Ongoing report

[MRVRSICK]

Let's get down to it.


Most recent trip, 18MAY2020, was to Puddingstone in San Dimas. I live 5 minutes from door to water, so this will be the place I will be focusing on. I didn't catch anything, no nibbles. Didn't see anything on the surface, no baitfish action either. The water was calm and muddy (1-2 ft visibility). Fished sailboat cove from the lifeguard docks to the sailboat launch, from about 5-7. I threw a weightless fluke and a weightless creature bait (pretty much all my gear is currently unavailable). I saw a guy going for catfish, as well as bass on a drop shot (with a bobber). I don't think he caught anything either.


I'll likely be going every other evening or so, and will try to report on here more often than not.

[drifter023]

Thanks for the update haven’t fished there in a long time keep the updates coming.

[MRVRSICK]

20MAY2021



Back to Puddingstone, line in the water at about 5:30 PM. The weather was funky for socal: windy, little bit of drizzle, and chilly. The water was pretty warm to the touch, pretty choppy due to the wind, and muddy (1-2 ft visibility). I fished from the south east pier headed west until just north of the cove, until about 7:00 PM. For anyone wondering, this is the lake: https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/puddingstone-reservoir-ca/



I started going after panfish around the pier with my telescopic rod, throwing a trout worm on a hook that I had found during the previous outing. Wind made it just about impossible to lay the worm out, but I noticed my first surface feeding (big carp) and figured it wasn't going to happen. I tried out the weightless fluke and a weightless creature bait again, nothing really happening. Early on, I found a popper on the bank and tied it on. Threw it and the creature bait the rest of the day. I saw some bait fish running around the SE cove, but they didn't want the popper in either popped or run presentations. I didn't tie the fluke back on.



I also picked up a bunch of junk from around this part, seems like the people coming here are very lazy. I did score some great stuff though: the popper mentioned earlier, a trick worm, a jar of salmon eggs, and best of all, a frog tied on to about 40 yards of perfect 4lb mono. I actually tied it as backing to my pathetic spinning reel, which had a leader tied on to about 30 yards of used, unknown braid. Now I can make an actual cast if I tie on some weight!



I saw a guy fishing that said he had some luck on the rocky shelf, he was tossing a heavy carolina rig with a grub. He claimed that he caught 3 fish in his first 10 casts: a 3lb, 8lb, and a 5lb. I'm not going to call him a liar, but those are good fish for this lake.

[LocalParksGuy]

Ty for the report. Been thinking about hitting that place again soon. That lake is always hard and it is a hit or miss for me, 50/50 chance. I took a friend out to try to get him his first bass about 3 weeks ago, but he skunked. I ended up getting lucky and caught a bass between sailboat cove and the swim beach on a texas rigged senko. It hit the worm on the drop as I was messing with my line, felt a gentle pull on the line so I then set the hook. It was a nice 2.8 lb bass after weighing it. Good luck!

[MRVRSICK]

24MAY2021

Back to Puddingstone, line in the water at about 6:30 PM. Today was very hot, 90+ during the heat of the day. The water was warm and muddy (1-3 ft visibility). I started at the south east pier headed west until the cove, then at about 8:00 PM went to sailboat cove from the lifeguard dock to the launch ramp, left at 9:00 PM. For anyone wondering, this is the lake: https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/puddingstone-reservoir-ca/

I started out with the weightless fluke and a Texas rig creature bait, nothing really happening. Lost the T-rig on the first cast, tied another on, and lost it on the very next cast again. There's a rocky bluff that I just got hung up on, last time I cast there! I saw the bait fish running around the SE cove again, this time splashing around a whole lot more than the last. They didn't want the fluke.

Ran into a guy at sailboat that I've seen a few times before, he had done well the day before. I was going to hit up the area and he was going to the area I was in across the lake. I threw the fluke again, and changed it to a curly tail worm on the t-rig. I got a bite casting at about 45 degrees to the launch dock, but my puny little reel wasn't pulling him in fast enough and the hook just really wasn't in enough, and he just jumped and tossed the fluke. I cast a few more times at the surrounding area, but nothing.

[DarkShadow]

Don't get discouraged....once you learn to fish these local ponds that are pressured AF, you'll soon be running circles around other individuals when you fish our larger lakes.

The local pond bite really tests your skills.

