Perris Lake Thursday 5/19

[Cartman]

A friend and I fished the marina at Perris Lake yesterday. All together we caught 93 fish. Almost all bluegill and about a half dozen weird little sculpin. Very few of the fish were big enough to bother taking home. I usually catch a lot of really big ones at the marina, so I was a little surprised that so many of them were so small. Then again, I usually go there later in the season, and maybe they haven't had a chance to grow up. I had a very nice trout hooked and up to the edge, but I had left my net in the car and the line broke as I was trying to get it out of the water. My friend caught a trout on a castmaster and got some strikes. Other guys were catching trout about the time we had to go. One had a $10.00 tag. If I'd had any sense I'd have switched to trout fishing once that first one got away, but I didn't really expect so many trout there so late in the year.

Some guys had caught some shad minnows and were catching crappie. Does anyone know if the sculpin make good bait for bass or crappie? They were nothing but a nuisance. If I didn't catch a bluegill in a minute or so I always knew I had a sculpin on line. I was using maggots for bait.

[tacklejunkie]

Cool, never hooked a sculpin there before.

[carpanglerdude]

Thank you for the report; I simply have to get back to Perris soon!

I've seen more and more reports of people catching freshwater sculpins in the area lakes lately. When I lived in Washington, I would catch sculpins regularly, even on lures. The little guys are pretty boring but they can get much bigger (up to a little over a foot long I believe). Here's one I caught last summer in Washington, as you can see it was big enough to hit a Yum Dinger.

[fishmounter]

Wow! Maybe that is what kept stealing my bait at the marina docks. Never knew Perris had those fish in it. I would think that they would make a good live bait for bass, though it looks kind of small. Years ago we used to use live 3 to 5 inch saltwater sculpins called "mudsuckers" for bass in the San Diego lakes. For whatever reason, they were made illegal to use quite a few years ago.

[Cartman]

Wow! Maybe that is what kept stealing my bait at the marina docks. Never knew Perris had those fish in it. I would think that they would make a good live bait for bass, though it looks kind of small. Years ago we used to use live 3 to 5 inch saltwater sculpins called "mudsuckers" for bass in the San Diego lakes. For whatever reason, they were made illegal to use quite a few years ago.

I had never seen one before this year. I caught one on a red worm up in sail boat cove and thought it was a fry of some other fish like maybe a catfish. It was at Perris where my friend Bruce told me what they were. We caught several of them. The thing about these sculpin that is so annoying is that you really can't tell they're on the hook, and you can't catch anything else as long as they are on the hook. Pain in the butt. I think they are bottom feeders. Maybe if you keep your line off the bottom with a float of some sort you can avoid them, but it looks like they are beginning to be a real problem.

[tacklejunkie]

Yeah they just sit there sucking on your bait on the bottom lol.
Lets hope they don't do to Perris what they did to BBL.
Bait thieves.

[Fishbreath]

Those are mudsuckers alright. They are legal to use for bait and sold in many bait shops. Here is an excerpt of the DFG rules:

"4.10. Bait Fish Use in the Southern District.

Except as provided below, live or dead fin fish shall not be used or possessed for use as bait in the Southern District:

(a) Dead threadfin shad and live or dead longjaw mudsucker may be used in all Southern District waters.
(b) Live threadfin shad may be used only at the location where taken.
(c) Golden shiner and red shiner may be used in San Diego County."

[fishmounter]

No those fish at Perris and Big Bear Lake are NOT "Longjaw Mudsuckers". Mudsuckers are a saltwater fish. That is why they are legal to use. They will not propagate in freshwater, therefore they pose not threat to the lake's fish populations. Those small sculpins that are now being caught are a freshwater fish that will no doubt survive and multiply. If those fish are a problem with your bait being on the bottom, use a dropshot type rig. This will keep your bait up off the bottom (and any moss that will be starting to show up now with the water warming up).

[Fishbreath]

Years ago we used to use live 3 to 5 inch saltwater sculpins called "mudsuckers" for bass in the San Diego lakes. For whatever reason, they were made illegal to use quite a few years ago.

I guess I did not make my previous post very clear. I was not saying that the fish in Big Bear were longjaw mudsuckers, I was just saying that the fish you used years ago were longjaw mudsuckers and that they are still legal to use and still available. I should have also mentioned that even though the sculpin might make good bait, they would not be permitted under the rules that I cited.

[Cartman]

No those fish at Perris and Big Bear Lake are NOT "Longjaw Mudsuckers". Mudsuckers are a saltwater fish. That is why they are legal to use. They will not propagate in freshwater, therefore they pose not threat to the lake's fish populations. Those small sculpins that are now being caught are a freshwater fish that will no doubt survive and multiply. If those fish are a problem with your bait being on the bottom, use a dropshot type rig. This will keep your bait up off the bottom (and any moss that will be starting to show up now with the water warming up).

The fish in your avatar photo is looking at me.