Digital Camera

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.

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.

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 ...

  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...

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!