Hunting the River King

San Gabriel River Tributary Urban Creek Fishing

2012-01-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

Hit up a tributary of the San GabrielRiver today, near El Monte. Was hoping for some tilapia, bass or sunfish actionbut turned out a skunk was the order of the day instead. There's plenty ofcover and water for the fish in this area, perhaps it's just far too pollutedto be a fishable location. Anyway, enjoy the short film montage of clips I tookwhile exploring this creek in the San Gabriel Valley. Also, if you've fishedhere, let me know, I'd love to hear from you!

More swimbait reviews on the way!

SoCal Urban Creek Fishing Redux

2012-01-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

This ain't no bluewater trout stream.

But it sure has fish!

With the cold front coming in, I visited a local urban creek in the concrete jungle of SoCal's Inland Empire. This spot, which shall remain unnamed, has produced some excellent warmwater fishing in the past. I went with high hopes, despite the light rain and dropping temperatures.
This fishing trip ended up turning out just fine. I caught 4-5 small largemouth and one green sunfish, found many new spots in this California urban creek, and helped cure the fishing itch (at least temporarily), all in a few short hours. To make it even better, I got a little footage from the trip and compiled it to everyone's favorite video hosting website, YouTube, for some brownline fun. Enjoy SoCal Urban Bass Fishing:

wLure's Bargain Chinese Bluegill Swimbait

2012-01-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

For the second lure in my series on wLure's Chinese swimbaits, I have the HS145F2, a jointed, chunky swimbait somewhat shaped after a bluegill. It sells for $5.49 online, with three different color options, length of 5 3/4'', and a weight of 1 2/3oz.

(Continued after the jump)

The HS145F2 swimbait is pretty chunky. It's certainly not a "knock-off" of any specific lure I've encountered, and it seems to be a hybrid swimbait/crankbait style lure.
The entire lure is hard plastic, complete with a nice set of fins sticking out both dorsally and laterally. However, the tail is a soft plastic/rubber piece, attached by two pins. If any part of this lure was to fail after repeated hits, this may be it. Still, it's fairly well attached and shouldn't present too much of an issue.

This swimbait will float, diving around 2-3 ft on retrieve. When using the HS145F2, I found it had excellent action, even at slower retrieval speeds. The added crankbait lip really helps increase the bait's enticing wobble action, for the better. Here is a few YouTube videos of the HS145F2 swimbait that I took while trying it out at Ford Park, in Redlands.You'll notice the excellent side to side action upon retrieve.

Details on this lure are fairly impressive. The paint job isn't amazing, but it certainly looks much nicer than many generic Chinese eBay lures. Of the three color options available for this lure, my favorite is the bluegill-style pattern. The other two, a goldfish (?) and a striped bass pattern really don't appeal to me. The finish on the lure seems quite durable and didn't chip, despite some rough handling on rocks on my part. Will it hold up to the smash of a toad largemouth or striper? I'm not sure, but the joints and attachments certainly feel tough.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the HS145F2 bluegill swimbait. It's cheap, has great action in the water, and looks decent. I'll post updates with how it performs on the toads as the water starts to warm up. Tight lines!

wLure's Cheap Trout Swimbait: ODS HS5X374 Lure Review

2012-01-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

ODS Swimbaits

The ODS HS5X374 from wLure is jointed, hardbody trout swimbait, selling for $8.99. It's a completely new bait to me, as I have never seen this model before. I ran into it on the wLure website and couldn't resist asking about it. I have purchased several Chinese knock-off (KO lure) or non-name brand lures in the past and had mixed experiences, so I was a little wary at the time. Thankfully, this swimbait turned out to be quite a keeper, with a great price, great motion in the water and a great design.

Size Comparison

wLure is a Chinese fishing lure website with a local US branch in Houston, Texas. I recently stumbeled upon their website and was amazed at just how low the prices on their lures was. Also, they offer free shipping, no matter how small the order, which is super nice on top of the low prices. If you do order from wLure, do expect to wait at least 15 days for your order. After all, it's coming over from China and is not going to arrive at your doorstep anywhere as fast as a TW or BPS order. Still, I don't mind the wait, as long as I order well in advance of major fishing trips.However, if you would like to avoid waiting roughly 3 weeks, consider ordering this same lure through Amazon, for slightly more (see sidebar).
(More after the jump)

Gill detail

The HS5X374 comes in a 6 1/2'' and in 4 different colors/patterns. Behind the front gill joint is a bright red, painted gill, certainly a nice touch. I've included several photos showing how this ODS wLure HS5X374 compares to the sizes of other swimbaits offered by wLure (more reviews on these to come).

There are several internal rattles in this trout swimbait, making it a little louder than the Megabait Charlie's I usually throw. I'm not sure how useful this rattle is, or if it might even be a deterrent to getting wary fish to bite it. I would prefer it to be almost silent, instead of the rattle. However, in some murky conditions this may be a benefit. The ODS swimbait casts quite well and handles well in the water.

Awesome detail

For a little lure trivia, the HS5X374 comes in a "ODS Lure" box. Never having heard of such a brand, I did some research online and found several Chinese eBay sellers offering these ODS lures, including this one, for the same or more than what wLure sold them for. Several foreign wholesale websites offered them in massive bulk lots, and I could find only one US-based retailer also selling them, albeit under a different name (hardbait hitch swimbait). The box comes with English and Russian script, I suppose ODS is a tackle manufacturer in China, selling a affordable line of swimbaits. Learning more about the slowly burgeoning tackle industry in China and looking at the different lures produced there is pretty fascinating. In general, most diehard anglers steer away from generic Chinese lures, but I've started to see a slow increase in quality from these overseas baits.

More awesome detail

The pattern on this swimbait is pretty unique. It's closest to a trout, although not exactly a rainbow trout. There are four patterns to choose from for this exciting swimbait model, including two trout-style ones, a carp/rough fish patter and a baby striped bass pattern. wLure has a taken a photorealistic finish approach to the coating of this swimbait and it looks excellent. Paint job seems to be strong too, with no chipping or cracks despite being bounced around in my swimbait box a little too often.

YouTube video of trout swimbait in action

The HS5X374 swimbait from wLure has a very interesting performance in the water. It is a surface/subsurface swimbait, and looks just like a confused, terrified stocked trout when retrieved a medium to medium fast speed. It has an absolutely wonderful "S" swimming pattern, as you can somewhat see in the following video, where it really comes alive. I also found you could cast the lure, let it sit, then give it quick "walk-the-dog" style jerks to really get a unique action. It will dive from side to side, subsurface, sure to be a hit. It's worth noting that at very slow speeds, or on line that is too light, the lure's swimming action is impacted negatively and doesn't show quite as much motion. I haven't fished with a lure like this before, nor seen one on the market in BPS stores yet.

Second video showing this swimbait in action on top
Thanks to gf for video help!

Unfortunately, I haven't gotten a chance to fish this trout swimbait in "real" conditions for striper or largemouth. The trial casts and videos I've posted above are from Ford Park, in Redlands, California (better known for its dog park and large swarms of aggressive waterfowl). While the lure seems durable, only intense use over time will really tell how strong it is. I am curious to see how it holds up to larger fish, as it is certainly designed for heavier fish than the usual city park pond bass. I'll be posting more updates on to how this swimbait works for me as the season progresses.

|Summary|
The HS5X374 trout swimbait from wLure is a interesting lure for a very affordable price. It is the the best example of a no-name, generic, Chinese-brand bait that has excellent swimming action and a great selection of lure color patterns that I have used so far. I have no complaints about it, only praise, at least at this early stage. For swimbait collectors, or those interested in trying out a really affordable swimbait for a fraction of the cost of name-brand models, the HS5X374 from wLure may be a good choice.

Want a sneak peak at my next set of fishing lure reviews? Enjoy my Flickr page!

[Update]: I did a little more research online and found the actual producers of this lure. It's from a Chinese company called ODA Fishing Tackle, in Canton, China (southern area of China). They have a fairly extensive line of "photo-finish" lures, and a pretty decent website, located here. It looks like they are trying to break into the US market, with plenty of lure options for anglers. Here is a photo from their website of some of their baits being produced.

Dirt Cheap Swimbaits from wLure

2012-01-12T18:33:00.000-08:00

Coming soon: Exclusive, in-depth look at a previously-unheard of, dirt-cheap, line of swimbaits never before reviewed in the USA, courtesy of wLure. Expect photos, videos and complete reviews of these impressively-affordable swimbaits. Stay tuned.

Riverside County Urban Creek Bass Fishing

2012-01-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

Had a few hours to enjoy last Sunday. Not worth spending the $$$ to fish for such a short period of time at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. No way was I going to fight the skunk at city park lakes like Fairmount or Seccombe. Didn't care to try and catch deep water (50+ feet?) largemouth and sunfish from the shore at Lake Perris. Wasn't interested in chasing stocker trout or wild 'bows in the San Bernardino Mountains. Still, I needed a fishing fix, close by and with a fun bite. Solution?

Urban creek fishing time!

The action wasn't fast and furious, but I caught 4 fish of two different species (largemouth bass and green sunfish) on small jigs in a little over an hour. Hey, it's January, and I'm catching warmwater fish, I can't complain. This last one (also in the video above), put up a nice fight on 2lb test monofilament. This particular urban creek also had a lot of used fishing lure wrappers on the ground, a new find compared to the regular dirty plastic bags, pop bottles and housing debris floating past. Pack it out!

