Alan Sharp's Fishing Blog

“CLASSIC” BIG BEAR

fishing — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:00:53 +0000

The 31st annual Jim Hall Memorial May Trout Classic delivered as promised once again. With their plant of Mt. Lassen big trout complimented by a DFW stocking, 440 anglers had a great weekend on Big Bear Lake. With a $10,000 tagged fish sponsored by Pautzke FireBait loose in the lake, 5 lucky anglers brought in tagged trout. 2 of the 5 were eligible for the $10,000 because they were caught on FireBait, the other 3 tagged trout were caught on other lures/bait and good for $5000. As the tension built the winning number was revealed…with unfortunately no winner.

There were a lot of other winners in the tournament though. William Wise, San Diego took the first place prize of $2500.00 with his 5.60 lb. first place trout. Cody Hemsley, age 14, Fontana won the junior title with his 2.69 lb. bow, and Dusty Hendricksen, age 10, Big Bear Lake, was the junior leader with is 4.17 lb. trophy.

The trout are hitting flat-lined Rapalas trolled on the surface, as well as, Needlefish and Thomas Buoyants at two colors of leadcore. A few trout are still hanging out in deeper levels of three to four colors. Bait anglers on the drift are doing well with their dough hung off a slip bobber from 10 to 15 feet below the surface. Shore anglers are heading west as the water warms in the east. Oxygen levels are still high from top to bottom, so fishing off the bottom, or suspending the bait are all doing well.

Pan fish are plentiful on mini-jigs or worms hung off a bobber near docks and jettys, while the bass bite has slowed a bit as they set up on spawning beds.

STEADY BITE

fishing — Sat, 04 May 2013 23:53:13 +0000

While the spring trout bite on Big Bear Lake is just a bit off from previous years, trout anglers are picking up a few here and there. It may have something to do with the lack of run off, the quickly climbing water temps, the trout have been in spawn, or the CDFW hasn’t stocked yet this year. No one seems to know. The west end jumped up 6 degrees to 57 degrees in the past week while the east end rose 5 degrees to 58 degrees. Not a major problem at this point, but could make for an interesting season to come. The good news is that the CDFW is scheduled to stock the week of 5/12 and the May Trout Classic 5/18–5/19, with its plant of big fish is just around the corner.

Trout anglers working the triangle and a bit further west are picking up a few trout with 3 to 4 colors of lead core and various lures in tow. Bass fishing has slowed as they seem to be going into their spawn. Panfish are starting to show in the shallows off mini jigs and worms.

Steve Mortimore, Apple Valley, CA was fishing along the south shore near the dam, when a post spawn trout weighing 7.77 lbs. and measuring 30 inches long, inhaled his home made dough bait he calls Mammoth Magic. Perhaps Steve will starting calling it Big Bear Voodoo.

WIND & MOON WANE

fishing — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:31:50 +0000

Trout fishing picked up this weekend on the lake. The full moon is waning and the winds have settled down for now. As a result anglers are back to finding trout at 3 to 4 colors of leadcore with various Thomas Buoyants and Needlefish. While a few fish have hit the net in the west end, most of the activity is still in the trout triangle (Eagle Pt., observatory, Lagonita Pt.) Not much news from the shoreline, but with warming water temps (Juniper Pt. at 54 degrees in the morning) most bait anglers are heading west where the water temperature is 51 degrees. Oxygen levels are good top to bottom so the fish are scattered, but hanging below the clarity of 12 feet.

Bass fishing has slowed a bit, but still providing some good action for those pitichin’ plastics worked off the bottom on a slow retrieval near docks and rocks. The slow down is probably due to the bass getting ready or already spawning.

Mike Heroux, up from Cypress, CA with the family brought in a nice 5 pounder. While fishing off Eagle Pt. His 7 year old son Vincent, landed the trout drift fishing off a boat, using a Berkley Mice Tail..

WINDS DIE BITES ALIVE

fishing — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:17:44 +0000

Sure enough, the wind in Big Bear settled down and the trout are back on the chew. Water temperatures are up to the low 50′s in the morning and bumping up to mind 50′s in the afternoon. Trout anglers trolling 3 to 4 colors down in the “Triangle”, (Eagle Pt., Observatory, Lagonita Pt.) are catching nice holdovers in the 2 plus pound range with smaller trout mixed in. Thomas Buoyants and Luhr-Jensen Needlefish have worked the best down deep. Surface action is starting to pickup with trout going after Rapalas flat lined on mono. Bait anglers are starting to head west as the water on the east end are warming and the fish are leaving the shallows for cooler deeper water. As the trout vacate the east, the crappie are becoming active in the same area.

Bass fishing remains strong as they are eating just about everything as they fatten up and prepare for spawning. Best results are for anglers doing a slow retrieval of plastics and mini jigs worked along the bottom near docks and jetty’s.

Carl Vanburger, Apple Valley with his surface Rapala holdover.

Big Bear Howls!!!

fishing — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 18:32:58 +0000

We didn’t have much of a winter, but now that it is spring it is feeling like winter. Snow or rain isn’t the issue (that would be welcome) it’s the WIND. Not many anglers out braving the high winds. The ones getting out are picking at the trout as they blow about. Trollers working leadcore have had some luck with needlefish deep at 3 to 4 colors. Those soaking PowerBait and crawlers are getting the same results. Water temperatures are on the rise in a hurry due to lack of cold water run-off. Surface temps are now in the low 50′s in the am and up to the mid 50′s later in the day as the sun warms the top.

