Lake Perris Info

[Dennis Banks]

Hi Everyone,

I am taking the kids fishing this weekend for Blue Gill and I would like to see if you can answer some questions for me. 1) Is Lake Perris a good place to catch Blue Gill? 2) What are the good spots to catch blue gill at Lake Perris? 3) Does ti matter if you fish from shore or from a boat?

Thanks for your answers in advance and thanks to whomever started this site, awesome job and site.

DB

[Dan Gwaltney]

Dennis, I know nothing of Lake Perris, but I took a look at it on Google Earth. Frankly, it isn't the kind of lake I look for, just judging from the aerial view, but it could be loaded with 'gills. Can't judge a book by the cover, ya know. It does appear that the shoreline has been groomed for swimming, though. On the upside, it appears that the shore is readily accessable all the way around. I did notice however, that the east end of Lake Mathews, just a few miles away, looks a lot more appealing.

You didn't say how old the kids are, or how many there are. If they are young, and haven't fished before, they can be a handful. Also, in the case of the younger kids, preschool age, be sure to take along some other items for them to play with. They can lose interest pretty quickly if the fish aren't biting. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. ;-)

[Dennis Banks]

Dan,

Thanks for the reply. I will check out Lake Matthews, I was curious about Perris because I had seen some good fishing reports about the Blue Gill biting there. My kids are 15, 12 and 9 and we had nice action at Lake Irvine earlier during the year and we had a good time.

Dennis

[Dan Gwaltney]

Hey, good fishing reports will trump a Google Earth view any day! Those kids are older than I was picturing too. Using some spinning gear to get something out beyond that beach might just do the trick there. One thing that discouraged me about Perris was the one photo shown on G. Earth that showed wall to wall people on the beach. If it was me, I'd sure have a plan B in mind.

[Dan Gwaltney]

Boy, ya coulda fooled me! As a matter of fact, it did fool me. LOL Looking at the lake from the air, it just looks like an overgrown swimming pool. I hope some of the members who have fished there will chime in with some methodology.;-)

[JIM SIMKINS]

I fish Lake Perris twice a week, its a great lake. From the bank wade out and fish outside of weed lines, from a boat fish tire reef and rocks on the east end of lake. You should catch all the bluegill you want. I use 1/32 oz. jigs tipped with crickets. And by the way you can't fish Lake Mathews.

[James Cho]

Dennis,

I have fished Lake Perris when the bluegills were spawning during late spring, and they were right off the shore on shallows, and a lot and easy to catch using crikets under the slip float.

Now they say that the fish are in deeper waters and recommend boat fishing or fish at Marina dock. However, I believe you will be able to catch from the shore with relatively long cast. Perris is a big lake and I will go back again with my kids soon.

Good luck.

[LedHed]

I fish Lake Perris with Jim - we keep a boat in the marina because the BG and RE are huge and we catch a lot. The average size we find are berween 8" and 10". Jim failed to mention that he has the lake record Red Ear.

Lake Matthew is a designated wildlife refuge and fishing is not allowed. That lake probably has the world record everything (no idle boast) - they use fish out of there to stock local lakes.

[Jeff Soto]

The reason it looks so bare from aerial photos is because the State of California has lowered the lake level to work on the dam to make it stronger, in case there is a large earthquake. (this is southern Cal) In reality if you were to take a photo today by plane or satellite, you would see just a jungle of plant growth all over those wide empty areas. Small bushes, weeds and young trees are all over the place. It's even hard to walk through! When they do fill it back up in 2012, the fish are going to just thrive with all the new cover and nutrients, not to mention all the tackle fishermen are going to lose! No more 2 lb line!