Fairmount Park Fall Fishing

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fall Bass Fishing in the IE

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

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

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

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

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

 

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.