California Bluegills

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Comment by Leo Nguyen on May 22, 2013 at 2:45pm

Okay, water is getting hot, lures/baits are now a hot topic.  The major producers for panfish so far as far outshine any of the conventional plastics and lures in southern CA waters have been LedHed's ultimate jigs: the Auto, the LedHead Boolie, and the Chub Belly I think. Just got my orders in for various materials, and will be trying to practice the master's inventions. Anyone else dares to join the fun, and test the same thing in your waters?

Comment by JBplusThuy on December 7, 2012 at 10:38pm

San Luis is well known for striped bass, that's probably what you'll be going after. I've never fishe San Luis, but have driven past it many times.  Some parts of the after bay near the road look like they might be good for panfish, at least if the stripers don't eat them all :-)

Water in the main lake is way down, must be 50 vertical feet or more, and it's still big.

I bet a striper on a fly rod would be wild. People do shore fish for them a lot, I've read that rat-l-traps are popular for stripers around there.

Have fun!

Jonathan

Comment by JBplusThuy on December 3, 2012 at 4:53pm

I'm pretty well settled in now. Probably won't make it out fishing until the Christmas - New Year's stretch, when we have a company shutdown over the holidays. Not exactly prime bluegill season, might have to do something relatively boring like fish for planted trout or something, but maybe I'll be brave and hardworking and go after some winter 'gills.

I think I'll save Barrett and Perris for spring or summer, since I'm not really that into fishing when it's cold, but I definitely hope to meet up with both you and Leo to hammer some 'gills in the spring.

Comment by Jeff Soto on November 23, 2012 at 9:57am

Well JBplusThuy.. Since you are now in San Diego, you NEED to fish nearby Lake Barrett for those trophy WORLD CLASS Bluegill!  Simply unbelievable!  My favorite place for Big Bluegill fishing!   (Of course then you have my local go-to spot "down the street", Lake Perris)

Comment by JBplusThuy on November 23, 2012 at 1:07am

I'm officially once again a San Diegan of residence, not just in spirit :-)

Mostly, but not completely, unpacked. There's enough to do that fishing isn't on the near horizon, but it's floating around in my mind. Can't wait to get on the water!

Comment by Jack Kline on November 14, 2012 at 1:18pm

As you come south, San Diego County offers many resouvoirs that offer some incredible fishing not only for bluegills, readear and crappies, but trout, catfish and largemouth bass.

Comment by chris on November 14, 2012 at 11:32am

I did not think you were putting Ca. fishing down. You were just stating a fact. The fishing here is hard. I wish we had more area to fish, but over the last 30 years, building houses and such has become more important to people than having places to fish.

When I was a kid I had a great pond to fish at. I always caught more sunfish than I shake a stick at. Now there is 20 or so houses built where the pond once was.

However hard it is to find a good  fishing spot, I have always managed to find a place to fish.

But I do not always find fish. lately I have only caught fish on 1 out of every 7 trip out.

This has no stopped me from fishing, it is making me rethink my way of fishing.

Lately my way of thinking has not produced many fish. LOL

Comment by JBplusThuy on November 13, 2012 at 6:54pm

Fishing isn't easy in California, that's for sure. We probably have less acres of water per capita than any other state. The population is over 33 million and most of California is either high desert, low desert, or just otherwise dry.

I don't know the delta well, but I've done well on bluegill at Bethany Reservoir, which is not connected to the delta proper, but is in the area, and also at Italian Slough around Clifton Court Forebay.

Not to say those were generally big bluegill and redear, although my wife and I each caught a 9" RES at Bethany. Hers was slightly larger, at 9.5. My was 9.0 even.

The toughness of the fishing in California generally is why, when going on family road trip vacations as a kid and into my teens, I would typically catch more and larger fish on vacation, fishing a BOW I'd never seen before and knew nothing about, than I would at home in California.

The places I've done best in California, both back in the seventies, were Lake Shasta (which was near full pool at the time) and the Kern River near Bakersfield. I used to also do pretty well in a small pond pond in San Diego that was a stock pond long ago. The water was reasonably clear and it had lots of BG and a good number of 12-inch class LMB. When I checked it a few years ago, despite having dual aerators, it didn't seem to have any fish left, to speak of. Neither saw nor caught a bluegill. Don't know if it just got fished out (small pond in the middle of a residential area) or if there was some kind of die-off. I saw no LMB either, although the water is much less clear than it was, so it could be they are there but unseen.

So yeah, for fishing I'd take Florida or just about anywhere over California too, but this is where I live so I have to make the best of it :p

Jonathan

Comment by chris on November 13, 2012 at 5:39pm

Mike the last time I fished the Delta was back in the late 70's

and it sucked back then as well. The only place on the delta I ever caught any thing, was a place called Discovery Park.

during the salmon run we would troll and catch a few each year. During the shad run we would catch 20 to 30 each weekend they ranged 5 to 10 pounds each. then we would spend the next month and a half smoking them.

Comment by Suzanne Lazar on November 4, 2012 at 12:59pm

I found this comment about Balboa Lake...

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