3-7-21
In the past couple of weeks, I was able to go fishing at least 8 times. 6 of those fishing sessions were short night fishing sessions at Silverwood Lake. One day session was spent at Mojave Narrows Horseshoe Lake, and one day session was spent at Hesperia Lake.
One night at the Vista Point Turnout #1 (Silverwood Lake), I hiked down to a new spot and was not able to get any strikes. Leaving the area, and choosing to cast all the coves on the way back was the ticket. I was able to land 2 Stripers in two different coves on the hike back. The fish hit the jerkbait, as I reeled it in very slowly. Before reeling the jerkbait slowly, I was reeling in at a faster pace. It’s funny how sometimes the Stripers strike my lure when I’m trying something new, but it paid off.
Heading back to the same general area a few days later, I was able to find a few more hours to fish for a short night session. This time I brought some friends to fish along with. I was able to land one Striper at the spot that we always tend to go. The spot was not producing too many strikes for anyone, so I let the others know how I targeted the coves on the way back which sometimes held pockets of fish. As we traveled back, we hit the coves and I was able to land one more Striper. The slow retrieve of the jerkbait put another fish on shore that night.
A few days later on a Sunday afternoon, I spent a couple hours at Hesperia Lake, and I got skunked. There was no Trout biting on my rod, and I noticed that the Trout were swimming in schools in the area I was fishing. As I have stated before, I plan on coming back to this lake until I land one Trout. I had a minor injury to my calf this day which had me struggling to walk without a limp. It really had me limited in my daily movement. I took a few days off from fishing, especially before heading back out to do some strenuous hiking at Silverwood Lake.
It took several days to get back to Silverwood Lake for a night session. Hiking down from Highway 138 (Vista Point Turnout #1) one night for a few hours was more challenging than I first thought. Experiencing an injury to my calf from earlier in the week, I was able to move very slowly on my hike down to shore.
Usually, I reach shore and continue to hike to access better fishing areas, but on this night, I was limited on my hike. I had to stop because of a sharp pain I was feeling in my leg. That area was not the best fishing area, as I casted and reeled in over 80 times with no strikes. Just as I was wrapping up and about to leave, I felt a small tug on my line. I pulled in a Striper weighing less than a pound. I immediately started hiking back up the mountain to get to my vehicle.
Traveling back a day later, and fishing with a Rat L Trap Lure tied to one rod, and a jerkbait lure tied to the other rod I was ready. Well, at least that is what I thought. I only had one strike in about two hours and the Striper came off the Rat L Trap Lure (1 ounce).
I woke up one morning a few days after that trip, and I just had the fishing itch. I knew I wanted to go and be adventurous, and I just packed up my fishing gear, drove to and found myself spending sometime at Big Bear Lake. What a complete surprise to me to be going there as it has been several years, and honestly it was so beautiful. I didn’t even see a fish that day, which really had me wanting to fish more. I drove down to Mojave Narrows from there, just to see if I could catch a fish. I only spent less than two hours there, but was able to get one small stocker Trout on a Powerbait Mice Tail (Orange) on a drop shot rig.
For my last fishing trip, I went back to Silverwood Lake. I landed one Striper on a jerkbait for that night.
I am quite grateful for all the strikes I received during the last three weeks fishing at Silverwood and other lakes, although it hasn’t been many strikes. This is what I find so challenging, and what drives me to find which fishing techniques work best. I caught 6 fish in total in my 8 fishing sessions. It’s been super challenging, but so has developing my fishing passion. Best of luck to you out there!
Caught on a Rat L Trap Lure 
Caught on a Powerbait Mice Tail 
Caught on a jerkbait