into Perris Lake that way, too.

I thought Canyon Lake was part of that system, so probably not.

You have to suspect all lakes within that system may be getting stripers. Lake Dixon is part of that system. I have seen the underwater duct that pumps water into it from Silverwood (?). All these lakes have the current from that system. We never suspected Perris has stripers until about a decade ago, right? It CAN happen....

[Natural Lefty]

I figure the same thing, Ian.

The people who make the aqueducts try to install fish barriers. They thought that the barriers would keep fish from travelling through the canal to other lakes, but they have never been 100% effective. Some tiny fish always seem to get through them, even if in small numbers. Once a few of them get into a lake, they can start breeding.

[TroutOnly]

everything dies ,when the stripers take hold,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Natural Lefty]

They are definitely hard on other fish, TroutOnly. They were already in a marauding group, it appears.

[MikesOcean]

Nice job NL on Mr. Striper!

I myself went once last year trolling in search of some of the giants that were caught in the past at lake Peris. I only landed 1 schoolie. (beat the skunk).

I first thought mine was a hybrid because of how fat it was. When in fact, it was fat because it could gorge on food without much competition in the food chain. IMHO.

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b516/mikesocean/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-04/EA8C1D32-2288-4747-86B3-6668B2543F74_zps3enmla2j.jpg (http://s1289.photobucket.com/user/mikesocean/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-04/EA8C1D32-2288-4747-86B3-6668B2543F74_zps3enmla2j.jpg.html)

I am far from an expert but I do believe that it might be possible for stripers to spawn without tons of current with only special conditions and I have NO idea if Peris is an exception. The reason why stripers need current to spawn is so the eggs stay suspended and continue getting oxygen. When the eggs hit the bottom, they suffocate and eggs die. Unless an environment has lack of algae. When algae dies it sinks to the bottom, decomposes and oxidizes, returning nutrients back into the water. This process uses a HUGE amount of oxygen at the bottom of lakes. Striped bass eggs that settle to the bottom in one of these conditions do not hatch due to the lack of oxygen. I think? This is very similar to what has happened in the Colorado river where experts said it would be impossible for stripers to spawn and sure enough they were surprised to see it happen therein certain parts of the Colorado river due to less algae.

Of course if you like stripers it is great news. Not such great news for the rest of the fishery.
If, and I say a BIG IF, if this is actually happening...kiss the rest of the fish in there goodbye. Lol

[Ian]

It's not like it's a total death sentence. Look at Skinner, they just pulled out that record Redear and the florida strain Bluegills are bigger and showing up more frequently. And still plenty of bass after all these striper years.

[trail blazer]

IMO they won,t hurt the LMB or SMB population,ie CASTAIC and PYRAMID,,,,,They WILL put a big dent in the crappie population though because of there avg size and habbit of suspending in open water,,,,

Love m or hate m there here to stay,,


TRAIL BLAZER

[fishinone]

I started catching smallmouth in Castaic, years after the striper were already in there. The smallmouth population seams to be increasing.

There are still tons of Largemouth in Castaic. Anyone who targets them catches them. I think they do compete with striper for the large forage. I see the big ones cruising for trout together in a single school.

They do seem to be crappy for crappie. The crappie that I see in Castaic act like rock bass and live in holes in the rip rap rocks.

From my point of view more species in the lake is helpful. I wonder if they ever considered putting in walleye?

[fishinone]

everything dies ,when the stripers take hold,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

When they take your HOLDover trout, you mean.

The holdover trout in Castaic live in holes in the rocks too.

[TroutOnly]

come on ron ,ive fished Castaic ,pyramid ,silverwood and dvl from there very beginning till now,if theres holdover trout in Castaic you could count them on one hand.
the bass in the 8o's used to push towards 20lbs now its a feat if someone catches a 10lber,the bluegills and crappies have all but disapered.the smallies do well because they love eating striper fry.im sorry but if they start spawning in there everything is in trouble,,,,,,,,

[DEVOREFLYER]

[QUOTE=TroutOnly;725571]come on ron ,ive fished Castaic ,pyramid ,silverwood and dvl from there very beginning till now,if theres holdover trout in Castaic you could count them on one hand.
QUOTE]

And have fingers left over.