Fall Bluegill and Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

All too often I'll go fishing and leave the resulting photos on my computer for months before uploading them. This is one of those scenarios, from a trip back in October 2011. I went hunting for bluegill at a favorite lake spot (let's call it "Hill Lake"). Had to hike in, but it was worth it. Managed to land numerous healthy bluegill on microjigs tipped with mealworms.

Getting down to the water can be a challenge, especially at spots like this.

I love the fight even small bluegill put up. On ultralight fishing tackle (2lb mono, spinning rod/reel), they are a blast to catch. Tight lines and Happy New Year!

Fairmount Park Fall Fishing

2011-11-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

Fairmount Park, in Riverside, California, is one of the largest urban parks in the Inland Empire region. It has a rather interesting history, as it was originally dedicated in 1898 as a park. In 1911, Frederick Law Olmsted Sr, famous for his design of Central Park in New York, created the plans for the layout of Fairmount Park’s landscaping.

There's also an odd military tank, on a pedestal, at the west side of the park. Apparently, such tanks were built in the Riverside region for use in WWII (over 500). There’s an excellent writeup about the complete history behind Fairmount Park at the Riverside Parks website, (PDF format).

I have been fishing Fairmount on and off over the last month. Unlike visits during other times of the year, these recent trips have produced fish consistently. Granted, they have all been fairly small. However, it’s always fun to land something at Fairmount, given my history of getting skunked at this park. I have been catching largemouth bass, green sunfish and bluegill on a variety of lures. My most recent trip saw two fish landed on a dropshot rig with a Zipper-style worm. However, most of my fish have been on small jerkbaits. I had two bass at Fairmount Park on a recent trip chase my jerkbait back to the shore, unfortunately, the smaller one managed to get it first before it’s larger friend (2-3lbs?) caught up. Anyway, here are a few photos of bass and sunfish from Fairmount Park. Tight lines!

Homemade Alabama Style Rig Fishing Video

2011-11-18T19:44:00.000-08:00

After watching the buzz over the umbrella rig for largemouth, called the Alabama Rig, Swarming Hornet, Power Tackle, Bait Ball and more, I decided to make my own. Inspired by some fantastic creations at Tackle Underground and other custom fishing lure websites, I visited Lowe's and cranked out a few custom, Alabama-rig style lures. These are pretty lightweight and certainly wouldn't handle a huge fish very well. However, they swim great in the water with flukes on and are pretty easy to cast.

They do have a tendency to snag on the bottom, as any massive rig of umbrella lures would certainly be at risk for. A faster retrieve in shallow water helps avoid this.
Furthermore, in some states (California, etc), angler's cannot use more than 3 hooks on a line. Thus, on my four-wire DIY umbrella rig, the 4th one has no hook, only a soft plastic teaser.

I put together a little video showing off how I made this homemade version of the Alabama rig. Enjoy!

Lake Perris October Bass Fishing

2011-11-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

I hit Lake Perris for some late October bass fishing on the 23rd. Hadn't been back to this SoCal bass gem for a couple of months, was really eager to get in on some bass action. The local fishing forum was buzzing with quality reports on sunfish and bass, wetting my appetite.
I started out around 8:30am at the public launch ramp cove. Fished it hard from the east side, while watching the day's boat traffic prepare for launch. I threw jerkbaits, dropshot plastics, and micro crank for nothing. This was not the way I had envisioned my trip going. Only had one decent bass follow the jerkbait back, but he wouldn't commit (c'mon!).

Spoke with a guy on a sweet red/black bass boat who cruised by. He said he usually fished Castaic and this was his first time to Perris.

After growing tired of my shore spot, I hit up the area around the launch ramps, careful to avoid active launchers.
First cast, on the BPS XPS jerkbait, BAM, fish on. Just a 1lber, but he had some fight in him! Next cast, BOOM, another small bass (see below).

I hit one more dink, then the bite slowed down. By now, the sun was doing its best to bake me on the shoreline. Figured it was time to hit up some PB&J/water break from the car. Love it.
I went back down to the docks and kept fishing. The fish were definitely in the area, as I would see baitfish schools split and jump while they were being pursued by aggressive bass. Too much forage, maybe, couldn't fool 'em into biting?

Nope! Finally got another fish, this one a really solid 15'' bass on my the same jerkbait. Success! I was throwing on 4lb test, ultralite gear and this bass absolutely smashed the jerkbait at the furthest limit of my cast. He gave me an epic fight, despite probably only pushing 2lbs or so. I'm really pleased with how his photo turned out as well!
Spoke with another angler who was throwing a dropshot/roboworm rig. He was picking off some smaller bass, but he said the fishing had been much better last week from the shore. Found out he also fished Fairmount Park in Riverside and he let in on some tips about that urban spot. Thanks!

Eventually, I decided the docks area was just not producing, packed up and drove over to the dam. Immediately, I caught 3-4 baby largemouth bass on my microcrank and flick shake. Unfortunately, one of them popped my 3lb mono (second rod) off against a rock, and swam off with my favorite microcrank bait, a Strike Kind Bitsy Pond Minnow. Ugh. It's a 3/32 ounce, tiny crankbait that really seems to produce well for me, especially at Lake Perris. It's also hard to find at local tackle stores, sadly. The baby bass pattern and the fire tiger patttern are some of my favorites for this Strike Kind crankbait.
Afterwards, I worked my way further down the Lake Perris dam and nailed another decent bass on my flick shake worm, wacky rig style. He was right up next to the shore and I could see him engulf the plastic worm as it hit the water. The photo above and below are both of the him.

After that, I fished a few more spots, including around the marina, but did not have any more hits. Called it a day and headed home. This was one of my better trips to Lake Perris. It's a pretty daunting lake for a shoreline bass angler. Hopefully, I'll get a kayak or float tube to properly fish this Inland Empire lake with in the future.

Urban Creek Fishing in the Inland Empire

2011-10-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy exploring small urban creeks and runoff channels. While often covered in graffiti, heavily polluted and located in questionable locales, these concrete jungle streams can be a fishing shangri-la. Multiple species, all eager to bite and little fishing pressure keeps such trips enjoyable.

Recently, I tried out a new creek in the Inland Empire. I'll keep it a secret for now, given its small size and easy access, but I'll toss out one hint: It's all that remains of an old lake that was a popular local fishing hole.

Poison oak, litter and plenty of graffiti kept the trip interesting. Oh, and so did plentiful bites from green sunfish, bluegill and small largemouth bass. Also present were numerous large common carp, but they turned up their proverbial noses at my hardbaits and microjigs. I think the only pressure this spot received was from local kids, tossing earthworms under bobbers.

I didn't get to spend much time at this new-found fishing hotspot, but I found the short trip really enjoyable. It's amazing the little waterways and channels one may find in the middle of the concrete jungle, sometimes teeming with fishy life!

Fall Riverside County Bass Fishing

2011-10-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

I have been fishing a new spot in Riverside County quite often. The weather has been fantastic, but the water clarity has decreased, keeping the bass fishing a challenge.

Little bass, caught on a Yum Dinger.

This tarantula was more than happy to pose for the camera. Hairy, eh?

Lovin' the Frogs

2011-10-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

Bunch of Bass from the last few evenings. All on topwater frogs. Couldn't ask for more fun!

Fall Bass Fishing in the IE

2011-09-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

As the weather transitions from the sweltering days of summer to the crisp, clear days of fall, bass fishing traditionally picks up. At least, that's what I told myself as I drove to yet another fishing trip this Sunday.

However, after a few hours on the water, my efforts weren't exactly paying off. I had nailed two fish, one a total dink and the other a ~1 lb fella (pictured above), but I had been dreaming of non-stop bass action and this wasn't it. The better fish was caught on a Texas-rigged Gary Yamamoto Ika, a really ugly lure that catches a lot of fish for me.
Finally, as the sun set, I switched up to a Gene Larew Three-Legged topwater frog. I initially tried some Sizmic Toad Jr. frogs, but I after missing two blowups, I decided to change lures. Finally, as I was casting near some reeds, I heard the tell-tale sounds of a large fish hitting surface forage nearby. I flipped the frog out, and three seconds later- BAM! Hooked this big largemouth bass, 4 lb category, 17.5''. One of the best fighters I've had the pleasure of encountering on my fishing trips in the last few months. Definitely an epic memory. Video quality above isn't the greatest, but it sort of shows off how big this fish was. Tight lines!

San Bernardino Mountain Fishing

2011-09-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in the San Bernardino Mountains...

Fished a small lake in the San Bernardino Mountains with a friend. Beautiful scenery, crystal clear water, trout and largemouth bass. It's amazing just how idyllic a lake less than an hour away can be, with a wonderful feeling of isolation from the rat race of the IE.

Little bass were all over the lake. Hit 'em on cranks, soft plastic frogs, Senko's, and a topwater BAss Pro popper. Lost a mama largemouth thanks to a thrown hook.

Also managed two rainbow trout on a micro crankbait (Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow) of all things. This one was around 13 inches, full tail, beautiful colors. Great trip.

