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I’m taking my 8 year old son and a friend to Perris this Saturday. I’ve never targeted bluegills at Perris. I went on Monday morning and fished for 4 hours. Got 6 small LMB on Drop shot and split shot plastic worms east end and climbers near sunken trees. Should I actively look for Blugills/Redears for the kiddos or just stick to Bass?
Water level was Full! Temps 82-84. 10-14 feet visibility.Attachment 52159Attachment 52159
khanhqpham,
I am not a bluegill fisherman, always fish bass; but I would imagine the bluegill are going onto the beds right now. I can remember seeing a year ago, after the bass were off of the beds, hundreds of bluegill bedding in the shallows on the northwest end of the island. Last year a guy on this website emailed me a picture of a bluegill set up, since I didn't have a clue on how to fish them. I will insert a copy of what he sent me. Good luck with your son. I hope the very best for your success, 'cause your son will always remember the times fishing with Dad!
Attachment 52160
thanks.... i'll try for Bass for the first 2 hours and try that set up for gills on the northwest part of the island.
BassinPLS.... Thanks... my son is actually a good luck charm when it comes to fishing. He’s never been skunked so he’s known only victories, never defeats. Of course I never take him bass fishing in the middle of December!Attachment 52162Attachment 52163
yes get the bass if they are biting!.. when the bite dies down for bass go deeper or go for bluegills.. with that photo with that rig.. you don't have to cut that line to tie the hook.. the trick to that rig.. is to double the loop line through eye of hook (*though super small hooks its more of a pain if you don't have 4 lb line or less.) wrap it around hook and its good to go but do the loop knot 3 times... you can use any size line really and weights.. and just do a second loop on the bottom and you can just loop the weight easily if you don't have split shots. .. a ultralight rod with 2 lb line is fun though because you can feel those little fish fight good. you can also do one loop knot 1 foot off floor and another one 2-3 foot up and you can get double ups.. up to 3 hooks in cali. but so you can work bottom and a little above at same time.. gl out there. I use size 6 mosquito circle hooks.. those tend to get small and nice size bluegill and I can use 6 lb mono loop knot on the eye of it still. but usually not the babies so depends on the size you find. going to smaller hooks. but 6 is good. just pinch nightcrawler in half and use piece of one.. also try full incase there is huge one that will smash the bigger worm. bluegill also bite a lot faster then say tossing near a bass.. so if you aren't getting bites move on. I also use a worm threader to get the worm on line easier(*why the loop knot cut or just used as loop is good for this rig the worm can be halfway up the line and not get all tore up) and it help to catch bluegills.. and keep bait for more then one fish and the ones that try to steal it..
I was the person that made that drawing that I sent to BassinPLS. You really don't have to trim that bit of leader, but with the water being so clear, you don't want it doubled up. And you don't have to do the overhand loop knot 3 times. Twice is fine. I've never had ANY fish break or untie that knot. 2 lb test is used because the larger Bluegills can be line shy, again because of the clear water. I use a medium to large round split shot crimped on lightly at the bottom, so if it gets snagged between some rocks or in some branches, you can just pull steady and the weight will just slide off. Cheaper than losing expensive drop shot weights or hooks. You can put 2 hooks on this set up, but it can be a tangled mess at times. I like just the one hook set up. I'm after big fish, not lots of fish. I also use the black Eagle Claw "Laser Sharp" Circle Hooks in a size 8 and 10. The fish hook themselves when they take your bait and swim away with it. Plus, they rarely get hooked deeply. They almost always get hooked in the corner of their mouths, which is great for catch and release. Please help us keep Lake Perris as a big Bluegill fishery by releasing the big ones. We release all fish that are over 9 inches long. Besides, the smaller ones taste better.
fishmounter,
Thanks for sharing ... again!
I have been . Lake Perris fishing for panfish several times in the past few months (since April), fishing from shore or docks. Strangely, the best fishing for Redear and Bluegill was in April, before they started filling the lake the rest of the way up. Since then, I have caught quite a few incidental bass, mostly small, and only a few small Bluegill on worms. Last time, a couple of weeks ago, I kept catching little bass, but around dusk, I hooked two large fish that I think were bass. The first one broke off at the hook on my 4 pound line, and the second fell off my little panfish hook after being on the line for a minute or so.
Reasons for the poor panfish bite could be: 1. The cold water from Silverwood
2. The fish aren't biting well because they have so much food to eat now. (The fish even look very well fed and I am sure they are growing fast).
3. I was not fishing where the most fish were, although I have tried several spots.
The water should not be too cold now, so maybe they are biting better. I suspect that the panfishing will be better in the fall though.
Hey Robert, I'm not the expert at this lake, my fishing buddy is. (you know who) But I'll tell you what I know. You are correct with No. 1. The water would start to warm up, then it would drop down a few degrees. Finally the water temp would warm up with the hotter days. When a lake rises as fast as it did, it kind of freaks out the fish and the bite can be thrown off for a while. The water level and temperature went up and down quite a bit during the spring. Also for the Bluegill, the larger ones are in deep water, like 20 feet or more and hang around structure, just like the bass do. Also Robert, while using an ultralight outfit, I've hooked quite a few big 'Gills that pull and fight so hard that you think you have a good sized bass on. Then after a while you can tell it's a big Bluegill. Still will take a couple minutes to land when you have made a long cast and are using 2 lb test line. And yes the fall bite should be good and hopefully cooler than these awful hot days.
