How to win the San Bernardino County Regional Parks Trout Derbies

[Local Rookie]

HOW TO WIN THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
REGIONAL PARKS TROUT DERBIES

INTRODUCTION:
The San Bernardino County Regional Parks Fishing Tour is a skills event that begins in December 2006, and runs to April 2007. This event is a skilled competition open to the general public and anglers of all ages. There will be ten (10) scheduled derbies.

Derby Registration – a day pass fishing permit will be required in order to limit the number of anglers to park capacity at each derby. Derby registration is available up to the derby date at each derby location, but limited to the capacity limitations of each site.

Before I give you some strategies and fishing hot spots, I’d like to cover some general rules and regulations about the San Bernardino County Regional Parks Fishing Tournament:

TOURNAMENT RULES:
1. Gates open at 6:00 a.m. Derby hours: 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Fishing available until 5 p.m.
2. Air horn signifies derby start at 7:00 a.m. – NO LINES IN THE WATER BEFORE 7:00 A.M.
3. Fishing fee/derby entry $10.00 per person plus vehicle entry fee.
4. State and County Fishing Regulations apply. (except second pole stamp).
5. State Fishing License Required (16 years and older). Fishing License must be in your possession at all times.
6. A wristband must be worn at all times by anglers participating in the derby.
7. Shoreline fishing only. No boats will be allowed.
8. Anglers must fish with only ONE closely attended fishing rod. No hand lines.
9. Catch and release not allowed. Snagging of fish is prohibited and will not qualify for prizes.
10. Fish must be brought to the Prize area for weigh in by 1:00 p.m. In order to obtain the derby prize, all fish must be freshly caught, fresh in appearance, not stiff and intact.
11. Derby prizes will be awarded for the largest trout caught only during the derby hours on the day of the derby. Derby hours: 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Prize awards start at approximately 1:30 p.m. Winner need not be present. Derby prizes must be picked up within 30 days of the derby date. Prizes not picked up within 30 days will be forfeited.
12. Anglers and/or persons shall not violate any fishing derby rules, local, state, or federal laws in or about event site. Violators will be disqualified from competing. Wristband will be forfeited and removed.
13. Decisions of park staff are final. Park personnel have the right to disqualify anyone in violation of derby rules.
14. Eligibility: Employees and their immediate families of San Bernardino County Regional Parks, Turners Outdoorsman, KOLA Radio, KCAL Radio and Clear Channel Victorville Radio are not eligible.
15. Refunds: No refunds – derbies will be rain or shine.

STATE FISHING LAWS:
1. A state fishing license and park permit must be presented to park personnel on request
2. Poles must be closely attended. Unattended poles will be confiscated.
3. No live bait except worms.
4. No chumming.
5. Daily catches must be kept with the fisherman and shown to park personnel when requested. Each angler must have his own stringer. Anyone in violation of state law or park regulations may be fined or evicted from the park. Fish may be confiscated if the fisherman is over the limit.
6. Fish cleaning is prohibited on park premises except where special fish cleaning stations exist.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY PARK RULES:
1. Fishing permit must be purchased at the entry gate each day and be in the fisherman’s possession while fishing.
2. Permit is valid only at the park were it is purchased.
3. Fishing may be restricted in certain areas. Please obey all posted signs.
4. No fishing is allowed from boat docks and bridges, or within 25 feet of paths.

DATE AND LOCATION OF THE DERBIES:
December 2 & 3, 2006 Cucamonga Guasti (800 N Archibald Ave, Ontario)
January 6 & 7, 2007 Glen Helen (2555 Glen Helen Pkwy, San Bernardino)
February 10 & 11, 2007 Prado (16700 Euclid Ave, Chino)
March 10 & 11, 2007 Mojave Narrows (18000 Yates Rd, Victorville)
March 31 & April 1, 2007 Yucaipa (33900 Oak Glen Rd, Yucaipa).

REGISTRATION LOCATIONS:
Derby Entry Fee: $10.00 per person per day plus vehicle entry fee
Norwalk – 111336 Firestone Blvd, 90650
Pasadena – 835 S. Arroyo Pkwy., 9105
Redondo Beach – 2323 Hawthorne Blvd., 90278
Reseda – 19329 Vanowen St., 91335
Signal Hill – 2201 E. Willow St., 90755
West Covina – 357 N. Azusa Ave., 91791
Fountain Valley – 18808 Brookhurst St., 92708
Orange – 1932 N. Tustin Ave., 92865
Chino Hills – 4200 Chino Hills Parkway, 91709
San Bernardino – 491 W. Orange Show Rd., 92408
Kearny Mesa – 8199 Clairemont Mesa, 92111
San Marcos – 2085 Montiel, 92069

GENERAL ITEMS TO BRING:
Rods: I highly recommend that you purchase an ultra light or light power rod in the 1-6lb line rating, anywhere between 1/64oz to 5/16oz lure rating, and moderate to fast action rod. A rod length between 6’6” to 8’ rod is great for casting lures out.