Canyon Lake Bass Fishing

2011-09-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

Had the itch to fish. Threw the bike in the car, grabbed the fishing gear, and hit the road. Had to park off the beaten path, then bike in. Made sure to load up on the H2O beforehand, September is still hot hot hot in SoCal.

Finally made it to the water. Not as much cover as last time I visited, as the water was down, but it was still amazing.

Look closely at the bottom-center of this photo; see the baby bass? Schools of 'em were all over the lake!

I ended up with 10+ fish, sort of lost track. Most were dinks (seems like there are loads of them around!), but I managed a few nicer ones that put up a beasty fight on light line.

Wrapped up the day with a chipped thumb from lipping 'em, great sign of excellent bass fishing!

Rock Quarry Fishing Video

2011-08-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

Look at the date of the last post. Back to this post. Back to the last post. Now back to this post! Sadly, it's painfully obvious that updates have been few and far between as of late.
Bass fishing hasn't been terribly amazing these couple of months. I have two recent trips to Diamond Valley Lake down, several to Lake Perris, and countless stops at the local city parks. Most of the bass have been fairly small and caught on jerk baits or wacky-rig soft plastics. I'll post pictures of these trips shortly. In the meantime, enjoy this short video I shot using a makeshift head cam (note to self: STEADY when filming) at a local quarry pond a little over one month ago. I'm throwing a Strike Kind Bitsy Pond Minnow, one of my favorite micro cranks, on 4lb test. I mostly caught chunky green sunfish, but a few largies came along for the ride as well. Enjoy the video!

Anything is possible when you go fishing.

Something's Fishy

2011-05-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

Despite my astounding lack of updates to this blog, I have been fishing. Unfortunately, the bass bite hasn't been the best for me as of late. Still, whenever that happens, I turn over to my friends the sunfish. Fishing at dusk with topwaters is my preferred method for angling for sunfish. While they don't inhale a lure with quite as much strength as a beasty largemouth bass, they are certainly plentiful and fun! Dry flys, homemade topwater jigs, Yo-Zuri lures and soft plastics have all been my go-to lures for these plate-shaped fish.

Check out the fantastic colors on this Fairmount Park sunfish I landed!

Here's a few more fun bluegill from the last few weeks.

While I haven't been doing too stellar on the bass, I did manage this hefty chunk from Fairmount Park in Riverside, California. I didn't get to weight it, but it was around 15'' long. Got him right near the bank on a senko, far side, and he put up a super fight before I landed him.

Here is one of my best bluegills of the year, landed at a private reservoir in East Highland. Got him on a dry fly, wow, what a fighter! Measurements were 10 inches long, certainly not the biggest but still a great fish compared to others I've caught there.

Road Trip

2011-04-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

I love fishing forums. Got a tip about a new place to check out. Did a little research and it is all open to the public, just not heavily advertised.

Weather turned out to be pretty awful. Cloudy/sunny, on/off, but really cold for April (this was a few weeks ago). Still, despite the wind and cold, I landed three chunky bluegill and one largemouth.

Caught this guy deep in cover. This new place has loads of submerged logs and trees to fish, most excellent!

I love exploring new places and successfully catching fish while I'm at it. I'll be back for sure.

Fisherman's Retreat in Redlands

2011-04-04T23:27:00.000-07:00

I was told the bass bite was good at Fisherman's Retreat, near Redlands, so off I went. This was my first time to this private/pay to fish set of ponds, so I was kind of hesitant. Entry was $15 for 12 hours of fishing, a bit of a jump over Perris or even DVL (shore) prices. When I got there, about 10-15 other anglers were bank fishing, soaking bait for "whatever" would bite. Sun was peeking out and the water was super clear, not a fish in sight. Lots of swell lily pads though!

Fisherman's Retreat is in San Timoteo Canyon, a scenic valley. The ponds themselves aren't the prettiest, but they have a lot of awesome cover for bass fishing. Take a look at the following:

(Big bass story after the break)

I neglected to take photos of the massive shrub/reed fortress that harbors loads of bass in one of the ponds (there is two ponds available for non-member anglers). It's nice to finally find a SoCal fishing spot with lots of cover to fish. Casting to nothing (except grocery carts) at city park lakes isn't anywhere as exciting as this!
So, on to the fishing. I spent a lot of time hiking around the smaller pond, looking for bass. The water was crystal clear, but I only spotted a few. I did see a very large female, but she wouldn't take any lures. However, I finally pissed off one 14'' bass with a Yum Crawbug:

After that, I started nailing fish on the Crawbug. It's one of the more realistic and affordable crawfish lures I've found and bass always seem intrigued. I have to fish it on a jighead, rigged like this.

(closeup of the last fish)

I met up with several other FNN members, really great guys. They were fishing plastic worms, so I switched it up and got this guy on a Berkely plastic:

Got one more on the Crawbug, then I took a break and rerigged my poles with some topwater stuff. I know it's early for a topwater bite, but I just had to try it out at dusk. I went back to the spot where I had seen the huge female, and pitched the Crawbug back out to her. I was aiming for a spot about the size of a trash can lid. Messed up the first cast, thankfully the sun had just gone down and it didn't spook the bass. Second cast was right on and I saw her race over, inspect the Crawbug, and engulf it. I have never had a bass pull like this one did, with long, powerful runs, heartstopping leaps and mad thrashing. 6lb mono held up in the end. Enjoy the results.

Super thanks to the guys who got the pictures (they caught a 20lb+ carp that day, nice fish!). This bass was 20 inches long, didn't get the girth measurement (absolutely loaded with eggs). She was quickly released and I saw her swim back to her bed. Definitely a fish I will never forget, might even be heavier than my longer (but skinnier) PB from last year. Judging from the photos, I'm pretty tempted to say this new fish is the better one, but who knows?

Anyway, I had a blast fishing Fisherman's Retreat. It's a little expensive, and it's definitely not like most SoCal lakes/ponds, but it was fun.

I'm running out of these bugs.

Parting shot.

Fairmount Park Piggies

2011-04-01T23:32:00.000-07:00

Fished Fairmount Park yesterday and today. The water is warm, still murky (but nothing like last month's chocolate milk lake), and the fish are active. Carp are visible all around the lake, the sunfish are coming out of their hiding places, and the bass...are biting. Jackall Flick Shake worms were the ticket.

Catch and release fishing is something many people cannot seem to wrap their brains around, especially at parks like Fairmount. On my first fish of today, a family asked me to give it to them. I politely declined, letting them know I release my bass. However, they couldn't undertstand this and kept shouting and yelling, asking me to give them the fish "for their dad." As I unhooked the bass and lowered it back into the water, one of the girls in the group went ballistic, screaming, "No, no, no! Give it to us!"
You want a fish from Fairmount that badly? Sheesh. Pony up $4 and grab a largemouth at 99 Ranch Market, fresh. Leave the dirty city park fish alone. DFG doesn't stock Fairmount routinely with bass, and there certainly isn't enough to go around feeding all of Riverside.

My third crappie from Fairmount. Little guy couldn't resist a slowly-retrieved Yo-Zuri!

Seccombe Park Success!

2011-03-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

Seccombe is one of the dirtiest city parks I have ever had the privilege of fishing. It has also been the scene of numerous skunkfests for me, with no bass landed, until this Sunday. Enjoy the results:

Both bass were caught on jigs and both looked like they had gotten in a fight with a cormorant (lot's of scars and split fins). Sunny weather, clear water, and fish on the line. Couldn't ask for a better day at the park.
I have added a new link on the side bar to Bass in the Hood. The owner really knows his stuff when it comes to local bassin' in the greater IE area. Check it out!

Hello, Spring. Hello, Spawn.

2011-03-08T21:51:00.000-08:00

Got my first topwater sunfish of the year, 5 to be exact, plus two largemouth today. One bass on a wacky Senko, the other on a Yum Crawdinger. Fishing is ON! Loved seeing the topwater boils and splashes at dusk, it's been too long since last year's evening bite.
Not posting the name of the park, too small. Not too hard to guess though <^_^>

Around the IE

2011-03-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

Challenges.

Seccombe Park, San Bernardino Panorama

Fishing right after the rainbow trout stock. Even the little guys can't resist a nice trout meal.

Hello, DVL.

2011-02-14T00:14:00.000-08:00

Hadn't been to Diamond Valley Lake for at least a month, was itching for another shot at fishing it. Cruised through Hemet and arrived at DVL at 11:00am. Talked to the workers about the shore fishing, supposedly some guy hauled in 4 stripers yesterday, with more chasing his swimbait on the retrieve. That was encouraging. I had called in on my way over and asked about the trout plant, and the guy told me they hard "just stocked it this Friday." However, the girl working the bait shop told me they hadn't stocked any trout this week, go figure.