[Tom]

i brought this up last year...last year late spring and early summer the small stripers were schooling around the dam and we caught them with kastmasters
they were chasing bait all summer in the shallows
not a lot of them but 2 or three small schools. they would swim right by the float tubes...feeding on schools of small bluegill at the bouyline
all the arguments over they Do not Spawn...Hog Wash
Stripers may be the next big thing at Perris
Tom

[Tom]

come on ron ,ive fished Castaic ,pyramid ,silverwood and dvl from there very beginning till now,if theres holdover trout in Castaic you could count them on one hand.
the bass in the 8o's used to push towards 20lbs now its a feat if someone catches a 10lber,the bluegills and crappies have all but disapered.the smallies do well because they love eating striper fry.im sorry but if they start spawning in there everything is in trouble,,,,,,,,

your 100% right!

[HuskerRod]

I just cant believe how quick the stripers decimated the holdover DVL fishery. ............practically overnight. and if stripers proliferate that quick at DVL why not perris? Okay, the Perris environment is not ideal for spawning, but if their are schools of schoolies swimming around........................something is up.

[Hoot951]

I haven't seen any shads this year yet and the bluegill/redear population seems to down from last year. Maybe the effects are already felt.

[DEVOREFLYER]

Silverwood Lake Brown Trout were decimated by the Striper. Here is a fishing report from the LA Times in 1986:


Fishing Report : Lots of Striped Bass at Silverwood

July 11, 1986

Lake Silverwood is overpopulated with striped bass. Fishermen have been using anchovies to catch their limits.

There is no limit on size in order to thin out the striper population. There have been a few largemouth bass caught in the lake, but the stripers have been the main attraction.
Lake Silverwood is off California 138 in the San Bernardino National Forest.

WILLOW BEACH--Trout very good with many catching limits.

LAKE MEAD--Stripers in the Vegas Wash area have been hitting on anchovies and top water lures.

BULLHEAD CITY--Good trout fishing at night on the lake with nightcrawlers. Bass about 20 feet down. Catfish good, too. On the river striped bass fishing good. A few in the 15-20-pound range. Small trout have been the rule.

SALTON SEA--Big corvina have been biting at Red Hill. The big fish was a 23 1/2-pound corvina. Croaker good along the north shore.

LAKE CACHUMA--Bass still slow, catfish and trout best bets. Good trolling in front of harbor for trout. Catfish are in the narrows and behind the island at about 20 feet.

PYRAMID LAKE--Good for striper and catfish.

LAKE PIRU--Catfish best bet on mackerel on the northern end of the lake and Santa Felecia Cove. Bass a little slow.

LAKE SKINNER--Catfish and bass still hitting nicely. Bass have moved to the deeper water.

LAKE ISABELLA--Bass, bluegill and catfish good in the North and South Fork areas.

SAN DIEGO LAKES--Otay: Fair to good for channel catfish. Slow for bass and bluegill. Miramar: Fair for trout and bass. El Capitan: Fair to good for channel catfish. Sutherland: Catfish and bass slow. Hodges: Some good bluefish.

BIG BEAR LAKE--Trout trolling good from public ramp to dam area. Best still fishing is at the rock wall. Catfish good at Metcalf Bay and Eagle Point using frozen mackerel.

VAIL LAKE--Catfish, bluegill and bass good from the shore.

LAKE HENSHAW--Bass and crappie good on mackerel.

BISHOP AREA--Sabrina good for brown trout. Owens River rainbow trout on nightcrawlers.

JUNE LAKE LOOP--At June, they've been catching limits of rainbow and brown trout. Gull: good trolling with needle fish. Silver: worms and needlefish and flys on the surface have been best bets.