Also, realize you have other small bodies of water around you that hold fish. If the Pudd Puzzle gets a bit tough to crack, you can always fish Peck, Legg, even Santa Fe, which IMO, have given up more fish than the Pudd this time of year.

[MRVRSICK]

Don't get discouraged....once you learn to fish these local ponds that are pressured AF, you'll soon be running circles around other individuals when you fish our larger lakes.

The local pond bite really tests your skills.

Also, realize you have other small bodies of water around you that hold fish. If the Pudd Puzzle gets a bit tough to crack, you can always fish Peck, Legg, even Santa Fe, which IMO, have given up more fish than the Pudd this time of year.

Well, I'm honestly a little hesitant to go to peck, as the last time I was there (and that was maybe 10 years ago), there were a ton of homeless people around. Not to mention that someone had actually been found dead in that immediate area, though I remember it was ruled a natural death. Santa Fe is probably next closest, so I might try that sometime soon, but with lines in the water only 5 minutes away at Puddingstone, I'm having a hard time. Also, I've yet to land a fish this year at Puddingstone, and I know that they're just rooting for me!

[MRVRSICK]

25MAY2021

Back to Puddingstone, line in the water at about 7:00 PM. Warm day, but cloudy by the time I got on the water, which was warm and stained (2-5 ft visibility). I started at the south east cove and headed towards the east pier. Then at about 8:15 PM went to sailboat cove and was only able to fish the launch ramp before the sheriff came at about 8:35 PM and told us they were going to lock up, which was kind of early for it being a full moon. For anyone wondering, this is the lake: https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/puddingstone-reservoir-ca/

I started out with the weightless fluke and a Texas rig curly tail worm, nothing really happening. I saw the bait fish really pooling around the SE cove again, this time catching a peek at the tiny fish in the water. No bites on the fluke, and I saw a ton of other people throwing stuff out in the cove to no avail. I swapped the fluke for a weightless stick bait, no takers.
Moving up the shallow waters, I might have had one bite on the stick bait, but it was on my puny, pathetic reel and whippy rod, and I just couldn't hook on. Sail boat cove was 6 casts total, only 1 on the stick bait, the rest on the worm, and then an unexpectedly early departure.

[MRVRSICK]

31MAY2021

First of all, belated Memorial day to all. Heart goes out to all of the military men and women that have lost their lives both on and off the battlefield.

Back to Puddingstone, line in the water at about 7:00 PM. Warm day, and very likely a very pressured (and harassed) weekend. The water was warm and stained (3-5 ft visibility). I started at the south swim beach and headed towards sail boat cove. I was out until about 8:55 PM as the light was fading, and when I got to my car, I was surprised that there were still people in the park, though the Sheriff was causing a ruckus and kicking everybody out. For anyone wondering, this is the lake: https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/puddingstone-reservoir-ca/

I Finally got my hands on all of my gear, so first casts were with the lipless crank bait, and a Texas rig curly tail worm was the follow-up. Unfortunately, nothing really happening with either. I saw the bait fish running around the cover by the north end of the swim beach, but no bites. I didn't see anyone else fishing on the side I was on, only a handful of people on the other side of the lake.
After a while, I tied on the weightless stick bait and continued to throw the curly tail, but nothing on either. I finally started to head back to the car well after twilight.

[MRVRSICK]

01JUN2021

Finally, a different body of water! Crystal Lake it is, high up in the San Gabriel Mountains. My intention was to fish trout on the west fork trail for a few miles, it was actually closed off completely. I figured it was early enough that I'd just drive up to the lake and check it out, if even just to teach some worms how to swim (good thing I brought some bass poles!). I got to the lake parking lot at maybe 10:00 AM, I was the only one there. In my experience, the road to the lot is usually closed, so it was a bit of a surprise to see that I could drive up, and I was even more surprised that there wasn't anyone there. As I was tying up my rigs, two guys that came from the beach and Norco arrived, and I just gave them some info about the lake and we walked down to the water. It was a hot day, over 90, with some wind and intense cloud cover, which was sporadic. The water was relatively clear (15+ ft visibility), though there was a lot of vegetation that was growing all around the edge of the lake, creating a mat of very leafy weeds extending 10 to 20+ft in most places, with occasional openings. The water level was very low, but not as alarmingly low as I had seen it maybe 4 or 5 years ago. I started at the north end and headed west, finishing at almost the 7 o'clock position of the lake. For anyone wondering, this video gives a good idea of the lake and vegetation level of the lake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aZ4LGGpo8I