Sun was hot on the water by the time I got down to Cove 1 and started working the trees. Really not too many people on the shore compared to my previous trips. As usual, most people were either dunking for trout or throwing massive swimbaits for stripers/DD largemouth. Water was still relatively cold, with a slight chop from the wind. Visibility was great, I could see down 5-10 feet easily, despite a thin layer of algae growth. The water was up much higher than I have seen it before, covering all sorts of nice trees and stumps-awesome!I moved down to a point, setup one rod with a dropshot nightcrawler/bell combo (hoping for a stocker or big 'gill), another rod with trout swimbait, and the last with a 3'' Senko. The two-rod stamp is definitely worth it (it's actually cheaper in California than back in Washington, surprising) and I love keeping one pole out for carp/catfish/sunfish/etc while the other rod I use for bass. Right after casting out and propping up the nightcrawler rig, I had a solid hit. Whatever it was took some drag, made some weird headshakes for a trout, and simply wouldn't come in on my ultralight pole. I got him within 15 ft of the shore, and he went right into the submerged trees. I tried forcing him through, no dice. I ended up giving him a little slack, and he pulled himself out, whew. Brought him in, was surprised to see it was a largemouth bass! Not what I was expecting off a bait 'n wait rig, and certainly not my preferred method of catching them! Super thanks to the Asian bass guy with the nice spinning gear who took my picture with the fish before the release. I'd peg him at 1lb, nothing spectacular but a good start for sure!

#1
I spent the next hour or so fishing the submerged cover hardcore. Tried the 3'' Senko for one tap, actually saw the bass nip it but I set the hook too soon. It is crazy how clear the water is, and it's absolutely stunning to see giant largemouth cruising through the cover, within casting distance, near the shore. Tried a Yum crawbug, lost several to snags. Finally switched up to a special Cabela's worm (one of their Senko clones) with a little modification I did to it. Worked it for a while, kept on getting too many phone calls. I was in the middle of one call on my cell when my line suddenly took off-boom, fish on! The fight was intense, I throw light gear and I had to work extra hard to avoid a repeat of getting another fish stuck in the cover. Finally got him to the shore, super healthy, fat bass. Weighed him at 2lbs on my scales, photo and release. Sweet!

#2
Check out that belly, little piggy.

I moved around some more, and has the day was winding down, I fished another cove. Was still working the modified Senko-clone and made a cast to a likely looking spot. Once again, line takes off as the lure is falling, and I st the hook. This time, I'm not sure if I'll even stand a chance. Heavy, heavy headshakes, burning my ultralight drag, gunning right for a disastrous brush pile. Somehow, I turn it around, and it heads to the surface, headshaking jump, then back down, more drag pulling. Back and fourth, then it slows down and I bring it to the shore. I'm freakin' out, it's my biggest largemouth from Diamond Valley Lake so far. 17.5'', 3lbs on my scale. Fighting 'em on light line makes me think every bass is a monster, heh, I was surprised it was only 3lbs. Not that big a fish, especially by DVL standards, but I'm stoked. Gotta thank the guy with his kid who took my picture with this beast, I'll definitely remember this trip.

#3
Not baggin' on anyone, but I didn't hear of any other bank anglers landing anything. It was pretty slow overall. I went to DVL without the highest of hopes, since my last trip from shore had been a big skunk. I didn't see any boils or crazy shad balls, like my first and second trips (back in October and November), and definitely no panfish action near the shore. The only fish I saw were the largemouth and one huge carp, cruising the shore. I wish DVL would stay open later, 4:30 is nice, but I want to fish the dusk bite! Still, I had a blast out on the lake and I'll definitely go back, hopefully soon.

First Bass of 2011!

2011-01-24T22:41:00.000-08:00

The little park ponds I frequent have warmed up, if only a teensy bit. Persistence paid off at Ford today, after slowly working a Senko. My other weapon for largemouth, a LiveTarget Bluegill Crankbait, did not secure any tangos. Hey, just feels good to catch one at (1) a tough park and (2) as my first bass for 2011!

12 inches. Maybe 1lb at most. 4lb test monofilament.

San Bernardino National Forest

2011-01-18T20:33:00.000-08:00

Went up to the San Bernardino National Forest on MLK Day. Fantastic weather, but horrible water conditions. The creek (I think this segment was called Mill Creek, not entirely sure) was running muddy, muddy and muddy. Did some hiking and sightseeing, but not fishing. Had my ultralight and trout gear all packed up, ready for some backcountry fishing, but didn't even break it out. I guess the melting snow must be making the creek so muddy, right? This was my first attempt at checking out the trout streams in the IE, I'll certainly be back for more.

Hello, 2011

2011-01-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

80s in January? Definitely an excuse to go fishing! Unfortunately, it has been a slow season so far. Tried Fairmount, Perris, Ford, and even Diamond Valley Lake, all for nothing. Did see some nice bass at Diamond, cruising the shore and chasing the stocker trout, too bad my Megabait Charlie Trout swimbait didn't interest 'em.
I went to Seccombe Park in San Bernardino today, with some hope of finally breaking the 2011 skunk. It's one of the dingiest ponds in my area, but there is a fair amount of water and some random structure to target (shopping carts and 5-gallon buckets hahaha), but I haven't caught much of anything here before (just sunfish). I started with a simple dropshot rig, working a Berkely worm, hoping for anything to bite. The park was packed-something about the fantastic weather brings out everyone, especially the characters (if you fish city park pond regularly you know what I'm talking about). The water was a little bit cloudy, but nothing like the mud pond at Fairmont. Kept working the dropshot, hoping for something, but no takers.

Ended up on the far east side of the pond, near the bridge. It's slightly cleaner here, not as many shopping bags in the water, heh. Was on the phone, trying to dropshot at the same time when I got hit hard. Didn't pull much drag, but kep my rod bent pretty good. Quickly gathered onlookers, most of which were shocked to see a fish rise from this park pond's water. I was hoping for my first fish of 2011 to be a largemouth, but I got a healthy stocker rainbow trout instead! Fine with me, better than the skunk!

Kept fishing for another 30 minutes without any other fish, but I was pretty satisfied. Best trip to Seccombe so far, hopefully I'll pull in some bass this year from this city park too!

Diamond Valley Lake, Cali-and computer woes...

2011-01-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011 and especially Happy 1-1-11!
I'm still alive, despite the lack of updates. Motherboard crashed on my main computer, got to fix it before any serious posting can resume. In the meantime, enjoy the collage from Diamond Valley Lake, Hemet, California. Went with a friend a couple of days before this Thanksgiving. Despite a rainbow trout stocking in the morning, the stripers and largemouth failed to appear for the 50+ anglers (including me!) working it from the shore. I turned my attention to the bluegill and found them still eager to feed despite the crummy cold weather. Farmed loads of them, landed eight chunky guys. Ultralight gear, dropshotting in 15-20 feet of water. Stay tuned!

Riverside Bass Fishing

2010-11-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

Updates? Here's one. Life has been oh so busy but I'm still fishing. Fairmount Park, Seccombe, Ford, Perris, even a trip to Diamond Valley Lake. I have piles of photos on my computer from the trips, but haven't uploaded them. It used to be that I was thrilled to fish, get home and show the trophy pictures to my friends
I was hunting crappie at Fairmount Park in Riverside, Dirty IE, California, scratched one crappie off the roots, then moved to the "other" pond at the park. Was fishing with one of my buds, he was throwing bass gear and I was working the panfish gear (light tackle, 4lb mono, collapsible spinning rod/reel). I'm always amazed at how crazy Fairmount is. As we were fishing, the police pulled over a car 5ft from our spot, then proceeded to arrest the driver and haul off the car. As this was going down,I felt the faintest tap, then another. Set the hook, and boom, I'm into something that's definitely not a crappie. Tries to take me into the lily pads (good luck on 4lb test, right?), but he eventually plays nice and comes to the shore. Quick photo-op, place him back in the water, grab the pliers to unhook him, and he takes off-snap! At least I got the pic. Not a terribly huge bass, but a nice for for the 'mount.
Fairmount has really been better for me these last few months. Previously, it was almost a guaranteed skunk here. Glad to shake that season off.

Midnight Monsters

2010-10-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

During the early part of October, we had some killer weather. Super hot days, triple digits, with evenings that stayed in the 70s. Great weather-for evening bass fishing! I started fishing my Rage Toad Strike King frogs, Texas Rigged and weightless. Ripping them across mats drew loads of strikes-including one monster that snapped me after exploding through the grass. I hooked far more than I landed, unfortunately.

Check out that belly, hahaha!
On one of these nights, the moon was totally full, and the fish treated the open water like a clear-sky, sunny day. Fish wouldn't come out from under the trees or mats, perhaps spooked by how illuminated the water from from the moon. I haven't seen that before, certainly wouldn't have predicted it either.

Also managed to get one fish on a new lure-a chatterbait! I am still learning how to fish these jig/spinner hybrids, but they sure have a great vibration. Landing fish right away on a new lure really helps build confidence in it.

The usual (saltwater) suspects...

2010-10-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

As much as a I love bass fishing, I can't resist hitting the salt. The sheer variety of fish to be caught brings me back every time. I've been fishing the ocean the last few weeks, and caught these while fishing a jetty in Orange County. Here's a little perch, caught while throwing jigs tipped with cut shrimp.

Spottie! I love how these fish absolutely nail your lure, fight like a saltwater smallmouth bass, never give up. I need to learn more about targeting these guys, I usually only end up with loads of dinks.

The sculpin here are awesome. This guy totally caught me by surprise, quite the mouth on him. Check out those colors! The water near the jetty's have lots of salad right now, making the fishing pretty tricky, but it's worth it.

I love Newport Beach. It can be super crowded at times, but just getting down to the ocean from the stinky Inland Empire is so absolutely worth it.
I've been getting into some epic freshwater largemouth bass action lately, lots of pics to come soon!