BRIDGEPORT AREA--Bridgeport Resevoir: A 10-3 brown trout taken. East Walker has been very good. Twin Lakes and Robinson Creek good from the shore with flys.

[Natural Lefty]

Tom, you caught small stripers last summer? I didn't see that. They bite on kastmasters at Silverwood too, or Super Dupers.

Silverwood still has decent fishing for LMB, Bluegill and Crappie, but I think it was better before, and there were a lot more holdover trout.

I have little experience fishing Castaic or Pyramid, but they seem lousy for panfish or trout (except stockers) from what I have heard, so...I am hoping that when the water is raised at Perris, the other species will adapt and manage to avoid being decimated too much by stripers, but I dunno...

Mike, I think your information about Striped Bass is accurate, from what I have read. They will probably breed big time when the water level is raised at Perris. Did you catch that fish in the photo at Perris, and bigger ones in the past? Wow, I wouldn't call that small! I had never seen a striper at Perris until I caught those 4 in the photo.

[DEVOREFLYER]

And this from Western Outdoor News in 2012:

— Silverwood Lake: Before stripers, Silverwood Lake produced brown trout to 10 pounds after a couple of plants three decades ago, and a whole bunch of two- to three-pound browns. But we might want to wait before putting them back in here to see how the catchable-browns do at DVL with its stripers.

[fishinone]

come on ron ,ive fished Castaic ,pyramid ,silverwood and dvl from there very beginning till now,if theres holdover trout in Castaic you could count them on one hand.
the bass in the 8o's used to push towards 20lbs now its a feat if someone catches a 10lber,the bluegills and crappies have all but disapered.the smallies do well because they love eating striper fry.im sorry but if they start spawning in there everything is in trouble,,,,,,,,

I agree Bob but I think that a possible solution is adding fish that will eat striper. We certainly aren't going to catch enough to make a difference even if they do away with the bag limit on striper. Commercial netting might get it done but that would remove most of my favorite fish.

LMB and SMB seem to fair pretty well but the big ones probably can't out-compete even larger striper, so they don't get as big.

I've caught a couple holdovers on cut sardine at the buoy line. Only right up by the rocks and they aren't big. They are old and have pink meat.

[ghost2uu]

I heard the stripers ate all the corvina at the Salton Sea, the spotties out of Lake Perris in the early 90's, all the brown trout from Silverwood (although the stopping of brown trout plants for two decades probably helped), and the stripers are responsible for 35% of violent crime in California. Fisheries change, lakes cycle. I love all the arm chair biologists blaming stripers. Scroll down the fish report that says Silverwood stripers are out of control and you can see that bass and crappie are wide open on mackerel at Lake Henshaw. In the end when they fill Lake Perris I wouldn't want to be a bluegill, crappie, or trout in that lake! GAME ON EVERYBODY!!!! At least you largemouth guys will still have Puddingstone and Vail Lake as pure largemouth fisheries. Enjoy.

[Mvergini]

Stripers reproducing in Perris is BAD news for a trophy bass fishery period. Upper Castaic was ruined and DVL never reached her potential due to the stripers. Why would anyone be happy to see another trophy bass fishery be ruined, especially with 2 great striped bass lakes nearby (DVL and Silverwood). And before anyone says the stripers will not destroy the trophy bass fishery let me define what I mean. I am not referring to a 10 lb bass. I'm referring to GIANT bass that California was known for. Like the 18 lbr caught at Perris last year or the 17 I caught this March!! With Casitas and Lower Castaic trophy fisheries destroyed by the enviro naiz's lawsuit against the DFG (no trout stocking since 2010) I ONLY have to drive 95 miles 1 way to go to a lake (Perris) that has giant Bass. Don't even mention Puddingstone or Vail. Puddingstone not producing giants and Vail is private. A few more years and I'll have to go to Isabella or San Diego as that will be it for So Cal. Boy I miss Casitas and Castaic Lagoon. Now Perris?

