Twin Monster Bluegill at Lake Perris

[baitmaster]

Hit up Lake Perris on 3/16 with mealworm and 2 friends (Rob and Perry). There is a small storm front coming in this weekend, so we decided to take a day off to get our weekly fishing fix. The air temp was 50 in the morning and 75 in the afternoon. The water was over 60 degrees for the first time this year. Mealworm put us right on the fish for a great day on the lake. The best part was landing a 1 pound 6 ounce BG right after mealworm landed a 1 pound 5 oz. I will have to post a picture of the jig tomorrow. See pics below.
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My 1-6
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Mealworms 1-5
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The water was alive with hatch activity. One of the guys on the boat said zooplankton, another said fresh water shimp. It was the first time I had seen it.
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Total catch for the day 17 BG.

The twins on display right before fillet.

 

[hhawkins]

WOW! That plankton pic is awsome. When I was little we would go down to Florida and fish, I have never seen anything like that. We had a big Bayliner and I remember dolphins swimming beside the boat when we were going across the water. Nice catch of bluegill!

 

[Ron Don]

Geez those are huge!

 

[toadfrog]

I wish I could get into a mess of those bad boys. For some reason blue gill don't seem to get over a lb. or less around here . You'll catch 100 before you hit a big one.

 

[Hawnjigs]

What abundance of forage allows the L. Perris BG to get so large?

Is there a certain kind of structure that consistently holds the big ones?

 

[AtticaFish]

Holy :bigfish: That is a pile of fish now! Congrats on a good day.

If there are hatches/swarms like what you have pictured going on all over the lake, i would not be surprised those are a MAJOR forage for darn near every species of fish in that lake at some point. I would have had to get out the dip net and satisfy (sp?) my curiosity.

BTW - What is your minium size for keepers and is there a minium size regulation for the lake? That place has got to hold some one of a kind fish.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

That's a nice mess of gills and that lake is loaded with them.

 

[moswampy]

those size of gills are what I dream about. 9 inchers are my top gills not a speck over that either. Started thinking about the gill population in my local resevior and asking the local baitshop guy about the possibility. He knew of nobody that even targeted them on the lake and this guy talks with everyone in the shop and at the ramp. I don't even know where to begin catching them that size. needless to say I am impressed:jig:

 

[baitmaster]

Sorry everyone for the late response to this thread. I have been kind of AWOL the last couple weeks.

hawn,
The lake is full of this plankton and huge balls of shad. Sometime in 30' of water the fish finder is solid color with a shad ball. There are also fresh water clams and some of the largest bug hatches I have ever seen. I am sure there is more that I don't know about this lake...I have only been fishing it for 3 years. I have been blessed to learn from some of the best fisherman I have ever met. May they both land a 3 pound wall hanger this year!!!

Attica,
There is no minimun size on BG out here. There is a 25 fish limit for sunfish that was implimented by the DFG this year. Large mouth bass must be 15" and there is a 2 fish limit on them at Lake Perris.

 

[Mack]

The blue gills here are way less dark here for some reason... what state is that florida?

 

[Jig Man]

Nice catch... Congratulations!!!

 

[baitmaster]

Mack,
These BG come from Lake Perris in Riverside County, Southern Califonia.

 

[StumpHunter]

Now those are very nice! I been thinking about ordering some mealworms to try and by your post I would think I need to try some. Congrats on your catch.

 

[baitmaster]

Doc,
I would say about 10% are over a pound. Most of what we catch is right around 3/4 pound.
Stump,
Also crickets do very well out here.

 

[StumpHunter]

We use crickets in the spring too. Can you keep the mealworms refrigerated so you can keep them for awhile. Crickets are hard to get here in the fall and winter.

 

[Fatman]

Nice mess of fish, they'll make a great meal

 

[baitmaster]

Stump,
Mealworms will keep in the fridge for at least 1 week. Maybe longer, but I have not kept them longer than that. Lately, mealworm(JC.C member) had been storing the bait in an outdoor fridge at his place.
We pick up our crickets at a local baitshop, but many pet stores have them for reptile feed too. In a pinch I have purchased them at Petco for that quick after work fix.