Blastin' the Fly

2010-10-09T00:32:00.000-07:00

When I'm not fishing, I'm probably perusing the myriad of fishing videos on the 'net. Feast your eyes on this awesome YouTube find:

Someday, I'll leave my spinning gear at home and try to learn fly fishing, properly (Top secret: I do have a fly rod, just haven't bothered to use it much). While I love fishing conventional gear, there is something magical about fly fishing. Forget skinny trout, I'll be chasing the fat greenies, throwing topwaters frogs and mice.
P.S.Fishing tomorrow and Sunday. Hooray!

Hunting at Fairmount Park

2010-09-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

Night fishing has proven to be a tricky beast for me to tackle. I only have the confidence to fish a select few lures, mostly topwaters. I desperately need to branch out and try some other approaches, but the excitement of late night surface explosions keeps bringing me back. It's hard to beat the rush from a massive strike when it's pitch black outside.

(More after the jump)

Fairmount is a real pain of a park to fish at. It's pretty much guaranteed that I'll run into some very strange characters or equally suspicious activity while I'm out fishing this park in Riverside, especially at night. Secondly, the bass are usually too smart for me, I've been skunked most of the times out at this SoCal fishing spot. Lastly, the water quality is abysmal. It's almost always super murky and techniques suited for highly-pressured waters (i.e. ultralight) don't seem to get the fish's attention. On the flip side, the poor visibility helps keep the fish away from your usual city park trash (snaggers and netters). Still, I love this park, because it's free, it's relatively close, has some interesting cover, and there is a lot of water (three interconnected ponds).
Back to the subject of topwater at night-catching toads like this quality fish keeps bringing me back, especially when it's from a hard place like Fairmount. Had one of my best nights at this park last week, with three hooked and one landed, all on the same topwater lure. The funny thing is, I went back two other nights, with very similar weather and water conditions. Tried the same tactic, same general area, couldn't get a single splash or strike.

Green Sunfish

2010-09-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

Caught these green sunfish in Chino Hills, California. Green sunfish seem to be found wherever there is water-city park ponds, major reservoirs, even dinky storm drain creeks (as was the case for these). You can tell Green Sunfish from Pumpkinseed Sunfish based on their relative mouth sizes-the Greenies have larger mouths, almost like juvenile largemouth bass.
I would rather catch bass, but hey, it's better than a skunk, right?

Lake Perris

2010-09-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

I fished Lake Perris for bass and sunfish a couple of weeks back. This report is super old, but better late than never, right?

Tried exploring the shoreline of Lake Perris for a few hours, hoping to find some hidden spots. It's really overgrown, but at least they don't fence it off, like at other lakes. Spotted two deer, couldn't get very close.

Somebody is missing their floatie.

The bite was slow, to say the least. The boat traffic was insane, loads of people jet skiing, and racing around on the water. Really choppy, and much more algae than I have encountered before. The topwater action at dusk was awful, nothing like spring or early summer. Only managed this dinky dink largemouth bass.

I stopped by Fairmount on the way home, hoping to score with some night bass. No dice, but I did run into this hoodlum. Raccoons and people compete for the trashbin leftovers at night here, fun to watch.

Fairmount Park in Riverside Largemouth Bass

2010-09-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Fairmount Park in Riverside offers loads of water, lots of cover and absurdly well-educated largemouth bass. They'll just laugh at your pathetic attempts to catch them, no matter how realistic your lure is. Such was the case for me at this city park in California. My first trip to Fairmount landed me one largemouth (last year), but I haven't been able to catch one since, until tonight.

Oh, I do love a good topwater explosion. Best part of bass fishing, IMHO.

Thanks, Fairmount.

California Bass Lures

2010-09-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Remember that 7lber I caught a few weeks back? I lost the lure I was using and thought I would stock up on a few more. eBay came through for me and I scored on the above lures for about $1 each. They are cheap and ugly, but they'll work. Hooray for Chinese knock-off lures!

Inland Empire Bassin'

2010-09-10T14:44:00.000-07:00

Got these nice largemouths in California at the same place where I got the 7lber (last post). Really nice fish, the top two were my biggest, at 15'' and 14'' each. My Canon digital camera ran out of battery for the 15'', had to resort to ghetto cell phone pic. Lots of thick algae and muck in the water, the summer algae bloom is really showing its colors. Everything was caught on 4'' Yum Dingers, shad two-tone color. This pond needs more water, soon and very soon.

Monster Bass

2010-09-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

New personal best for me. Great way to start time fishing in SoCal. Caught a load of dinks earlier in the day, than, last cast of the day, nailed this 22 inch beast. Throw in girth measurements and it was around 7.5lbs.
Secret spot, Inland Empire. 6lb test mono. 8:00 pm. Hardbody swimbait.
I'm getting waaay behind schedule with some of theses posts, caught this guy almost two weeks ago, but life has been very busy! More pics of the fish, plus more detailed report over at FishingNetwork forum.

Columbia River Smallmouth Bass

2010-08-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

My last fishing trip of summer 2010 in Washington state had to be something different from what I normally encounter in California. So, I went after Micropterus dolomieu. The Columbia River has a world-class fishery for them, even in the heavily-developed parts near Vancouver and Portland, Oregon.
Got to my spot a little later than usual, sun was fading fast and I didn't have much time to fish. I wasn't expecting much, as evening always seemed to be a bad time for smallmouth fishing for me. The heavy pleasure boat traffic wasn't really helping either. So, I was super glad to spot 2-3 fat fish tailing my jig after I made a few casts. Couldn't get them to commit, so I switched up to a the beloved Yum Dinger, shad color. Boom, fish on, second cast. These kids can FIGHT! The one pictured above was only 13 inches, but he refused to come to the shore on my 4lb test ultralight gear.

Lost two more fish on the Dinger, than switched to back to the jig. Nothing. So, I grabbed one of my hand-poured drop shot minnows. Immediately I had fish on, unfortunately most of them came off. I managed to land one, this scrappy little smallmouth bass. I also hooked and pulled in a yellow perch, surprise, surprise. Didn't expect that at this spot, I guess the warmer weather really brought them in. I love catching fish on lures I've made myself, great feeling.
Goodbye (for now) Washington. It's been a splendid summer.
Hello, Cali.

Round Lake Washington Sunfish Fishing

2010-08-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

As my summer in Washington was finding down, I went back to one of my favorite lakes, Round Lake. Situated in Camas, Washington, it's the little brother of the Lacamas Lake. Both are popular for warmwater fish, although Lacamas receives most of the attention. I started fishing for bass but switched to ultralight gear for the sunfish. This is my first crappie from Round, great feeling to finally catch one in Washington!

I caught mostly bluegill, although I did nab two yellow perch, and the crappie. There is a lot of small yellow perch schools here, not quite big enough to eat. Bass are harder to find, although I've caught decent ones here before.

I love this picture. Look closely, you will see the crappie stacked up, hovering in the water underneath the log. I had to fiddle with the photo's contrast settings to get it to turn out. There was probably double this number, all schooling in the area. They were insanely hard to catch, refusing all manners of jigs, baits and micro lures.

I caught most of the fish on wet flies (small ant patterns), microjigs, or Berkely plastic trout worms (great!). Did manage my last fish of the day on a Yo-Zuri Aile Killifish, one of my favorite sunfish lures. It's a floating topwater, diving on retrieve, with a tight wiggle. Back has a tiny, plastic blade, giving off little fluttering motions when twitched.

More SW Washington Bass Fishing

2010-08-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

This blog is about to undergo a BIG change (I recently moved!), but I have a couple of left-over trips I would like to post beforehand. Enjoy these photos from one of my outings about a week ago, at some quarry ponds. The fish weren't as large as they've been in the past, but they made up for it in numbers. I also scored my first Washington swimbait bass, a skinny 14 incher that hit my Megabass Rainbow Trout 3.5 inch swimbait on a steady retrieve (top left fish in the collage). Oh, happy days of summer...

Hand Pour Plastics for Bass

2010-08-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Found an old jar of plastic worm liquid. Still had a few molds left over, plus a few RTV custom molds I had made. Oh, and three bottles of worm dyes. Warned everyone, then cracked open the windows on the house, turned all the fans onto "High" and started messing with some hand pours. They turned out pretty well, for not having done any pouring for 5 years+

Making your own lures and catching fish on them absolutely rocks. It's one of the most satisfying experiences in fishing. Tackle Underground is where I love to get new ideas for custom lures, the guys on there on super skilled.

Klineline Park Bass

2010-08-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

I have been a little disappointed with this pond at Klinline park in Vancouver, Washington. Usually, I can count on it to produce several quality largemouth and other species. However, I fished it hard Friday evening with nothing to show for several hours. Not even a nibble. I threw plastics, Rooster tail's, Rapala's and topwater poppers. Nothing.

Came back the next morning, got there a little later than I wanted and the sun was already high in the sky, sending the fish deep. Managed this nice bass off of the shore on the Dinger, but nothing else.

Here's a little close-up action on this guy, great fish. Klineline (Salmon Creek Park) has some decent fish, but they can be tough to find. If anyone else has caught largemouth there, send me some pics, I'd love to see them.

Camas Bass Fishing

2010-08-15T19:04:00.000-07:00

I fished my favorite secret bass ponds in Camas with a friend last Friday, taking the raft out for one last summer spin. Saw enormous carp, hordes of baitfish, sunfish and dink largemouth bass. Managed three fish, including one on a Gitzit jig lure.