Bass anglers are still whacking largemouth near docks and rock jetty’s when they can stay on the spot long enough. Crayfish plastics and spinner baits worked of the bottom slowly are producing fish in the 2 to 3 pound. Rene Herrera, Big Bear Lake caught and released a 3.15 largemouth near Gibraltar Pt. on a crayfish plastic jig.

Fishing will get better once the winds forecast to high until Wednesday, settle down.

High Winds Blow Out Bite

fishing — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:24:34 +0000

Up until the winds came up Saturday, trout fishing had been steady on Big Bear Lake. Anglers working “Trout Triangle” (Eagle Pt.-Observatory-Lagonita Pt.) with leadcore down 3 to 4 colors with needlefish in tow have been getting plenty of fish in the one to two pound range. The water clarity is very high so fish deep be it from shore or boat. Bait anglers along the north shore are doing well on PowerBait and nightcrawlers fished off the bottom. Local angler “Mark” brought in a 6.6 pound Big Bear Bow he caught off of Windy Pt., while trolling a needlefish.

Bass fishing is insane! Cast any plastics that looks like a crayfish along docks and rocks and get ready to go bendo. Scott Eberhard, Big Bear Lake caught 30 largemouth in the two pound range during a 3 hour period recently. Yours truly got into the action, catching several bass near Big Bear Marina. Not bad for a guy that never bass fished before.

THE 2013 SEASON IS HERE!!!

fishing — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 20:13:48 +0000

Big Bear Marina is official open for the 2013 season. Our hours are determined by daylight and weather. Give us a call at 909-866-3218 to check on weather and hours. It looks to be a great year on the lake, surface water temperatures are now up to 46 degrees and the lake is 4 feet down from full. Run-off from creeks that feed the lake are at a lower flow rate than normal, due to the below normal snow fall this winter. Even with low flow from the creeks it is against CA DFW regulations to fish in the creeks or the out-flow, until the Friday after Memorial Day. Please stay clear and give the trout a chance to spawn.

Trout anglers working the north shore are catching limits of holdover trout in the one and a half to two pound range. The trout are hugging the shore line in search of warmer water and food sources. PowerBait and/or inflated nightcrawlers fished off the bottom with a small egg sinker of split shot 1 to 2 feet above your 4 pound leader with a #14 or #16 treble hook for the PowerBait or a #6 or #8 baitholder hook for the crawler is all you need.

The few anglers on the lake in a boat have reported good catches of trout on leadcore down 3 to 4 colors with Needlefish in Fire Pearl and Red Head finishes getting the best results. The trout are deep for this time of year due to the clarity of the water. Oxy or thermo clines are not an issue.

Though unusual for this time of year, bass are showing in the shallows all over the lake. Best access is walking the shoreline, while casting plastics in crayfish patterns.

READY—SET—GO!!!

fishing — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:53:28 +0000

Time to go fishing! We plan to open Friday March 29th for the 2013 season (weather permitting). It looks to be a great year on Big Bear Lake. The trout have been getting fat over the winter and are hitting PowerBait fished off the bottom near to shore. A small split shot between 8 to 18 inches from a number 14 or 16 treble hook on 4 pound test line with your favorite PowerBait suspended will make your rod go bendo in no time. The lake is at the same level we left it at in the fall, down 4ft 4inches from full. Water temperature is at a chilly 39 degrees and the trout are a little slow to chase a trolled or retrieved lure right now. Bass are showing in the shallows as they look for warmer water and forage. Flippin’ plastics near the rocky shore has produced a few bass to 3 pounds. Tight lines and good fishing to you!

HARVEST MOON SLOWS BITE

fishing — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 20:50:46 +0000

That big bright light in the sky at night is beautiful and you may like it, but the trout don’t. The good news is it came and will be gone before TroutfesT. As the moon wanes, take the time to put new line on your reels, check your drags, lube your reels up and get ready for TroutfesT. It won’t hurt to look at your Rapalas, Panther Martins and Thomas Buoyants for tired split rings, and make sure the hooks are sharp. Why take the chance of losing that one trout that could get you a brand new F-150 or a wad of cash.

The lake is ready to go. Water temps continue to drop and are currently at 66 degrees on the surface and 65 on the bottom. Oxygen levels are high top to bottom and will keep the trophy trout for TroutfesT happy! Hopefully you have entered the tournament, but if you can’t make it, remember there will be many trout in the lake after the tournament. Great Fall fishing should continue right into the ski season. Tight lines and good fishing to you.

LAKE RECORD ALMOST

fishing — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 21:02:10 +0000

The Big Bear Lake record for crappie almost fell this past week. Local Cody Jenkins was flippin’ a purple and white Norman lure off the observatory when a nice slab hit his offering. Not wanting to stop fishing Cody kept the fish bagged and in a cooler, until the next morning. As the crappie was placed in the scale, Cody held his breath as the readout went to 1.25 lbs. The fish was .01 lbs. short of the record set in 2010 at 1.26 lbs. Just to make sure we weighed the fish 3 more times…still came up short. Too bad, we will never know what the fish weighed when first caught, but it definitely lost some weight overnight.

Trouting remains steady on the lake. Water temps continue to drop, oxygen levels are high and the fish are coming up. DFG plant is scheduled for this week to compliment the large stocking of trophy fish for TroutfesT 10/6-10/7. There has not be a lot of fishing pressure latley, seems like everyone is waiting for TroutfesT and their chance at an F-150, fishing boat and a multitude of prizes and cash.

It’s not to late to enter WON’s very popular tournament. Mail in deadline is 9/28, so be sure to get your entry in very soon. You can also enter on line at www.wonews.com (click on the event folder). Last chance sign-up is 10/5 (if space is available) during registration at the Big Bear visitors center.