Fry Day Perris Marina

[Cartman]

The first time I fished the Perris Marina I caught a bucket full of huge fish. Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't. It's pretty hard fishing that marina. It's a long drive from where I live in Pasadena, and I have to get up really early to get there at a decent hour, and the sun beats down on my head all day. I like the marina because I can sit there without ants crawling all over me, there is usually good company, and like I said, sometimes I catch a bucket full of big fish. Sometimes.

But yesterday was fry day at the marina. Most of the fish were tiny...I mean like fry size (not fry like cooking, but fry like baby fish), so even though it is fun catching fish and something is better than nothing, it can get boring after a while if all you catch are the little ones. I caught 33 fish, all blue gill and redear, and only a few were keepers, though one was a real monster. The bigger ones started biting around 12:30 or 1:00. A nice guy fishing the other side of the boat dock house gave me three or four of his bigger ones, and with the crappie I caught the other day I had more than enough fillets for a big dinner. I cooked them in Uncle Buck's fish fry stuff. They come out crispy with just a hint of heat.

I used maggots and redworms and caught about 80% on maggots, though I caught the biggest one on redworms. I grow the redworms myself and I swear they are more energetic than the ones you buy. I fished with 4# camo line from Bass Pro Shops and rigged one line with just a hook at the end and a split shot about 6"-8" up, and the other with a paternoster rig. Both worked, maybe the paternoster better because it allows you to make the bait dance around more.

Another sink shot of the keepers.

[Lake,sHiFter's]

Nice report off the docks, I was thinking of hitting the lake up today since I had the day off. I think you just inspired me too LMAO... Last time I was there, they were still killing the Crappies off the docks about a month ago weighing about a pound each even bigger. Some of the guys were even pulling them out of the holes off the dock, literally. Stinger jigs tip with crappie nibblers seems to work fantastic...

[TheAsianGuy]

Nice haul on the small fries. Barely bite sizes for the keepers, but good enough for a meal. Redworms have always been the ticket in getting those larger keepers. They tend to ignore crickets now, and aiming directly at nightcrawlers or redworms. Toss mealworms into the mix, and they just ignore it completely. I'll be hitting the island this weekends. Hope there are still fights left around there.

[Cartman]

Nice report off the docks, I was thinking of hitting the lake up today since I had the day off. I think you just inspired me too LMAO... Last time I was there, they were still killing the Crappies off the docks about a month ago weighing about a pound each even bigger. Some of the guys were even pulling them out of the holes off the dock, literally. Stinger jigs tip with crappie nibblers seems to work fantastic...

I googled "stinger jigs" and came up with a lot of different designs and sizes. Would you mind showing me what you're talking about and how they were fished. I have caught the crappie bug. Who knows, they might have been lurking below waiting for their nibbles.

[Natural Lefty]

Hello Cartman. I agree with you about the pleasures of fishing on the Marina docks at Perris. Those six keepers do look like good eating fish. I have been fishing Perris literally since it opened, and baby Bluegills have always been the norm there in the summer, with some exceptions fortunately.

I see you pretty much followed my pattern with the maggots and redworms. My biggest one last time was on a redworm too, but stuff like maggots, small grubs or waxworms seem to catch the most fish.

I am guessing you were out on the end of the docks. What is a paternoster rig, by the way?

As far as Crappies out there are concerned, I wouldn't expect too much. Crappies are Perris are not that numerous, although maybe some people with floating devices know where they hang out. But sometimes, people catch a few big ones from the docks.

[TheAsianGuy]

I see you pretty much followed my pattern with the maggots and redworms. My biggest one last time was on a redworm too, but stuff like maggots, small grubs or waxworms seem to catch the most fish.

I am guessing you were out on the end of the docks. What is a paternoster rig, by the way?

As far as Crappies out there are concerned, I wouldn't expect too much. Crappies are Perris are not that numerous, although maybe some people with floating devices know where they hang out. But sometimes, people catch a few big ones from the docks.

Hey Lefty, you use home grown maggots? I got quiet a few of them crawling on the kitchen floor during summer time, when the kids and dogs allow the flies to come in. In less than 2 days, those flies can generate quite a few maggots if we happen to left town for an outting.

Paternoster rig is a modified drop shot, using a tri-swivel design. It's a pain to deal with the tangles for distant casting. If you just drop it down into the water, or toss it 5 feet away, not a problem. 10ft or more, you're in serious trouble with tangles.

As for the crappies, they're lurking around the island right now. That's why I'm heading out there this weekends.

[QB7940]

My Dads still getting into the crappie @ Bernasconi, 2.5 - 3lb fish. but also some dinks out of the same hole. I'll be back in December to chase em again. The fish on the bottom of the first pic (small fis) is about the size you'll catch at lake gregory. The smaller fish are actually ABOVE the larger fish right now in the water column. As for the docks, that school of crappie are average sized with a few nice ones mixed in. All you really need year round for crappie is a slip bobber, tube jig and patience.

[old pudd fisher]

Good God !! Man that thing is huge.

[Natural Lefty]

Yes, Asianguy, I just recently got into using grubs from the yard. Maggots in the house sounds pretty yucky. You might as well collect them and take them fishing with you. The ones I have been using are not maggots though, which are fly larvae. I have been using something which is definitely the larvae of some sort of large beetle.

I think I know what the Paternoster rig is from your description. I think I have a few of those three-way swivels but I rarely use them. Since I often fish vertically from piers or docks, I should try that though. Thanks!

From what I have read, I do think most of the Crappies at Perris are around the island or around Bernasconi. The ones in the marina are liable to get caught quickly, or they like to hang under the middle of the boathouse where fisherpeople can't get to them, but they are caught sometimes.

QB, the last two Crappies I caught like those big ones were actually at Puddingstone, where I usually have good luck for Crappies. I have caught a couple of big ones like those at Perris before, but that's it even though I fish there more than anywhere else. The Crappies I usually catch are like that small, Lake Gregory size one.

Maybe I should try fishing with a slip bobber more, but they always seem so complicated to me.

[TheAsianGuy]

From what I have read, I do think most of the Crappies at Perris are around the island or around Bernasconi. The ones in the marina are liable to get caught quickly, or they like to hang under the middle of the boathouse where fisherpeople can't get to them, but they are caught sometimes.

Yep, that's what all the crappie fishers indicated every time I was out in the water. As for the boathouse, I did it once using my tube, going into the areas next to the boathouse during the early and late hours. No one was watching the dock, so, fished that areas. Hit plenty of nice size gills and crappies. Had a hard fight with a cat/carp there once. It went under the structures, and got my line all tangled up with something large down below. My 6lbs snapped after a good 10 min of fighting.

Maybe I should try fishing with a slip bobber more, but they always seem so complicated to me.

I try to stay away from the slip bobber as much as I can. To much of a pain to deal with. Not complicated, but fiddling around the the slip bobber rig while sitting in the tube or toon..man, imagine that 5 feet leader that you have to manage while watching out for the other rods.