Reels: Purchase a reel that is rated ultra light or light between the 500 to 1500 size reels. Make sure that reel has a solid drag and is smooth casting, and lastly make sure the reel doesn’t have any back play.

Line: 85% of my trout line is fluorocarbon. I personally prefer using a 4lb fluorocarbon test for bait fishing and 2lb test for everything else. Make sure you get a high quality line that’s thin, strong, and limp. Remember that trout are very line shy when picking out a fishing line.

For a more in-depth analysis on gear and other terminal tackle check out this article:
Trout Fishing in Southern California Lakes

Lures:

Minijigs – yellow/white, candy apple, pumpkinseed, fighting frog, & perch works very well in any San Bernardino Park Lakes. For more information check out:
Tossing Jigs for Trout

Trout worms – Berkeley Power Worms, Lip Ripperz. For techniques check out:
Fishing With Lip Ripperz and other Trout worms

Power Nymph – yellow/orange, pumpkin/shad for rigging check out:
Berkley Power Nymph Fishing

Irons - kastmasters, thomas bouyant, super duppers.

Powerbait - spring green, chartruese, orange, rainbow

Other Important Item to bring:
California Fishing License – very important, make sure you have it before you leave your house.
Fishing net – you got to have one.
Fishing stringer – Must have your own stringer.
Scent – Smelly Jelly, Berkeley Trout Dip, Procure.
Pliers
Polarized Sunglasses

TOP GENERAL TOURNAMENT FISHING TIPS AND TRICKS
1. You do not need to pre register at any of the Turners. However if you do, you get a coupon for free tackle including hooks, nitro dough bait and nitro gravy provided by Eagle Claw.

2. Be sure you read the rules and regulations. Do not break any rules! Not only are the employees and sponsors of the lake are watching, the anglers around you are watching you too.

3. Get well rested and arrive at the lake early - way before the gate opens at 6 a.m. If you want to secure one of the hotter fishing spots arrive at the lake as soon as possible. Arrive late and you can be backed up in a row of cars waiting to get in while the tournament already started. Also, if you arrive late, you will also notice the lack of fishing room and most of the anglers who are there way before you can get really anal when you are fishing near there spots. They are very territorial especially when the bit is sucking.

4. If you are one of the first anglers to get inside - walk around the lake and look for the school of trout. Just remember though that you cannot cast out until you hear the horn.

5. If you arrive late, look where the minijig, trout worms, and lure fishermen’s are at. Most of the times these guys do not care if you are fishing near them unless you plan on bait fishing.

6. If you do not get bit within the first 5 to 10 minutes, switch to something else and keep switching until you use your entire arsenal. Once that happens you need to fish to a different area.

7. Travel light. Do not bring those lawn chairs or coolers; you need to find where the trout and so you will be going from one area to another area of the lake.

8. The best lure to find trout and depth are iron type lures such as a Kastmaster or Thomas Buoyant. Finding the range and depth is the key to locating trout.

9. Do not wait the last minute to go weigh in your fish! I’ve seen this time and time again where an angler waits the last minute and misses the weigh-in. Yes, if you are a couple of seconds late they will not allow you to weigh your fish(es). The weigh-in people are there early in the morning setting things up, and sitting around for hours. They most likely want to get out of there as soon as possible.

10. Weigh those trout in as soon as you catch one especially when the bite is slow – unless the bite is on. This could be the difference between getting placed 25th or 26th and winning a better prize, and/or even placing. If you are the first person to catch a trout that weigh in 2lbs 9oz your fish gets put as the first 2lb 9oz trout. If 10 other guys caught trout that each weighs in 2lb 9oz their trout gets placed below you in the order they were received. I’ve seen guys weigh in there trout the last minute and they get bumped down to 51st or 52nd place and not getting prize because of it.

LAKE HOT SPOTS AND FISHING TIPS

Cucamonga Guasti Lake


Cucamonga Guasti Lake is the smallest lake out of the 5 lakes so be sure you arrived here early as this one get extremely crowded and most especially during a tournament. This can be a great lure only lake but at times they might be eating only night crawlers or power baits – so be prepared for anything.