D-d-d-dink!

Nice largemouth bass, great fighter for its size. Probably just a little over 1lb, but the best bass I caught all day. Wacky-rigged Yum Dinger, 4lb mono, caught him in 10-15 feet of water. Nice hot weather, pushing all the bigger fish deep. I should have dropshotted the place, but I couldn't bring myself to tie on another rig, lol.

Fishing for bass and sunfish in Tulsa, Oklahoma

2010-08-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

I spent about 1 week in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Fishing was great, cost of a five day license for non-residents was not great. Still, I got my money's worth, fishing hardcore, even with the triple digit temperatures. Tulsa is a great place for anglers, loads of public ponds and lakes all over, with all kinds of warmwater species. I hit up the Arkansas River, near Zinc Dam, and other spots. Also fished many different public parks with little ponds all over Tulsa. These are loaded with warmwater species, most anglers fishing them just do the old "bait-and-wait" routine, so the fish certainly don't mind lures.

Look at this little fat bluegill! Great colors, real bruiser. Caught while fishing a Berkely Gulp Minnow, Shad pattern, wacky-rigged.

Here kitty, kitty, kitty!
(Channel Cat, Arkansas River)

(See the nasty sores on the green sunfish in the collage? Gross)
I caught quite a few largemouth bass, fishing shaded areas heavily during the clear, sunny weather. Yum Dingers and Berkely Gulp minnows seemed to be the ticket. I did toss out an old favorite of mine, a Berkely purple worm, almost 6 years old, still catches fish.
I'll miss the fishing in Tulsa, but I certainly won't miss the weather.
Super thanks to my friends in Tulsa for taking me out fishing!

Top Pacific Northwest Fishing Forums

2010-08-04T22:58:00.000-07:00

Fishing forums keep the fishing itch under control until I can get onto the water. While I'm away from California for the summer, I have been using several of the Pacific Northwest fishing forums, like iFish and WashingtonLakes. I found a sweet article with a summary of some of the better ones for NW anglers on Associated Content, check it here.

I'll be doing a little fishing in Oklahoma in the next few days, so the blog might go quiet (hopefully I'll be able to update it from there). Tight lines!

Raft Bass

2010-08-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

Lovely largemouth bass cover.

Pulled this healthy fish out of the stickups just a few minutes after the previous photo was taken. Largemouth hit it pretty softly, but went berserk once I set the hook. I was worried he would break my 4lb test line after fighting him for much longer than I expected. This bass only went airborne once, but really kept diving deep, desperate to get back into the logs. Finally netted him with some help from a friend (thanks!). This is one of my better fish from Washington State, I'm having a ball fishing this summer. Trusty 4'' Yum Dinger does it again, Texas rig. Unfortunately, I've gone through my only pack of them, got to buy some more ASAP.
Oh, and on a fail note-I put a huge gash in the inflatable raft as I carried it back to the car. Stupid piece of metal, now I have to hit Sportsmens Wharehouse and get a new patch for the boat.

Klineline Northern Pikeminnow

2010-08-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

Another fishing trip, another catch. I don't know if it is the cooler mornings or the earlier sunset, but the bass fishing at this pond at Salmon Creek Park in Vancouver, Washington, hasn't been the best lately. However, the big northern pikeminnow (previously called "squawfish" until such nomenclature was deemed insensitive) still come out to play, smashing the Senko clones with abandon. This guy was 16 inches, on one of my last casts of the day. I set the hook, battled him for a bit, then the line went totally limp. Sighing, I reeled in the slack-only to discover he was still on the line, he had just been swimming right towards me! This was on last Thursday, haven't been back to the pond since.
I went out fishing again on Saturday, with a friend, to a spot near Vancouver Lake. We both had watercraft-his was a kayak, mine the Sevylor Fish Hunter. I managed a grand total of one lost Yum Dinger and zero fish landed; he got two largemouth bass. Good times!

Washington Northern Pikeminnow

2010-07-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

Got these monsters today at a pond near Klineline on Salmon Creek Park in Vancouver, Washington. I was fishing for bass, but ended up trying the deeper water instead of my usual shallow water haunts. I need to try a dropshot rig at this location, but I was still rockin' the 4'' Yum Dinger on a Texas Rig. Had a few small largemouth tackle the lure and a sunfish engulf it, but these Northern Pikeminnow really stole the show. Both struck near the shore, just around dusk, ripped drag, but never went airborne. Smaller one was just over 13'', biggest was pushing 17'', definitely my PB pikeminnow.

Interestingly enough, you can actually get paid to catch the much-hated pikeminnow if you catch it in the Columbia River. A partnership between the Bonneville Power company and the WDFW pays $4 per fish over 9''. Some anglers have reportedly made over $40,000 a year just catching these baby salmon-killers.

Gotta catch 'em all

2010-07-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

Awesome scenery. Loads of fish. Great weather. What more could you ask for?

Growing up, I was lucky to see a bass on a fishing trip, let alone ever catch one. An excellent day of fishing was catching one largemouth, and I'd cherish the memory for weeks (I didn't get out much).

With more practice, I started catching bass more regularly, and, even had a few trips where I lost count of how many bucketmouth I had caught. Still, this never happened in my home state of Washington. Bass were just too hard to find, and too small to make things interesting. However, this year has been different. I’ve finally learned enough about bass fishing to make trips with loads of fish possible. Today was one of those days-loads of fish, big and small. Probably my best day for bass fishing in Washington, ever. I only took photos of a few of the fish though, got too caught up in the angling.

Went out to some small ponds (secret, shh!) out in the north county of Clark County last Sunday. Someone stocked these ponds years ago, and the fish have flourished with little or no serious fishing pressure. The background for this blog is taken from one of those ponds, and I have seen (and caught) some quality fish in this area. We hiked far back to reach the last ponds, clawing through blackberry bushes and stinging nettle to reach our goal.

Tossing the 4’’ Yum Dinger from a dropoff got me one largemouth, and I lost three more, missed hooksets. I elected to bring my light pole on this trip, reel loaded with 4lb test, so it is a little harder to drive the hook home on such light line.

Moved to another part of this pond and immediately started catching fish. It was nonstop action, for an hour easily, lots and lots of largemouth bass. Most of them were dinks or slightly bigger, but there were a few that pulled drag, thrashed and made wild runs. Beasts! They would explode out of the green grass/algae cover and destroy my Senko clone. I messed around with a Rapala and also with a dry fly/clear bobber. Had a few bluegills swat and miss, then switched back to Yum Dinger. Sometimes, I get in a rut and use the same lure, over and over, but it’s so hard to switch when the fishing is just so good with it. I think the biggest bass from this trip was about 4lbs, definitely a quality fish for the area.
The 9mm shell box in the picture? Someone had a little party out there, shooting, drinking and sitting by a campfire. Idiots left a lot of trash.

Finally, as the day was winding down, I moved to another part of the pond and found a whole new place to fish from. On my third cast, I watched a largemouth cautiously follow my lure, than a second bass nailed it from under the weeds. Awesome day.

Salmon Creek Park Mixed Species

2010-07-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

1.5 hours, 7 fish landed, 4 lost, all from the bank.

Biggest sculpin I've seen in a long time. Nailed a Yum Dinger hard.

Caught two of these big northern pikeminnows, both on the Dinger. Really a surprise, a little dissapointed they weren't big bass. Still, they pulled super hard, unlike most pikeminnows I catch. Never had 'em hit a Senko-style lure before. This one in the above pic was 15 inches.

This is the biggest largemouth that this park has ever produced for me, sitting at 14 inches. Not huge, but a monster compared to the dinks that I usually catch here. Good fight on 4lb test.
Klineline pond and the surrounding waterways in Salmon Creek Park continue to surprise me with largemouth bass. I've lost some pretty big ones here but hopefully I'll connect and actually land them on my next trip.

Mud Lake Bass Fishing

2010-07-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

One Fish Hunter Sevylor Raft. Two oars. Four fishing rods. Two anglers.

And a whole lot of wind.
We fished Mud Lake, lightly at first, since the awful visibility, brisk wind, and choppy water made it hard to fish with any confidence. We finally had a little bite on a Yum Dinger near some weeds, and on a plastic grub, but no fish were landed. Saw a few No Trespassing signs on the far shore too, didn't want to make anyone angry by landing over there.

Finally went back to the main launching area, stetched our cramped legs for a bit, and made a few casts. I lost one, then landed a little guy on a Dinger. Really surprised they even could find the lure with the poor visibilty.

Got back into the raft, headed to another part of the lake. My brother loves fishing plastic grubs on jigheads, and he lost a fish off a weedline on a white grub. We caught a couple of frogs in the thick grass for fun, then moved to another part of the lake. Water looked good, every thing seemed perfect-and we caught fish. First it was little bites, than it was a lost fish next to the boat, and the my brother caught a nice largemouth on his jig.

Next was a yellow perch for my bro. Than it was small largemouth for me, and then another yellow perch. By now, I had switched off my ever-present Yum Dinger to a white Berkely Gulp minnow, much more visible to the fish.

