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  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.

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, considerably more affordable than many other pay-to-fish private lakes. 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 have excellent bank access for shore-bound anglers like myself and 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...

 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 a...