I agree that the main issue is probably the increase in water level and the influx of cold water. I think the larger panfish are normally in deeper water during the summer too. In the spring, and maybe in the fall, they are often shallower.
As for the 2 larger fish that I hooked, I was left wondering about them, but they were very likely bass, since for one thing, mainly bass were biting there (on the pier at Sail Cove) and the way they inhaled the bait like bass, and basically swam toward deeper water once hooked, without much change in direction. Plus, I was using pieces of nightcrawler since I had run out of redworms. By the way, I think I hooked a large carp there in May, like over 10 pounds, but again, I didn't see it. This one went under the pier and far to the right side, almost spooling me before I started to turn it on my 4 pound line. I got the fish something like halfway in, before the line got snagged in a cable or something and broke. Oh well, it would have been a miracle if I had landed that fish. I also hooked a fish that same day which surfaced well out from the pier and looked like a good size trout from what I could see (about a pound more or less), but it fell off the hook.
It could have been bass that you hooked, but usually after they get hooked they will swim up toward the surface to jump and try and shake the hook loose. But not always. They could also have been large Redear Sunfish that love nightcrawlers. When they are hooked, not only do they pull hard, but they will make strong runs that will pull line off of your reel's drag. But who knows what they were. That's part of fishing. Not knowing what you'll hook into.
Yeah, they could have been really large Redears or Bluegills but they would have had to be really large to peel off line the way that they were, even bigger than the 1 pounders or so that I sometimes catch. I really wish I had at least seen them, or gotten a good look at those fish I hooked in May for that matter.
Hi, I think the fish you lost could have been carp. I fished the dock in Sail Cove a few weeks back and had 3 bites on mealworms and redworms, both peeled drag and went towards the deeper water. The first two came off while it was running, but the latter I landed, a 12 pound carp (caught on mealworm & 4 lb test). Fast forward a few days later, I drop shotted another carp, and that one was also a big carp.Quote:
Originally Posted by Natural Lefty
Interesting, Evoked. Perhaps all the big fish that I hooked there this year were carp. I think the one that almost spooled me in May was the biggest. I would say 12 pounds would be a reasonable guess on that one. The two last time pulled steadily toward deeper water, and there were other peoples' poles in the way farther out on the pier, which complicated things. Yeah, carp may not be particularly sought after fish, but they can grow large and they can really pull.
Maybe I will see you there at the Sail Cove pier soon.
There's some pretty big cats there also.
Ok did anyone fish today at perris August 2nd? If so, was it as good as everyone says it was?...
Who said it was good :LOL: We fished today for a bout 6 hours for a total of 3 fish, before we burst into flames. Too damn hot off the water by 1. Caught a 3 1/2 and a couple of 2's. Missed another 4 or 5 including a blow up on a frog. Lots of grass everywhere makes fishing a little tough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fnguyen5992
Millsap go check out staybentoutdoors on Instagram. Guess he got 30+ fish. I went the day before and only got 6 dink's. Guess conditions changed drastically in 1 day lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by MillsapBoyz
I saw it. Sounds like a fish story to me :LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Fnguyen5992
I went to Perris yesterday and can confirm that panfish in various sizes are biting well around Sail Cove. I was on the little pier, didn't even have the best spot, and most people did well. Some one pound Bluegills were caught and I caught a Redear about that size too, plus lots of smaller ones. All one had to do was drop some bait near the bottom, straight down, and fish were biting. Most of the bigger ones were caught casting out from the end. (I kept the Redear and 6 Bluegills, but must have let a dozen or so smaller Bluegills go.) They remain surprisingly omnivorous, with corn, dough bait and bread catching Bluegills. Worms are working too. I caught the only Redear on a redworm. They were biting on flies and jigs too but difficult for me to hook on artificials as they were bumping them lightly. No Bass were seen. Somebody hooked a catfish as I was leaving, though, but it fell off when they tried to bring it up onto the pier.
By the way, people are still fishing for carp. but as Kwin mentioned, the carp population is expected to decline in the coming years relative to other species with the higher water levels. However, the water is down about 5 feet from this June.
Thanks for the report.
Great report. I went to sail cove in Late May and you couldnt even see a fish in the water. Water level was real high too. I didnt even get a single bite then. On a side note, those bluegill especially the smaller ones will even bite a small ball of cheese balled up on a treble hook if they are hungry enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Natural Lefty
Thank you, Eah and Castle. It has been a big change with the seasons. Bluegills in particular seem to congregate near the dam in the fall, but the biggest fish that I caught was a Redear. My wife took a photo of the fish that I kept on her cellphone, but I don't think she knows how to transfer it to my computer.
I forgot to mention, this spring was particularly bad at Perris Lake. I think it was due to the cold weather and cold water being pumped in, which kept the lake from warming up as quickly as usual. I did fish Sail Cove several times this spring, but usually didn't catch much. Most of the few fish that were biting seemed to be larger bass and carp (which were fun but difficult to land on my light line and with them swimming under the pier and around cables, etc.), although I was fishing for panfish with smaller worms. Now the situation is a different story altogether.