Lost a couple of other fish, plus a ton of short strikes. Feeling good.
Took one more shore break, than headed out again and worked the same area. I landed one nice largemouth, and my brother got a little yellow perch. Than, he lost a HUGE bass that was rippin' drag and splashing all over the place. Aw...
After a few more missed fish, we packed up and headed home. Great times on this shallow, yet large lake in Clark County for warmwater fish.
Mud Lake just north of Ridgefield, easily visible from Google Earth and quite well-marked online. However, the county lists it as an "Undeveloped" park. Basically, there is just a tiny bit of room to pull of for parking, and a mowed trail to the lake. Nothing else. Don't go expecting another Silver Lake, rather, it truly lives up to its name of "Mud", with very poor visibility. I have been there when the water clarity was much better, but that was earlier in the year. According to the Parks department, part of the land around the lake is private, but the entry and part of the shore is county owned, and thus accessible to the public. There is room to launch little kayaks, canoes, rafts and car-toppers, but it is a decent hike to get there. You can't just pull off the road and drive your boat down to the water.
Oh, and mosquitos. In the middle of the day, with bright sunshine and a brisk wind, you won't notice them. However, once the wind dies down, mosquitos appear everywhere! The evening is especially bad, with thousands of these bloodsuckers roaming the shoreline. We didn't get bit at all while on the water, but the bank has lots of shade where the skeeters hang out.

Klineline Largemouth bass

2010-07-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Got these little tykes off a weedline at one of the Salmon Creek Park Ponds. So far, I have managed to catch largemouth bass at but one of the ponds at this park. The main pond, Klineline, has been the hardest to crack, I'm still working on that one. Clear water, loads of pressure, not much cover. Oh, and I lost a really big one today, also on this Yum Dinger, 4''. Never even got to see it before it took off and threw the hook.

Secret Bass Ponds of Clark County

2010-07-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

Accidently stumble across a series of big ponds on Google Earth ("recon").
Find a couple of forum posts on local fishing forums discussing the ponds ("intell"). Contact one of the guys who fished it once, find out that the ponds have easy public access ("local informant").
Actually drive out to the place today, fish it, find loads of eager biters, mostly dinks, but one decent 1-2lb fish that couldn't resist the Yum Dinger ("awesome").

Looked like this largemotuh was going to lose an eye. I went really horrible, but fortunately the hook slipped right next to the eye, slid out without any noticeable damage, fish seemed a-ok. I hate hooking 'em near the eyes.

Definitely going back with my Fish Hunter Sevylor raft.
Don't you love finding new places to fish?

Wintler Park Columbia River Smallmouth

2010-07-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

The Columbia River has world-class smallmouth fishing, with B.A.S.S. holding at least one tournament per year on it. The best smallmouth fishing is usually upriver, in the Columbia River Gorge area, but you can still catch smallmouth closer to Vancouver and Portland. I fished on Wednesday at Wintler Park for smallmouth bass and caught this guy, plus a few others.
I love how explosive smallies are and how much of a fight they put up. Even on my heavier rod, they still pulled drag and made mad runs. This was my first fish of the day, caught on my favorite watermelon Yum Dinger. He was probably a little over 1lb, 13 inches or so. More after the jump.

Lots and lots of little taps kept bugging me as I was fishing a Jewel Sculpin Hypertail near the shore. I assumed it was just juvenile smallmouth, but when I set the hook, I snagged a small yellow perch! While they are not uncommon in the area, this is the first yellow perch I have caught in the Columbia River, ever. Waaay too small to eat, I made sure he was ok and put him back to fatten up. Saw a tiny muskrat swimming along the shore too, thought it was a fish until I saw his tail.

Here is the smallest smallmouth bass from the few hours I spent. Hungry guy, heh. I had several others around this size stalk the Dinger back to the shore, some nipping at it. One of the larger bass I farmed actually went airborne for a while, then threw the hook. Don't you hate that?

This is the last smallie I caught while fishing at Wintler Park on Wednesday. He hit a Jewel Sculpin Hypertail on a jighead super hard, really worked my heavy rod. I need to stop taking pictures from this angle, you can't really see the size of the fish very well. Wintler Park in Vancouver, Washington has decent fishing for many different species, but bank access is mostly on the sandy beach, making fishing difficult. However, it can be great for those who like to bait 'n wait, especially if you don't mind little starry flounder and other nibblers.

Backpond Bass

2010-07-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

There is one pond at Salmon Creek Park, in Vancouver, that I can never seem to catch any bass at. I have seen bass, had bass bite my lures, even found a dead 6 lb largemouth in the shallows with a big heron wound on its side, yet never landed one myself. Finally, at dusk, I caught this guy on a Yum Dinger. Dink? Totally. Still glad to shake the bass skunk at that pond.

Trout Streams

2010-07-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

I fished Lewisville Park for several hours this Saturday. Exploring the East Fork of the Lewis River as it winds through the fir trees and swimming spots, I ran into the usual mix of fish, plus one new personal best for myself. Lewisville is just north of the city of Battleground, Washington, and is probably one of the most peaceful city parks in Clark County. Report and more photos after the jump:

^Too many falls on the rocks.
The day started miserably cold, for July. I spent the better part of the morning walking upriver, ending at the main swimming hole. A few picnickers had showed up, but most people were staying out of the frigid water. Totally overcast day but the water was super clear..

There were dead crayfish everywhere I stopped. I don’t know if this is a sign of decreasing water quality, or if they just happened to run into some hungry raccoons. More annoying than this was the abundance of trash day campers had left around the river. Dirty diapers, mustard and ketchup packets, plastic shopping bags-c’mon, idiots, clean up after yourself. The park isn’t your private dumping ground.

I used a Berkely Nymph on a jig and caught this beast (sculpin, ha!) under the rocks. Had a bunch of fish nip at it, but refused to take it. I usually float live bait on the East Fork, or at least tip my jigs with something tasty, as the fish don’t really attack my other offerings well.

Switched up to a Berkely Trout Worm, still on a jig head. I was fishing it by the big rocks, and this guy simply demolished it, sucking it in completely. Thanks, PureFishing! I have never heard of people catching sunfish (I think this is a pumpkinseed sunfish, notice the sweet colors and smallmouth) in the Lewis, especially this far upstream. Probably not a good sign for the coldwater fish population. See the teeth on this guy?

After a quick sandwhich lunch, I was back on the water. The sun finally broke through, really bringing the colors out. Started wading a bit, and grabbed a few caddisflies (larva) to tip my jigs with. This always works on the East Fork. I caught four trout, some pushing a foot in length. Fun, really acrobatic in their fight. Quickly release them, keeping them in the water, since they don’t quite have the stamina that largemouth boast.

I love wading, fishing, and just exploring the river. So much to see and do. The water is so insanely clear, it’s like wavy glass. I could even see the fish pop out from rocks and holes to attack my lures.

Unfortunately, the swimmers, rafters, and float tube kids went by a few times, splashing through some of the better fishing spots. Had to watch out for them, since they didn’t have the presence of mind to notice if anyone was fishing or not.

I ended the day by stopping at a deep hole with a lot of fast water moving into it. There was several dozen children in the area, trying to (a) throw all of their Styrofoam drinking cups into the water, (b) skip stones at each others, and (c) catch crayfish in a trap they brough. I found one spot a little ways past them, made a cast and then was surrounded by kids asking if I had caught anything. At the same time, my line twitches, I set the hook, and something starts burning my drag like a freight train. Crap, I forgot to set the drag properly before coming to this spot. I’m panicking, fumbling the drag, and the fish is still pulling hard, testing the limits of my micro spinning rod and 4lb test line. I’m trying the pull the fish upstream, so I’m fighting the current at the same time, bad idea. By now, there are kids all over the shore, pointing and shouting, watching the fight. I wrestle the fish closer, and spot him-it’s some type of sucker, no it’s a northern pikeminnow! I’ve hooked them before in the East Fork, but never brought them to shore on my light gear (except for the little dink-sized ones). Wish I had gotten a better picture of it, colors are much more vivid than the ones caught in Lake River or the Columbia. For most people, pikeminnow aren’t anything special, but this was something awesome for me. For one, it is my biggest pikeminnow yet and, secondly, it actually put up a heck of a fight. I have eaten them before, but (at least the small ones) are ridiculously bony. A bounty is paid on them if they are caught in the Columbia River and are over 9 inches long, due to their predation on salmon and steelhead young.

All in all, I had a blast fishing the East Fork. Trout and other coldwater species are a little less interesting to me than bass fishing, but I still enjoy chasing these fish, especially when the Pacific Northwest has such beautiful streams to fish for them in.

Falling Turtles

2010-07-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

Oh Hai?
Salmon Creek Park is full of turtles. In elementary school, we used to watch videos of endangered sea turtles laying their eggs on beaches. It would seem that the common freshwater turtles in the Pacific Northwest do the same thing. I've lost track of how many times I have stumbled across a female turtle, digging a hole near Salmon Creek for its eggs.

Morning Bass Fix

2010-07-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

I fished Round Lake, in Camas, Washington this morning and early afternoon. It is really a picturesque lake, especially when you get there before the summer swimming rush. My brother and I tossed jigs, Senko-clones, and flies for a nice assortment of fish. We caught largemouth and (oddly enough) yellow perch.