I started with square bill crank bait, and I was immediately getting a lot of action. Most of what I had were very small bass (3-5 inches) coming up and trying to eat it, and it wasn't long before I accidentally hooked one while trying to find some bigger bass a little bit towards the central deeper waters. I hooked and landed a few between 4-7 inches, but in seeing that I was only attracting small fish, I switched to a big Texas rig curly tail worm and a weightless stick bait. I landed another small bass on the stick bait, and the worm got its tail chewed up pretty good, but no hooks were set in lips.
After about an hour and a half, I decided it was time to go and grab some breakfast, and I was back in the car by 12:15 PM.

[Old Hooker]

Crystal Lake is the only natural lake in the San Gabriel Mountains. Couple decades ago we made a run at restoration, but the Angeles National Forest people were uninterested. They make a fortune off leasing space for media/telephone antennae on Mount Wilson and public recreation is just a nuisance to them.....

[castle]

Crystal Lake is the only natural lake in the San Gabriel Mountains. Couple decades ago we made a run at restoration, but the Angeles National Forest people were uninterested. They make a fortune off leasing space for media/telephone antennae on Mount Wilson and public recreation is just a nuisance to them.....

Isint Crystal lake almost dried up?

[Old Hooker]

Historically Crystal Lake was fed from a spring with the water transported by pipe to the lake to supplement snow melt. It was renamed Crystal Lake because the water was “crystal clear.” There is a fissure at the bottom of the lake that causes water losses which had been offset by the spring water. We had a proposal to rebuild the spring water piping and have it cascade into the lake to further oxygenate the water. The initial costs were minimal but increasing popularity means trash collection and supervision and the ongoing expenses would have been substantial. By 1990 the Forest Service basically abandoned the area because they felt it wasn’t worth the effort or expense. Just another lost natural treasure.....

[MRVRSICK]

Yeah, the area is/was beautiful when I first saw it (the opening after that big fire). I have even hunted out of there, though the immediate area surrounding is off limits to hunting.

Anyway, when I went a few days after I heard it from the Glendora ranger that they were going to open the road back up in the mid 2000's, water levels were pretty high, there were so many deer around and they likely had never seen a human before. In the lake were a ton of really big green sunfish, I'm talking well over a pound each. Also, there were some good-sized bass, over 2 pounds. You could catch those all day long on anything, right up to the edge of the water.

Maybe 8 years ago I saw that they had installed some sort of pump and had it working well, the water was clean and levels were decent. Then water levels got low, and I'm guessing the pump stopped working.

The biggest tragedy there, and in the rivers below as well, is that there is a lot of use and abuse. Trash is everywhere, so every time I go, I purposely take a backpacking pack and take out as much trash as I can. This time was no different, though I think I accidentally contributed by leaving my freshly-opened crankbait on the ground. It was chart/blue, and it was what I was using when I caught a good few bass, but I'm sure that the guy that I was talking to probably saw it and picked it up.

[MRVRSICK]

06JUN2021

Back to Puddingstone, line in the water at about 6:00 PM. Cloudy day, and very likely a very pressured (and harassed) weekend. The water was warm and relatively clear (5+ ft visibility). I started at sail boat cove, west of the lifeguard docks towards the dam. I was out until about 8:30 PM. For anyone wondering, this is the lake: https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/puddingstone-reservoir-ca/

I started each spot with the lipless crank bait and a Texas rig curly tail worm as the follow-up, finishing with a weightless stick bait. I saw the bait fish running around again once the sun set over the dam, at which point I switched to a fluke. I saw a pretty big blow-up, picturesque like when you get to see the whole bass out of the water. Didn't get a bite on anything.

I didn't get to fish the last few parts of the water as there was a pair of guys drinking and smoking and causing a bit of a ruckus. I figured I'd just stay on the other side of the trees and maybe come back the next day to clean up anything in the area. I did catch a bunch of line and someone's T-rig, which was relatively new as the hook looked good and the worm was only slightly discolored. I also broke my sunglasses (RIP Uranium Foakly jawbreakers) on a tree limb, and got hit by a bat in the ear.

