I know this isn't a typical pier, but this is one of my favorite piers to fish off of.
I visited the Jenks Lake Pier on Friday after hearing that the lake and the surrounding Santa Ana River tributary were stocked the past week. After taking a look at the South Fork of the Santa Ana River and seeing that the entire river was devastated by flooding, leaving nothing except mosquitoes and dragonflies, I decided to move on to Jenks Lake, hoping that the trout that would have been stocked in the river were dumped in the lake instead.
I arrived at the pier at about 9:30 AM to find about a half-dozen anglers fishing the end. The pier is not very big, and it does not take much for it to get crowded.
I immediately saw one group with a limit of Rainbow Trout on their stringer, and another group with 3 trout on a stringer. I also saw a Green Sunfish floating on the surface from an unsuccessful release attempt. Underneath the pier, the water was crystal clear, and it was almost like looking into an aquarium. There was an abundance of aquatic plants, but minimal algae growth. Trout, along with bass and sunfish, were dashing about under the pier and throughout the lake.
I used a size #8 live bait hook with a 1/32 oz split shot sinker on a Carolina rig, and Berkley Garlic Powerbait. However, I had immense difficulty getting the Powerbait to remain intact in the water, and the dough bait would dissolve immediately upon making contact with the water. After an hour, I then switched to garden slugs that I had found in my yard. The slugs were much sturdier than the Powerbait, and I was immediately able to hook up on my first fish.
I learned to cast outward from the pier instead of dropping straight down, and leave it on the bottom, not unlike my usual saltwater pier fishing expeditions. This allowed me to capture my limit in a couple of hours. However, as the sun came higher, my slugs began to melt in the heat. This prevented me from staying longer to catch any bass or sunfish. I left around 12:15 PM.
Notes:
-Powerbait is very fragile
-The bass and sunfish were very docile, with bass biting but not swallowing, and sunfish not even reacting to bait. Meanwhile, the trout were very aggressive. I've never seen trout more aggressive than bass before.
-I understand this is not an oceanfront pier, nor is it considered a public pier. However, I have fished off this pier many times growing up, and the remoteness of the location, combined with the cleanliness of the lake and lack of strict curfews, makes this one of my favorite piers.
Fish Count:
-10 Rainbow Trout
-10 Total Fish
Fish Count (for the whole pier):
-27 Rainbow Trout
-2 Green Sunfish
-2 Largemouth Bass
-1 Spotted Bass
-32 Total Fish
I visited the Jenks Lake Pier on Friday after hearing that the lake and the surrounding Santa Ana River tributary were stocked the past week. After taking a look at the South Fork of the Santa Ana River and seeing that the entire river was devastated by flooding, leaving nothing except mosquitoes and dragonflies, I decided to move on to Jenks Lake, hoping that the trout that would have been stocked in the river were dumped in the lake instead.
I arrived at the pier at about 9:30 AM to find about a half-dozen anglers fishing the end. The pier is not very big, and it does not take much for it to get crowded.
I immediately saw one group with a limit of Rainbow Trout on their stringer, and another group with 3 trout on a stringer. I also saw a Green Sunfish floating on the surface from an unsuccessful release attempt. Underneath the pier, the water was crystal clear, and it was almost like looking into an aquarium. There was an abundance of aquatic plants, but minimal algae growth. Trout, along with bass and sunfish, were dashing about under the pier and throughout the lake.
I used a size #8 live bait hook with a 1/32 oz split shot sinker on a Carolina rig, and Berkley Garlic Powerbait. However, I had immense difficulty getting the Powerbait to remain intact in the water, and the dough bait would dissolve immediately upon making contact with the water. After an hour, I then switched to garden slugs that I had found in my yard. The slugs were much sturdier than the Powerbait, and I was immediately able to hook up on my first fish.
I learned to cast outward from the pier instead of dropping straight down, and leave it on the bottom, not unlike my usual saltwater pier fishing expeditions. This allowed me to capture my limit in a couple of hours. However, as the sun came higher, my slugs began to melt in the heat. This prevented me from staying longer to catch any bass or sunfish. I left around 12:15 PM.
Notes:
-Powerbait is very fragile
-The bass and sunfish were very docile, with bass biting but not swallowing, and sunfish not even reacting to bait. Meanwhile, the trout were very aggressive. I've never seen trout more aggressive than bass before.
-I understand this is not an oceanfront pier, nor is it considered a public pier. However, I have fished off this pier many times growing up, and the remoteness of the location, combined with the cleanliness of the lake and lack of strict curfews, makes this one of my favorite piers.
Fish Count:
-10 Rainbow Trout
-10 Total Fish
Fish Count (for the whole pier):
-27 Rainbow Trout
-2 Green Sunfish
-2 Largemouth Bass
-1 Spotted Bass
-32 Total Fish
