May 12
13
BACK ON THE CHEW
The moon waned, the Santa Ana winds died down and the trout went back on the bite. On the eve of the 30th Annual Jim Hall Memorial May Trout Classic, conditions couldn’t be better. Surface water temps across the lake are 58 degrees, while oxygen levels are still high near Juniper Pt., they have fallen to the west and will not support trout below 46 feet at the dam and Papoose Bay. At the west ramp and Observatory the oxygen stops at 32 feet. For bait anglers it is time to give up on bottom fishing in those areas and time to rig up your slip bobbers to find the fish. Trollers are finding the fish at 3 to 4 colors, which translate into 15 to 20 feet for the right depth to rig your slip bobber and perhaps a little deeper depending on your location on the lake. Trollers are not finding much action on the surface at this time. Leadcore, as mentioned, from 3 to 4 colors with a variety of spoons (Needlefish, Thomas Buoyants, Dick Nite) have gotten the most fish. No real magic to the color of spoon, at one time or another they all seem to work. “Trout Triangle” (Eagle Pt., Observatory, Lagonita Pt.) is starting to come alive and should hold fish for sometime.
The May Trout Classic will be stocking a lot of trophy trout for the tournament 5/19-5/20. Entries are still available for this great event. $8000 in cash prizes, a $10,000 tagged trout, great tackle, bait giveaways and raffles are all good reasons to sign up. Don’t miss out on your chance for big bucks and prizes! For more information call 909-585-4007
May 12
6
SUPERMOON TURNS OFF BITE
It started 4 days before the moon went super full on Saturday, slowly the fish counts got smaller and smaller as the moon got bigger and bigger. Thank goodness this only happens once a year and as the moon wanes the trout will get back on the bite. Before the bite shut down, the trout were active in all the areas and hitting all the baits mentioned in last weeks report. Weather forecast for the next week is for highs in the 70′s and lows in the 40′s. Beautiful weather for Big Bear and the Bows.
Apr 12
29
FINALLY SPRING HAS SPRUNG
The weather has cleared the fish are biting and the snow shovels are put away. Spring has sprung in Big Bear! With good weather and daytime temperatures in the 60′s and nighttime in the 40′s the trout are on the bite. Water temperatures have risen to 54 degrees in the east and 52 in the west. A nice insect hatch has the trout active on the surface for the first time this year. Trollers who have been working Needlefish on leadcore at 3 to 4 colors the past few weeks are still getting limits of pound and a half holdovers, but can now also put a Rapala up on the surface landing holdover trout in the two plus range as they hit the surface.
Bait anglers continue to catch the same nice limits along the North Shore from Stanfield Cutoff to Windy Pt. With the bait action slowing a bit as you get closer to the dam. Fishing off the bottom with PowerBait, as always is the magic. Varying leader lengths from 1-4 feet until you find the fish is a good idea, with a short cast from the shoreline the most effective. If you have a favorite spot to anchor on and bait fish it too will put fish on the stringer. Drifting the lake in your vessel with bait suspended 15 to 20 feet down will as get the job done.
Regardless of the lure, bait, technique, size rod or line you use (that is less than a broom stick with clothes line) you will catch trout!
Apr 12
22
AS THE SNOW GO…SO DO THE BOWS
Hard to believe it has been in the low 70′s this weekend in Big Bear. A week ago we had a foot of snow on the ground, now it’s shorts and T-shirt time. But wait…what is in the forecast for Thursday? That nasty four letter word SNOW! Oh well, it is sprinter time in Big Bear (the season when Mother Nature can’t make her mind if it is spring or winter).
When the weather is good the trout fishing has been great! Plump holdovers in the pound and a half range are filling stringers for trollers and bait anglers alike, with a few fish coming in at two to three pounds. Bait anglers fishing PowerBait and/or nightcrawlers off the bottom with a leader length of 1 to 3 feet are doing well all along the North Shore from Stanfield Cutoff to Windy Pt. The west end of the lake is also producing trout, but the trout are more plentiful in the east due to tributary flow, shallower and warmer water. Don’t get too close to the streams though, DFG regulations prohibit fishing in the streams or the waters that outflow from them when the moving water is visible from Mrach 1st until May 25th.
Trollers working 3 to 4 colors of lead core with just about any color of Needlefish or Thomas Buoyants are getting the same results. Once again the east is best for the higher fish counts than the west. No real surface action yet, but look for that to change once the weather stabilizes and the insects begin to hatch. Water temperatures are uniform east to west and top to bottom at 47 degrees with plenty of oxygen throughout the water column.
Surprisingly a few avid bass anglers have found some bucket mouths along docks and rocks in the east end. No action for any other species at this time. Keep on eye on the weather and enjoy the fishing when you can.
Apr 12
15
STORMS BRING SNOW
Not much to report this past week. The marina closed on Wednesday as a weak low passed through the area. Friday afternoon saw the valley turn white with up to a foot of spring snow. All the white stuff will melt in a hurry and the forecast calls for a beautiful weekend. The fish are ready, we just need the weather to be more like spring than winter.
Apr 12
8
BIG BEAR LAKE FIRED UP FOR 2012
Well here we go boys and girls, it’s time to get on our beautiful blue jewel at 6750 ft. and catch some fish! Big Bear Lake is open for the 2012 season. April 1st came in a little chilly, but the MWD did open the East Ramp for those who just had to get out on the chilly waters first. Big Bear Marina opened its doors on April 6th and will remain open from dawn to dusk weather permitting until November.