[MRVRSICK]

07JUN2021

Once again at Puddingstone, line in the water at about 6:00 PM. Cloudy day leading to some sunshine, but windy towards the evening. The water was warm and relatively clear (5+ ft visibility). I started at sail boat cove, close to the dam. I was out until about 7:30 PM. For anyone wondering, this is the lake: https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/puddingstone-reservoir-ca/

I fished mostly a 40 yard shoreline with the lipless crank bait, a Texas rig curly tail worm (later switched the curly for a trick worm), a weightless stick bait, and this time a fourth rod with the rig that I had been purposely avoiding.

"What rig is that?", you may ask? Well, it's my most productive rig on this lake, and what I used to land my PB of honestly over 8-9 pounds: the drop shot. I had been trying to stay away from it, but after so many hours without a fish, I found myself falling back on that crutch. I tied on old reliable, a 3 inch shad, and later a 4 inch worm, but I told myself that I'd limit it to only 5 casts, so on the 5th cast and retrieve, I put it away.

I saw the bait fish running around again once the sun set over the dam. I saw a good number of blow-ups kind of far out where I think there used to be some sort of floating dock or other structure. Didn't get a bite on anything.

[MRVRSICK]

09JUN2021

This time, I headed to Santa Fe Dam, line in the water at about 6:45 PM. Clear day and windy towards the water. The water was warm and relatively clear (5+ ft visibility). I started at the very west end of the dam, hoping to fish the "northern half" that has some cover. I was out until about 8:00 PM, when the sheriff came around on the PA and told everyone to leave. For anyone wondering, this is the lake: https://parks.lacounty.gov/santa-fe-dam-recreational-area/

I fished mostly a 60 yard shoreline with the lipless crank bait, a Texas rig trick worm, a weightless stick bait, and the drop shot with a small worm.

I saw some bait fish running being chased by very small bass, and got a few nibbles on the drop shot, but no landed fish. I ran into a guy and chatted quite a bit, he said that he fishes there very regularly, and that he had some nibbles on the drop shot as well.

Some things to note:
I got a really bad wind knot in the crank rig, a really bad backlash on the baitcaster, and later lost the really pretty red shad trick worm that I had found (along with a lead weight and a gama hook).

I also noticed that I have two rods that look pretty similar. One I paid about $30, the other was over $300. Can you guess which is which?
53231

[MRVRSICK]

13JUN2021

This time, I headed to a super secret body of water. Line in the water at about 6:45 AM. It was to be a hot day, so I went out early and before the sun baked me to a crisp. The water was warm and stained (2-4 ft visibility). I fished a cove, moving around the bank as the super huge ants were trying to take off with pieces of footwear and clothing.

I fished mostly a 60 yard shoreline with a weightless stick bait and a super cheap square(ish)-billed crank.

I saw some massive carp swimming around and blowing up on the surface. I'm going to guess they were well over 10 lbs. I caught about 5 fish, 3 on the crank and 2 on the stick bait. Pictured is the first one, which was the smallest at about 10 inches. The rest were bigger, and the biggest was about 3 lbs and was on the stick bait.

I was only there for about 1 hr, and made it back to the car to go back home for a nap and to nurse the slight hangover I had from the night before.53249

[drifter023]

Nice job there finally getting some fish.

[LocalParksGuy]

Wanted to add on to this since it has been on going.

I been wanting to check this lake out again since I last went in Feb. Took my buddy out for the first time to Puddingstone this past Saturday (06/19/2021, 7ish AM). Instead of starting near sailboat cove, I decided for the both of us to try the East Shore at the closed down pier furthest east. We fished that area for a good hour and decided to move more towards the right (facing the shore). We ended up at a point on the east shore between the broken pier and the rv camp. We didn't really see anybody catching and the bass boats weren't getting any action too. I was throwing a spinnerbait for awhile, chatterbait, texas rigged senko, and drop shot fluke. My buddy was throwing a handful of things too.

My friend finally decides to throw a new bait he bought called Chasebaits Flacid Shad. We both thought it was an odd but interesting looking bait that he saw advertised on social media. Its action is a swimbait fish swimming on its side. We were joking about quitting bass fishing if he caught anything on it. After his 4th or 5th cast into the lake he hooks a nice bass that started to fight. He reeled it in and we both weighed it at 2.8 lbs. We let it go and fished the area for another 20 minutes before the jet skiers started coming onto the lake and making huge wakes. We finally move to the final pier on the left that was still open. We fished it for a good 20 minutes until we decided we were hungry and it was getting hot by then (11 AM).