[Natural Lefty]

It's interesting how long it takes stripers to become established in a lake, but once they are, it seems they are there to stay.

Yes, fisheries change and Striped Bass aren't responsible for 35% of the crime in California LOL, and I think catching them is a nice change, but I worry that the fisheries for other species will be degraded.

[MikesOcean]

Mike, I think your information about Striped Bass is accurate, from what I have read. They will probably breed big time when the water level is raised at Perris. Did you catch that fish in the photo at Perris, and bigger ones in the past? Wow, I wouldn't call that small! I had never seen a striper at Perris until I caught those 4 in the photo.

I only went once last year and caught that one schoolie on the troll. (Just a few pounds)
I said to myself I was gonna try and dedicate some time there targeting
Some big ones that have been caught there in the past(20-30lbs) but I never
Made it back there again.

Here's the link to my post.

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?76286-Lake-Perris-Striper-Beat-the-skunk

[Perris Bluegill Chaser]

I guess i will have to change my name soon!!!! any good striper recipe.

[Natural Lefty]

Thanks for the link. Mike. It appears that striper population has gradually been gaining in strength at Perris.

I have yet to catch a Bluegill or Redear at Perris this year (caught some big ones in another spot though). This is the second consecutive very poor spring for panfish from shore there. It does make me wonder about a panfish decline at Perris, although people in boats continue to report caching them in the east end of the lake.

I did catch a holdover trout and a few undersize LMB at Perris, in addition to the stripers.

[GhettoBasster]

I heard the stripers ate all the corvina at the Salton Sea, the spotties out of Lake Perris in the early 90's, all the brown trout from Silverwood (although the stopping of brown trout plants for two decades probably helped), and the stripers are responsible for 35% of violent crime in California. Fisheries change, lakes cycle. I love all the arm chair biologists blaming stripers. Scroll down the fish report that says Silverwood stripers are out of control and you can see that bass and crappie are wide open on mackerel at Lake Henshaw. In the end when they fill Lake Perris I wouldn't want to be a bluegill, crappie, or trout in that lake! GAME ON EVERYBODY!!!! At least you largemouth guys will still have Puddingstone and Vail Lake as pure largemouth fisheries. Enjoy.

The other day, I saw a striper with a long white beard wearing a turban and a strap on bomb.

[HuskerRod]

when in doubt blame the government, blame the economy, or blame a striper

[Ifishtoolittle]

when in doubt blame the government, blame the economy, or blame a striper

Let's not forget the Largemouth and Crappie. Those two fish aren't even native to Perris.

[Natural Lefty]

Blame the government, the economy or Striped Bass, in that order seems to be the ethos among a great many. :)

Lake Perris isn't even native to Perris. LOL

[Misfitdog]

Thanks for the link. Mike. It appears that striper population has gradually been gaining in strength at Perris.

I have yet to catch a Bluegill or Redear at Perris this year (caught some big ones in another spot though). This is the second consecutive very poor spring for panfish from shore there. It does make me wonder about a panfish decline at Perris, although people in boats continue to report caching them in the east end of the lake.

I did catch a holdover trout and a few undersize LMB at Perris, in addition to the stripers.

Natural Lefty , The Panfish population is still going strong , they are just not coming into the same locations like they used to .. last year they flooded the EastEnd with the spawn and there where tons of fish all over the place . this year it's a bit more spotty , but the fish are still there .. over the last week I have been having success on Redear and Bluegill's . Right now it is a lot of Redear and they are in spawn mode .... All fish I caught where safely released to reproduce and more then likely feed the future striper population :Sad:

44035

[Ian]

I'm curious to hear the official statement by DFG biologists about how the stripers are seemingly able to breed in a lake "without current", and how they once again failed to stop this - just like at DVL and other lakes, if they were trying to stop them at all.