Here is my big bass for the trip. He was traveling with two other similar sized bass, crusing the shallows in the morning. I haven't seen bass of that size school up before, usually I find them as loners, hiding under logs and weeds. My brother was trying to catch a fat bluegill that kept nipping at surface flies. I guess all the topwater action brough the bass (and large bluegill school) in closer to the shore, and they couldn't resist a wacky-rigged Cabela's Glo-Stick. Check out the chunk to this fish!

I lost loads of dinks and 'gills while fishing, but managed this one on a Berkely Gulp minnow. Round Lake has a lot of fish, the key is finding them without spooking them (pretty clear water, although it was off-color today). Definitely want to bring my Fish Hunter Raft here next time!

Salmon Creek Park

2010-07-16T18:52:00.001-07:00

Salmon Creek Park, in Clark County, Washington, is loaded with small ponds. Some hold hardly any fish, others have all kinds of different species. The main pond, referred to as Klineline Pond, gets stocked with loads of rainbow trout every year and subsequently receives insanely heavy fishing pressure. There also is a lot of bluegills and other sunfish in it, and some huge bass, but they are quite hard to reach.

I love exploring Salmon Creek and the ponds in the park. I've found some spots with loads of bass eager to bite. Most are dinks, like this guy, not much bigger than the Yum Dinger I got it on. Still, they put up a nice fight on light tackle, and there are some much bigger specimens available too. Most of the ponds are really weedy, so you really have to work to present your lure to the fish. Here's a report from one of my most recent trips:

Another 45 minutes to spare for some fishing in the evening. The closet spot was the Salmon Creek Park ponds, so I grabbed the gear (two rods, one tacklebox, plus the ever-present camera) and headed out. Got there an hour before sunset, booked it to the ponds. This park has lots of ponds, some completely empty, some loaded with bass, and most of them overfished by the bait-and-wait rainbow trout crowd. Having been introduced to fishing through a Powerbait dunking session, I can't turn up my nose too much at this type of fishing. Still, there's something about the constant adventurer and hunting with active bass angling that totally blows stocker trout fishing away.

I rigged one rod with my favorite Yum Dinger Watermelon-colored Senko clone, Texas rig. Cast, let it sit, then my line zips away as something picks it up. Set the hook, get one headshake, and its gone. This always happens at this spot on this particular pond. I'm convinced its a bunch of big 'gills that like messing with me. So, determined to show them who's boss, I change rigs on my light rod, putting on a jighead with a Berkely GULP minnow, wacky rig. Cast out, boom, fish on. I set the hook hard, and started fighting him, can't really tell what he is, might even be a bass, he is actually taking a little drag out...and he spits the hook. That should have been my sign to switch hooks to something sharper, but I got lazy.

After a few more fruitless casts in that spot, I move on to my usual section of the pond. This area has the largest clearing in the algae of then entire pond, and loads of little bass stack up in here. I'm still working the Berkely GULP, I get a few hits, but nothing solid. The jighead I'm using is a little overkill on a 4lb test line, and I can really cast it far. I finally lose the lure (but not the jighead) as it slides off into some weeds (the Gulp lures are really great, but come off easily). So, I grab the Yum Dinger I used earlier, and rig it Texas rig, on the jighead. A little unconventional, but so who cares, right?

I nail one 1/2lber on the Dinger, and lose a second after it goes airborne. My 45 minutes of fishing has gone way longer than expected, and, after checking the cell, I find that my stupid cell alarm failed to go off. Now I'm running late, and only 1 dink to show for my efforts. I switch the Dinger to a wacky rig setup on the jig, and make a few more casts...nothing. So, I flip the lure out a few yards from the shore, into an open area of the weeds, and start twitching it, working it back to the shore. 5 seconds into this, and a MASSIVE largemouth comes out from underneath the weeds, ambushes the Dinger in mid-twitch, and, lure in mouth, rushes back into the weeds. WHAT? I'm stunned, but I manage to set the hook, hard, thinking at the same time that I don't stand a chance against this beast. I'm running 4lb test line on a super small rod/reel (spinning), and this pond is covered is thick, heavy weeds. When I set the hook, the fish feels like a dead weight at first, then takes off deeper into the weeds. I'm ecstatic that I've actually hooked up with such a fish...then my line comes shooting back at me, lure included, as the stupid jig I was using comes unbuttoned. Crap. Every person in the park must have heard my howls of rage. Still, the adrenaline rush from seeing and hooking into something that big was awesome. I grab my gear, make one last toss at the fish (it's long gone), and leave the park.

So, I will remember today as the first time I hooked a monster largemouth in Washington state. Sure, it is super annoying to lose such a beast, but it is gratifying to see such a behemoth actually go for my lure presentation (Confidence level up!). I'll be prepared next time, with heavier line, a sharper hook, and better reflexes. Watch out, leviathan-I shall return.

Multiple Posts?

2010-07-16T18:10:00.001-07:00

Why so many multiple posts for the same day? I have a backlog of reports and photos I wanted to post, leading up to when I registered this blog. I should be caught up soon.

Raft Bass

2010-07-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Had to get out and try my Sevylor Fish Hunter out. Didn't get to fish for very long but as I was paddling back to the bank, I stopped at large, semi-submerged patch of grass in the pond. My brother made one last cast and I made one cast with the Yum Dinger, Texas rig, right ontop of the grass. I worked the lure fast, twitching it, and a chunky bass blasted it. He put on an aerial show for us, circled the raft, then gave up. Quick pic and back in the water. I'm really glad the raft works fine and didn't have any stupid mouse bites in it. The last time I took it out (last summer), a mouse chewed a hole in the lining, than died in the box. I finally patched the Sevylor this summer, using the excellent TearAid Type B stuff. It worked well, easily sealing the silver dollar-sized hole in the lining.

Success!

2010-07-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

After my first bass on a Senko-style lure, I had to go back to the same spot and try again. The last time I was there, I saw loads of chunky bass, cruising the shallows. They were really easily spooked and the pond gets a lot of pressure from worm 'n bobber guys, so I wanted to get back soon before all the fish were gone.

I worked the pond hard, casting in the shallows and in the lone deep spot, near fallen logs and overhanging brush. In the shallows, I lost a small dink on a Berkely Gulp minno, wacky-rigged, then caught another dink on the 4'' Yum Dinger. He came charging out of some cover and blasted the lure. I love the aggression little bass have, even when they aren't much larger than their target.

Growing tired of the dink bites, I tried the deep hole. The mosquitoes were getting vicious and I hate fishing while trying to swat blood suckers at the same time. After one missed fish on the Dinger (I have to learn to set the hook harder when I'm Texas rigging), I cast to the far side, and let the lure drop all the way to the bottom. Wait. Wait. Twitch the lure (just barely). Was that a tap I felt on my line? Wait. Start lifting rod tip--the lines moving away, SET the HOOK! Boom! I'm on! I tie into something that feels like a quality fish, definitely better than most I get ouf of this pond. Awesome! He's pulling drag, he tries to get under one log, I get him out. Goes for another log, almost gets under it, got him again. He's coming to the surface, I'm freakin' out, almost forgot to drop the rod tip, he's airborne, then he's back, trying to get under the logs. I finally horse him out, net him, and grab my camera.

He was probably only 2-3lbs, but he was the biggest largemouth I've caught at this pond, and he put up a twisted fight. I'm sold on Senkos (and Yum Dingers!). After a few pics, he's released safetly into the cool depths of the pond. Success!

First Time

2010-07-16T17:20:00.000-07:00

Cast. Let the lure flutter to the bottom. Watch the line. Boom, fish on. My first Senko bass for the summer. Nothing huge, about a foot long, but I was still stoked. One of my goals for this summer is to learn how to fish the uber popular Senko plastic lure for largemouth and smallmouth bass. Being low on dough, I ended up grabbing a pack of 4'' Yum Dingers and 5" Cabela's Aqua Glo-Stick Worms. They are super easy to cast and the Aqua Glo is just what I wanted for night fishing, super visible and smelly.

Washington State is not the best location for excellent bass fishing, but there are plenty of spots loaded with hungry Micropterus varieties. I'll be fishing here for most of the summer, so expect reports from the area. I pulled this largemouth out of shallow pond, loaded with fallen logs and weeds. My 8lb mono held fine, but I had to wade out into the water to untangle this guy from under some roots. The bottom was super silty, pretty uncomfortable to be sinking in it.

I have been fishing for roughly 10 years and can't seem to get enough of it. The web is littered with fishing blogs and I follow a few fairly regularly, including the excellent LandingLunkers (Bass fishing in Korea), UrbanFlyVentures (concrete jungle fishing in SoCal), RoughFisher(carp and other "rough fish" on the fly) blogs. There is something about reading other's fishing reports that gets me excited to go out and explore for new fishing spots. I tinkered with the idea of starting a blog recording my fishing trips and photos and I've finally started one with Hunting the River King. So, why the random name? It's a reference to one of the few fishing video games I played and actually liked, an old-school, 2d series called "Legend of the River King." Check it out if you need a good Nintendo DS or PSP fishing fix.

I'll cover my fishing adventures, trophy (or tiny) catches, and anything else angling-related that interests me on Hunting the River King. I fish mostly for bass, but I also target carp, trout, catfish and anything else that will bite and fight in the water. Post all your fan mail or rage words in the comments section. Questions about fishing spots in the Southwest Washington area? Ask away. Tight lines!