He ended up with 1 bass and I ended up skunking but I was glad he was able to get a bass first time at the lake. Funny thing was he used to go to college down the street at Poly Pomona but never fished at all at the lake until now.

[MRVRSICK]

Wanted to add on to this since it has been on going.

I been wanting to check this lake out again since I last went in Feb. Took my buddy out for the first time to Puddingstone this past Saturday (06/19/2021, 7ish AM). Instead of starting near sailboat cove, I decided for the both of us to try the East Shore at the closed down pier furthest east. We fished that area for a good hour and decided to move more towards the right (facing the shore). We ended up at a point on the east shore between the broken pier and the rv camp. We didn't really see anybody catching and the bass boats weren't getting any action too. I was throwing a spinnerbait for awhile, chatterbait, texas rigged senko, and drop shot fluke. My buddy was throwing a handful of things too.

My friend finally decides to throw a new bait he bought called Chasebaits Flacid Shad. We both thought it was an odd but interesting looking bait that he saw advertised on social media. Its action is a swimbait fish swimming on its side. We were joking about quitting bass fishing if he caught anything on it. After his 4th or 5th cast into the lake he hooks a nice bass that started to fight. He reeled it in and we both weighed it at 2.8 lbs. We let it go and fished the area for another 20 minutes before the jet skiers started coming onto the lake and making huge wakes. We finally move to the final pier on the left that was still open. We fished it for a good 20 minutes until we decided we were hungry and it was getting hot by then (11 AM).

He ended up with 1 bass and I ended up skunking but I was glad he was able to get a bass first time at the lake. Funny thing was he used to go to college down the street at Poly Pomona but never fished at all at the lake until now.

Sounds like you were headed north, towards the boating area (right while facing shore would be south). There's a lot of tall grass that you have to walk through if you want to get to the water there, but there is a huge rocky drop off there. That's where I caught my PB: a whopping bass, likely 9+ pounds, on a drop shot with a cut down margarita mutilator 4.5 inch worm. I've never gone back there because there's honestly so much grass that while walking through it I knew it was a bad idea and I was just begging for a rattlesnake to get me, especially in the summer.

[MRVRSICK]

22JUN2021

Once again at Puddingstone, line in the water at about 7:00 PM. Clear day, and hot. The water was warm and relatively clear (4+ ft visibility). I started at the south cove, moving towards the east side. I was out past 8:30 PM. For anyone wondering, this is the lake: Puddingstone Lake

I walked and casted as much as I could, throwing a hula popper first, and a Texas rig trick worm, then a weightless stick bait along with the drop shot. I didn't catch a single thing.

There was a bass cruising the tall dock, driving all of the pier anglers crazy. I skipped a stick bait under the docks (sneakily) and got nothing. Some people caught some bluegill. And some dude was walking the south cove after sunset, vigorously swiping a net in the water, and placing his little swimmers in a bucket. I don't really know what that was about, and no way that I would risk getting shot, but when I moved closer, he packed up and ran off.

[MRVRSICK]

23JUN2021

As always, at Puddingstone, line in the water at about 6:00 PM. I think this was the day that was cloudy and had even sprinkled a little, though it was a very hot day. The water was warm and cloudy (3-5+ ft visibility). I started at sailboat cove, moving towards the lifeguard shack and past it, towards the dam. I was out past 8:30 PM. For anyone wondering, this is the lake: https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/puddingstone-reservoir-ca/

I didn't spend much time in sailboat, there were some people there that were throwing things in the water, though they actually had fishing lines in. I moved to the left of the lifeguard shack, throwing into what I found out was a rock pile or something. I mainly tossed the Texas rig trick worm (which was later changed to a beaver then a creature), the weightless stick bait, and the drop shot. A little bit later, I tied on a kicking type frog as there was some vegetation that I was fishing near and had a bass blow up a stick bait on as I was reeling it back fast right on top of it. The frog was the only bite I got, but the hook was a little small and I didn't get a good hookset on it. One bite, one chance. No fish in the hand.

I found out that there was a rock pile because I was constantly getting stuck in it. I lost my brand new worm on the t-rig, found a rig (pictured), and then subsequently lost a jig and the weight I found on the drop shot.

[MRVRSICK]

24JUN2021

This one is going to be a short one.