The trout bite is good, as the fish start to come out of their winter mode and look for new food sources. Bait anglers working the North Shore from Stanfield Cutoff to Windy Pt. are catching the bigger trout that are hugging the shoreline. Be sure to vary your leader length form 1 to 4 ft., until you find the zone the trout are feeding in. PowerBait and nightcrawlers fished within 25 feet of shore are producing quality limits.
Trollers working the eastern third of the lake (Lagonita Pt. to East Ramp) are finding limits of smaller trout at 3 to 4 colors of lead core. Needlefish in Fire Pearl and Red Dot Frog are getting the best results. Surface water temps in this area are holding at 46 degrees while the other two thirds of the lake are ten cooler holding at 36 degrees, with not much action in those areas.
The weather forecast for the week ahead is not very favorable. A small low scheduled for Wednesday could bring a few snow flurries to the area, with a bigger system heading this way on Friday with more snow. Thats Big Bear in the spring. Keep on eye on the weather and get up as soon as you can.
Sep 11
28
TROUTEST TIME
It must be the end of a great season on Big Bear Lake, its TroutfesT time!!! October 1st and 2nd will see up to a 1000 anglers working the waters of Big Bear Lake. Some will be in search of tagged trout for a Ford F-150 or a $25,000.00 payout. Others will pursue stringers of hefty trout stocked for the event to be proclaimed the overall winners in adult/junior male and female categories. If that isn’t enough every entrant has a raffle chance at a boat, motor and trailer. If you are not lucky enough to claim one of these prizes, you can still win money in the blind bogey draw. The blind bogey is simple and fun. Any trout you catch is recorded when it is weighed in, random weights are selected and if the weight of your trout matches, you get to choose an envelope with a cash prize in it.
On the eve of this great tournament, now would be a good time to do a tackle tune-up. Check and replace your fishing line. Even if you don’t totally re-spool, you should strip off 50 feet or so to get rid of frayed line that can break. Lube up your reel, check your drags and replace if need be. Make sure your hooks are sharp and your tackle ready. Just think how bad you would feel if you lost out on a truck or big bucks because your tackle was lacking.
After Troutfest is over, the trout fishing will still be great until the snow begins to fall. Take advantage of it. Big trout from the tournament plus our holdover population will be whacking lures and baits for some time. Don’t miss out on the fall bite. Tight lines and good fishing to you all. I hope you enjoyed these articles and perhaps learned a little along the way. With a little good luck we will do it again next year.
Aug 11
28
TROUT BACK FROM VACATION
Since the full moon on 8/13, the bite on Big Bear Lake can, at best, be described as tough. Anglers struggled to catch a few fish in 3 hours, when it was the norm to have a limit in less time than that. Fisherman using leadcore went as deep as 6 colors to put a few hold overs in the boat. Those fishing shallower come up with a few fresh stockers.
It has taken awhile to figure out what happened—now we know! While oxygen levels and water temperatures have been great, the trout needed a break and went on summer vacation! As the moon went full, our trout left town. They brought in their cousins to house sit in their absence. These cousins courtesy of the DFG numbered in the hundreds of thousands of sub-catchable (under 6 inches) and catchable trout (over 6 inches). They took advantage of the bigger trout’s hospitality and literally took over the lake. While they took their time getting accustom to their new surroundings, the hold overs headed into deep water for a hiatus.
Now back from their summer break the hold over trout and fresh stockers are getting use to their new neighbors and the hood is in harmony once again. Trollers are finding a mix of these fish from 2.5 to 4 colors down. Bait boys and girls are getting the same results when their bait is suspended from 12 to 20 feet down. Oxygen levels are strong from the west ramp (23 feet) to the dam (46 feet). Surface water temps are at 67 degrees, clarity is at 9 feet. The trout are very comfortable and happy to be in their humble home again. Welcome them home with a party complete with plenty of baits and lures for our finned friends.
Aug 11
21
TOUGH SUMMER DAYS
With surface water temperatures at 67 degrees, and oxygen levels good down to 36 feet in the western third of the lake, one would think the trout would be on the bite. Not the case. Guides that had been getting several limits in an hour are having a hard time landing one limit in three hours.
All you can do is keep changing lures, vary depths and hope the trout will bite. It is just a matter of time before the trout get back on the chew.
One species that should be going off this time of year are the Channel Catfish. Strange, but none have hit the scales yet this summer. Water temperatures are pretty chilly, with the bottom at 59 degrees at the dam and 63 degrees at the west ramp you have to wonder where they are. Juniper Pt. is at 69 degrees, but no has reported a catch from that area.
Aug 11
15
BITE FALLS WITH MOON
No surprises this past week as the moon waxed into its full summer glory, the trout action fell off. What was a limits for all bite last week has become a pick at em’ bite. Switching out lures and fishing at different depths at various times of the day is the only way to put a few fish on the boat.
While we wait for the moon to fade, their other weather conditions that are important to remember whenever you go fishing. One of the basic rules of lure presentation is that when the sun is bright use light colored lure. When it is overcast, use ones that are darker in color. Fish also react to changes in the weather, high pressure insures a consistent bite, but when the barometer starts to drop fish tend to feed even more as they sense an impending storm and the natural instinct to fill their bellies before storm conditions change the water quality and disrupt their food sources. Now fat and happy it takes a few days after the stormy weather for the fish to go back on the chew.
The current lake conditions are favorable for the bite to pick up once again. Surface water temperatures are at 67 degrees in the western third of the lake. Oxygen levels are good down to 30 feet and the clarity of the water stands at 9.5 feet. Fishing for trout from 12-25 feet will put fish in your boat as the moon wanes away.
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