There are many things to do in beautiful Big Bear during the summer, like hiking and mountain biking, but mainly what Big Bear is known for in the summer is lake activity; and in my eyes that means fishing! Fishing in Big Bear is a challenge and you have to know what you are doing; like what bait, what jigs, and even what kind of fishing line you’re using. One other thing is, the fish up here are picky. You have to know what you are fishing for and you have to use specific baits.
1. Bass
The Large and Small Mouth Bass: everyone wants one and is looking for them. Best baits, that work for me, are plastic worms and night crawlers. Jigs work fantastic, also. My personal favorite for bass is ‘Buzz Bait’. It drives the Bass crazy and annoys them. Another thing that is good is the Banjo Minnow. It mimics a dying fish and they can’t resist it. I choose not to use a swivel when putting on jigs and lures. In my opinion the swivel can distract them.
2. Trout
The Rainbow Trout in Big Bear are extremely picky. The only thing that I know to use as bait for them is salmon eggs, night crawlers, chicken liver and Power Bait. You have a very big variety of Power Bait. All sorts of colors with glitters and what-not. I use a basic pole set up. Tie a swivel, then put on a weight, and have 2 feet of line away from the hook. Put some bait on there and you are good to go.
3. Catfish
There is a decent population of Catfish in Big Bear. They also get extremely big. We have Blue Catfish and Channels. The area I have seen them really active is near China Island. I have seen a 3 footer in that area just swimming around looking cute.
Catfish eat all kinds of things. I have heard all kinds of stories on the bait they used. Like chewing tobacco wrapped on a hotdog piece as a last resort and have caught a trophy fish. They love worms! I have thrown out 2 worms on a hook before and caught a monster. You can also get some dough from a bait store. Some stores have their own house dough. If you are going to use dough I recommend that you use dough hooks. They keep the dough on the hook and it sticks on very well.
4. Carp
There isn’t a high population of carp. It’s overpopulated! We even have a carp roundup every year. People even bow fish for them and use tridents when they’re close to shore.
Carp get really big just like Catfish. Carp eat almost everything. People make their own dough as bait. There are over a million different recipes for fishing dough. My family has their own dough recipe. We use flour, mashed up cereal, mustard, water, and some chicken bouillon.
If you don’t want to use dough, you can just ball up and press some bread on your hook. That also works really well. When I fish for Carp I set up my pole just like I would for Catfish, get a dough hook, apply the dough, and you are set!
5. Crappie
Crappie is a good beginner fish since they are an offshore fish. Actually, a lot of professionals began fishing for them. From what I have seen, Crappie love Mealworms. I have also known people that have caught them with marshmallows and chocolate chips. My mother actually catches them using fish liver. She never goes fishing without it. They are located usually in bushy areas near shore, where they hide and feed.
Bow Fishing on Big Bear Lake
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