I have been wanting to go to different bodies of water because I don't do very well at puddingstone, even though I live so close by. I just cant put together a pattern, and I generally only fish a few hours.

So I try to go to a body of water that I've caught fish in before: San Dimas Reservoir.

It's freaking dry. Bummer.



I get back and decide to do some things that I've been meaning to do. First on the list is go to C&M tackle in San Dimas. I get there just before opening and just organize my tackle bag a bit. The lady that's working there is super nice, and I chat with her about how her business is actually doing very very well. She doesn't have what I'm looking for (a Kigan XLA hook keeper), but I actually buy some very nicely priced Fuji ez-keepers.



The other thing on my list was cycling related, but the shop opened late.
53272

[MRVRSICK]

26JUN2021

After such a disappointing previous outing to a dry reservoir, I tried again looking for another body of water to fish. I headed out early and got to this reservoir: https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/san-gabriel-reservoir-ca/

It was pretty much completely dry (see picture). You can't really tell very well, but it is freaking deep, and it's a good hike to get to the highwater mark, let alone the extra way down to actual water. There were a lot of fish in there, I was able to pull out my binoculars out and watch the cruising carp (very big) and bass (also big). A lot op blow ups on the water.

I headed back down and went to Peck Road Water Conservation Park: Peck Road Park (https://parks.lacounty.gov/peck-road-water-conservation-park/)

It was starting to get a little later in the morning, but I headed out to the water anyway. pretty much headed towards the water as soon as I could from the parking lot, and second cast in, I get a bite. Good fish, as it's pulling line so hard that I actually had to adjust drag and really muscle the rod. She's a good one, between 4.5-5 pounds (pictured), caught on the weightless stick bait. I continue to fish the same area, as it's shaded and while I'm in the sun, I can feel my feet actually burning up in the heat (car read 95 on the drive home) and blazing sun. I catch 5 total, 2 more on the stick bait (1.5-2ish pounds), a couple of runts on the trick worm(<1 pound). No bites on the creature or beaver, only strikes on drop shot, and a lot of strikes and actual carries at the curly tail worm (small enough that they couldn't swallow the worm and get to the hook). Nothing on the popper or the fluke.

I picked up a ton of trash and tried to deal with some line twist on the crank/fluke setup (to no avail). The juvenile bass (probably the ones I caught earlier) went cruising around and were causing a ruckus, and that's about the time I headed out.
53273
53274

[DarkShadow]

Nice fish from the PP.

Sucks to see SG so low. I've wanted to make a run up there to fish it, but I have no idea where to even access the shore from.

[LocalParksGuy]

7/09/2021

Decided to hit pudd this morning on my day off. Got to the park and started fishing at 6:30 AM. Started at Sailboat Cove and started fishing the loading and unloading ramp. I had a spook on my baitcaster and a spinnerbait on my spinning rod. No luck at the ramp but a guy there said he caught 3 the day before there and 1 before I came.

I headed towards the lifeguard dock and started fishing the right side of it, but got no bites. I then decided to fish the left side of it due to the sun coming up and getting very hot already at 7:30 AM... The left side of the dock was a little annoying to fish due to the loud generator running the dock's power. I head down the shore more and away from the dock and started fishing a bit under the shade. No bites there at all but saw some close splashes near shore. I was getting worried I might skunk so I switched lures on my rods. Switched to the chatterbait on my baitcaster and a senko weightless texas rigged on my spinning rod.

I decided to make my way back along the shore, fishing the left side of the dock then the right. After throwing the chatterbait for awhile. I decided to throw the senko right of the dock. After a few cast I felt a bite. I set the hook and felt it fight a bit then the line went slack with no pressure on the rod. For a couple seconds I thought I set the hook bad and the fish got off but then it started fighting again. I guess the bass was swimming towards me when I didn't feel it for the couple of seconds. When it started fighting, it gave a good fight with lots of head shakes. It was pulling my rod and I had to set the drag loose (Was using very old and frayed 8lb flourocarbon line). I finally got it to shore and weighed it at 3.25 lbs. I released it soon after.

Afterwards, I fished the shore until I made it back to the loading/unloading ramp at sailboat cove. By then it was a little past 9 AM and I decided to call it a day. It was already getting too hot for me. Might hit up El Dorado Park in the AM tomorrow if I can wake up in time to beat the heat.