Hunting the River King: Lake Perris October Bass Fishing

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.