Hello Fishing Enthusiast! I hope you had a wonderful New Year’s Day, and are ready to ring in the new year with amazing catches. I know I have had a wonderful year of fishing last year, and I will continue to develop my passion for fishing this year, as well as share my knowledge with all of you.
My last Largemouth Bass catch for 2020 came on a very cold night. As I was fishing the Silverwood Marina for at least two hours, I began to feel the chilly night air pressing against my face. Not only did I feel the icy air against my face, but when I glanced up at the tip of my rod, I noticed that the guides began to ice up, making it harder to reel and cast. In that moment, I knew I could make a few more casts before having to wrap it up for the night.
Fishing with a Rat L Trap lure, I felt a small tug on my line, and I landed a Largemouth Bass weighing 2 pounds 12 ounces. It definitely felt good to catch one right before leaving the Marina. The colder nights have made fishing more difficult, not only with ice on my rod guides, but along with intense cold air, as well as the fish seeming to be more lethargic, or not very interested in my lure choices.
Fishing in another area of Silverwood (Vista Point) with a friend in the early morning hours one day produced a ‘Skunk’ for both of us. My friend and I were not even able to get one strike on our rods. Another good fishing buddy of mine let me know by text that a Trout stock went in at the Silverwood Marina that day. As we wrapped up our early morning session at Vista Point, and upon receiving the message of a Trout stock, I let my friend know I would be trying to fish there for a few hours. He also wanted to fish some more, and I’m glad he chose to. We were able to get on some Trout immediately. I caught two on a jig, and one on Powerbait dough. My buddy caught two on Powerbait dough (Carolina rigged). We both felt a lot better about that day of fishing.
Traveling to a new area to fish, I spent a day fishing at Mojave Narrows Regional Park located in Victorville. Targeting Trout for the day, I tried a Carolina rig with Powerbait dough, jigs, and Powerbait Power Worms on a drop shot rig. At the very end of the day, I was able to land 3 Trout on the drop shot rigged with a green Power Worm, and one on the same rig with a yellow Power Worm. The Trout were some nice sized ones, as two of them were near the 1 1/2 pound range, and two of them near the 1-pound range.
Heading back to Silverwood Lake a few days later, I knew that the Trout were still near the Marina, as they spend a lot of time near where they are stocked. I was able to land 9 trout in total during a short afternoon session fishing. Four Trout were caught on green Power Worms on a drop shot, one Trout on a yellow dropped shot Power Worm, and another 4 Trout were caught with a jig. All of the fish were released, as I was practicing catch and release for the day. All of the Trout I landed at the Marina were all very small, nothing over a pound in weight.
The next day, I hiked back down to the Marina for a short night fishing session under a full moon. I was able to land one Striper on a Rat L Trap Lure. I casted and reeled in my pole near 100 times before sensing a strike on my rod. Feeling the strike, I immediately set the hook and landed the Striper rather quickly on the shore. It was near 10 PM when the strike occurred which basically meant time to wrap up, as I could feel the cold weather creeping through my many layers of clothes.
A few days later, I went back to the Marina for an early morning fishing session. There was not much action at all for the entire morning with only one Trout landed on a jig. Since my last blog, I was able to go fishing 6 times (5 sessions at Silverwood, & 1 session at Mojave Narrows Lake). 19 fish were landed in total (1 Striper, 1 Largemouth Bass, & 17 Trout).
The recent trout stocks have been a fun experience for me. I will continue to try to go to other local lakes in addition to my regular Silverwood visits, especially in this new year. If you need any advice, please feel free to contact me anytime. Thanks!!!