[Stumpknocker]

I'm curious to hear the official statement by DFG biologists about how the stripers are seemingly able to breed in a lake "without current", and how they once again failed to stop this - just like at DVL and other lakes, if they were trying to stop them at all.
I'm not a DFG biologist, but it's an interesting question that I've thought about. The literature about striped bass spawning success assumes that all fertilized striper eggs are denser than water and will sink to the bottom and die without sufficient current to prevent that. My question is, in deep reservoirs where stripers attempt to spawn (and they do...I've watched them, and also cleaned plenty that were females gravid with eggs or ripe & running males), are all eggs in all females equally buoyant? If not, are some neutrally buoyant with the about the same density as water? If there are some like that, and if the characteristic is a genetically inheritable trait, then some of those fertilized eggs could survive until hatching bouncing around in the water column, and those surviving striper fry could grow up to produce more neutrally buoyant eggs. Just a guess on my part...haven't done any research, but there has to be some explanation for why lakes like Castaic and DVL have so many striped bass when they don't have rivers flowing into them. I doubt that aquaduct spawning explains that, especially at Castaic where the incoming water comes in an underground tube from Lake Pyramid, where they're also not supposed to be spawning..

[Natural Lefty]

In other words, evolution, Stumpknocker.

My friend Leo recently mentioned reports of baby Corvina in the Salton Sea, and even Flathead Catfish in brackish water there, so maybe they are adapting, too.

There is current in Perris Lake, at least sometimes. There is the underwater inlet near Sail Cove, and also there are underwater currents which keep moving lines around. I experience this on the Sail Cove Pier and also fishing from the docks in the marina. I think they are generated by the winds. The currents change direction a lot, but the water is usually going one way or another.

Here's an update in place of a new report: I went back to the Sail Cove Pier on Thursday. The same technique -- long leader (around 5 feet) with a worm on a microjig -- worked again, but no stripers this time. I caught 3 little LMB of about 8 inches, 2 Bluegills (one over 1/2 pound) and one good size Redear (about 3/4 pound), so now, I have caught Bluegill and Redear. It seems better spring fishing than last year, at least at Sail Cove, and it's improving. I kept the Bluegill and Redear but I don't think that they were spawning.

Oh, the water was FAR clearer than in the previous few weeks. I could see the bottom at the end of the pier, I would say about 6 feet down. (It's shallower than usual due to the low water level.) It was a pleasant relief to see such nice water conditions after the lake being so pea-soup murky.

There were 6 other people on the pier toward evening, and everybody caught at least one fish. Most of them caught trout on Power Bait. A couple of undersize LMB were caught on plastics, too. I was the only person who caught any panfish but I was targeting them.

The trout seemed like the recent stockers from 3 days earlier. I did catch a trout in the marina a couple of months ago that was a holdover. It had pink meat, which is the first one like that I have seen since the water level was lowered. We just ate it yesterday and it was delicious. I am hoping for more "pinky trout" when the water is raised again; they used to be fairly common when the water was higher. I just hope the stripers don't eat all the trout in the future.

Oh, the water was FAR clearer than it has been in recent weeks. I would say that visibility was at least 6 feet, a very welcome sight.

[Natural Lefty]

About the LMB and Crappie, Ifishtoolittle, I know that LMB were never stocked in Perris Lake. I thought Crappie weren't either, but I have talked to some people who said that they were but took many years to become established, so, I dunno...

I am not sure that Green Sunfish were ever stocked there, either, but they were common from the beginning, actually, less common now that their rock habitats are largely out of the water.

I figure that everything that is in Silverwood, will probably eventually be in Perris, but we shall see. I have caught some native delta fish such as Sacramento Splittail and Tule Perch in Silverwood, and also something called Bigscale Logperch, but have yet to catch any of these in Perris.

[Stumpknocker]

In other words, evolution, Stumpknocker.
Yes it is an evolutionary hypothesis for how the ability for stripers to successfully reproduce in a reservoir could come about...I gave the full hypothetical description instead of just using the "E" word because, as a former science teacher, I've found that the possible mechanism for evolution is tougher for some people to reject than the "E" word if it makes sense...