Digital Camera

Fished Puddingstone Reservoir (Frank Bonelli Park) this week.  Fishing was very slow, only landed one small largemouth bass. The water was very stained. Did find an old fishing lure, no idea on the identify.  Check out the video of fishing at Puddingstone!

Spent a few hours tossing jigs and bait into one of my favorite saltwater fishing harbors here in Southern California. The water visibilty was very poor, but we still managed to catch several nice fish. Caught two kelp (calico) bass and one opaleye, all released after a few photos. Great way to spend the afternoon!

High above the urban sprawl of Los Angeles are tiny mountain creeks, holding wild rainbow trout. They are few in number, small, and undeniably striking in a myriad of colors. Despite drought, habitat destruction, harvest by uneducated humans, and a host of other challenges, they continue to survive in stream pockets and pools off the beaten path. How much longer will these creeks continue to hold such beautiful finned treasures?  For Southern California  Oncorhynchus mykiss , catch and release fishing is the option for ethical anglers. 

[Video report, report with new photos!] Will I ever get tired of urban creek fishing? Tired of fish eager to bite, the thrill of finding a new spot smack dab in the middle of suburbia with no other anglers in sight? Tired of bass and sunfish fishing that doesn't cost me a ridiculous $12-$15 (cough Diamond Valley Lake cough) just to fish? Received a friendly tip on this new urban creek from a great fellow angler. Tales of eager bass were readily received and I quickly hit the road. The creek had recently overflowed its banks, spilling the trash of modern wasteful life across the banks and leaving gross suds in the water. Still, the fish were incredibly eager to bite. I had a hit on my first cast, with a black  Mangler 4'' swimbait  (not my favorite lure but it got the job done), then landed another on the swimbait on my second cast. Nothing amazing, just typical urban creek bass (10'' or so). I continued fishing the rest of the afternoon, catching green sunfish and l...

  Stopped by Jackson Lake, near Wrightwood, California. This little lake on the NE side of the San Gabriel Mountains is reportedly stocked with rainbow trout intermittently, in addition to have a popular of sunfish, catfish, and largemouth bass However, when I arrived, I was taken back by the very limited amount of water that remained. It is just another reminder of California's current drought and another example of poor fishing in the region. The shoreline was receeded and the bottom of the lake was visible from the shore at most angles. Furthermore, most of the water reachable with a cast from the shore was less than 1ft deep. Very discouraging; the fish population is likely mostly gone as well. There was several 2-3" sunfish hanging around one set of reeds, but that was the extent of finned friends to be spotted.  Save yourself the trip for now, don't bother with this little lake! Hopefully the upcoming El Nino will fill it back up, for a long time. 

Just returned from an absolutely outstanding bass fishing trip. It was truly one of the best angling adventures I have had as of late. My friend and I hiked in to a secret lake, hauling our heavy float tubes, rods, tackle, lunches, and more. When we finally arrived, we quickly setup our gear, then kicked out into the warm lake waters, casting a variety of soft plastic lures at fishy spots.    We were instantly rewarded with multiple hookups, lasting throughout the day. Even when I landed on shore to dry out for a bit, I continued to catch fish. All were solid, chunky largemouth bass, in the mood for fight, and they did not disappoint. After a thrilling tug-of-war, each fish was released. Take a look at the video; I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Recently, a friend and I hiked into yet another hidden stream in Southern California. The hike was arduous but definitely worth it, as the multitude of colorful rainbow trout we caught evidenced.  I hope you enjoy the photos and the video, filmed with SJ4000 Action Camera and a few shots with GoPro Hero.

The water was running fast and cold, the trout were eager to bite, and I had the whole creek to myself. Perfect.

Just returned from a fun-filled fishing trip to the Salton Sea. I hope you enjoy the video of the tilapia fishing! Not much to report, aside from stained waters, plenty of small tilapia, and a long, long drive.

  New spot to explore and fish in the Southern California mountains. Took a long, long time to hike there. Wild trout were plentiful, but very easily frightened. Beautiful, rough scenery. Enjoy!

Spent the weekend in San Diego recently. Wow, what a neat city, especially for anglers! There is plenty of lakes, creeks, and, of course, the ocean to fish. I decided to try light rock fishing near a popular fishing pier in one of the bays and had a blast. The barred sand bass were all fairly small but put up a fantastic fight on ultralite tackle. I landed 5 of them in less than an hour and lost a few more, all on artificial lures. Water was fairly clear and most of the fish hit close to the shore. Enjoy the video!

Fishing for wild trout in Angeles National Forest mountains. Hooked and landed some very colorful and interesting trout. These had a much more golden hue to them than the other trout. Catch and release is the only way to go when fishing for these wild beauties. It's amazing to find such large trout in a mountain stream so near to Los Angeles, yet they will not last if people don't respect them and their habitat.

Amongst the crowded streets and and packed neighborhoods of suburbia are little waterways, sometimes teeming with life. To one such creek I ventured last week, drawn by wanderlust and the hunt for finned adventure. Parts were far too shallow for my scaled quarry to inhabit; yet other portions held them in abundance. The river king they were not, but landing crappie from an urban stream is always a treat!

Hiked the shoreline of Silverwood during a trip this November. The striper action wasn't happening from the shore, but I did tie into this nice rainbow trout. Scenery was fantastic and weather just right for a decent hike.

I fished the dusk bite at Silverwood Reservoir on an evening in October and had a blast. The boils were not as numerous as I had hoped, however, the topwater bite was still on. A cold wind made the water surface somewhat choppy, probably hurting action. Even still, I landed three healthy striped bass, two 18''s and one smaller striper. Absolutely amazing to watch them explore on the surface, engulfing my Kinami Shad topwater lure. The trick was to fish it "Walk the Dog" style, just like you would fish a Lucky Craft Sammy . Cast, splash, twitch, pause, twitch, pause...BOOM! I can't wait to go back! Drag-Pulling.

Earlier this year, during my urban creek rush, I re-visited a small Inland Empire creek. I had initially avoided even dropping a line in it as it didn't appeal to me. However, I'm glad I returned. Despite the brief torrential downpour and suspicious fish, I managed to land several bass and a few green sunfish, all within a couple of hours.  While the creek wasn't very impressive in length, it made up for it in width with several spots allowing full-range of overhead casting.  Check out the photos and video, notice the two fish I scored towards the end on the dropshot + purple worm!

Nothing crazy. Just a quick late afternoon fishing trip at Ford Park. Love this little place, even if the fish are hard to catch and usually small. Topwater action on my favorite ultralite lure, the Yo-Zuri Kilifish (the best!) and a solid largemouth on a soft plastic as well. Tight lines!

Wow, these pics are almost a year old! I forgot to post them on the blog, after a fun trip to Diamond Valley Lake. The fish were all dinks, largest was maybe 14'', but they were really fun to catch.  DVL is a tough lake to fish from the shore but at times it can be very rewarding!