1. This is where they stock trout at the big lake. If the water level is high you can expect to see a lot trout swimming in this area. There is also a small dock right here. Sometimes they will allow you to fish it but most of time they close it. You will see a rail and a sign that says “Do not fish in the rails” make sure you follow that rule so you do not get disqualified. You can fish next to the rail and at times this can be a very productive fishing spot especially when you cast your line under the dock

2. This is where they stock trout at the small lake. Most people actually ignore this lake as they believe the big lake is the only one that get stocked. Jon (Wahoo!) caught a trout in this lake that got him 1st place last year. Megatroutchaser also caught a trout here that him 3rd place.

3. This can be the most productive spot in the lake but it can also be the worst place to fish. This is a very small area and a lot of times you will get line tangles. It gets very crowded and landing a trout here requires that you use a net. Downsizing to 1/64oz minijigs can prove very productive. Avoid using irons here because you will cast over peoples line and have a lot of very upset anglers. When it’s not so crowded I cast out power bait using my 4’ Kencor rod. There are trees in the area and using a small rod allows me to cast out and set the hook easily.

4. This is one of productive area for catching quality size trout but you will need a longer net to land those trophies. A friend of mine caught a trout in what to be in excess of 7lbs and would’ve won the tournament but he didn’t have a net to land it and the trout spit the hook. Time and time again this is where I see a lot of anglers landing the big trout.

5. This is my favorite part of the lake. You do not need a net to land trout here because you are in shore level. I always see a school of trout that swims back and forth in the area too. Cast out a kastmaster or Thomas Bouyant to locate the trout. You will find that using a polarized sunglass will be very helpful.

6. I see a lot of trout in this part of the lake all the time. Look for the small tree and you will find a school of them. However, this is a very shallow and weedy part of the lake. Make sure you are using mono lines if you want to fish here and downsize to a 1/64oz mini jigs or small split shot if you want to use lipripperz or power worms.

7. This is an outlet where a lot of the trout travels too. You will be fishing in a slopped so you will need a long net to scoop up your trophy trout.

Glen Helen


Glen Helen is my second favorite place to fish at the San Bernardino Regional Park Lakes. This is where I actually started minijig fishing. If you want to fish the small lake I suggest you arrive here early as it gets pack quickly and the anglers that are already there can get very anal if you decide to fish “their area”. One major problem about Glen Helen is that it can get very windy so be prepared to fish in windy conditions such as using power bait with 1/2oz sliding egg sinkers and a carolina keeper.

1. Just to the right of this spot is where they stock trout. Some of the trout stays in that area and can be productive but most of them move either spot 3 or this area. You can normally see the school of trout that travels near this area (by the bridge) and by spot 3. You do not need to cast very far as most of the trout stay pretty close to shore.

2. This is the spot where they stock trout at the big lake. It is a very weedy and shallow area and sometimes you will see stranded trout just swimming back and forth. Check out this area if you arrive early and if you see those trout it will be on. Downsize to 1/64oz mini jigs, or use small split shots with 18” of leader when casting trout worms, or power nymphs.

3. A couple of tournaments ago this spot has produced the heaviest trout… 3 of them were well over 9lbs and each of them where using either fire tiger or rainbow trout kastmasters. Minijigs with rattle bobbers has worked well for me too but just remember that you are fishing a small circular area so you might get some tangles, try not to cast too far.

4. There is not a lot of fishing shores in this area and you will need a long net to land those trout but it’s very productive. Start by casting out some spoons and look for those hungry trout.

5. It’s kind of hard to tell in the picture but this is the stream that connects the two lakes together. Last year this was the hot spot and the water is usually clear. Using fluorocarbons lines is the key to hooking up on quality size trout.

Prado Lake:


I haven’t fished this lake since they drained due to flooding and that’s been a long while. Although, it appears that this is a large lake most of the western side of the lake has un-fishable shore space.

1. This is the boat docks and where the concession stand is located. I believe this is where they used to stock the lake. You cannot fish by the dock but around that area can be very productive. You will get a lot of the stranded trout that rather stay here and look for food.

2. This spot and spot 4 are where you usually see the trout travel in school. Cast out a spoon to locate the distance and depth of the trout. Powerbait and minijigs has always been productive for me here.

3. Spot three has a water runoff. Trout like to migrate to these areas.

Mojave Narrows:


This lake is usually has the least amount of participants for some reason but this lake has always been good to me. There is a huge lake next to this called Spring Valley Lake which is a private lake so do not mistaken it with the Mojave Narrows Lake. If you see houses you are in the wrong lake. If you see camels, horses, llamas, and cows then you are in the right spot. The big lake or what they call the horse shoe lake because of its shape can be hit or miss. This lake is usually a power bait lake which is nice because they are some benches near them. Orange, spring green and Rainbow power bait works well on the big lake.

Here is a tip that the locals showed me: use a small treble hook (size 18 or size 20) and roll up a powerbait into a worm then press their tail into a paddle and slowly retrieve it. Use a small split shot with 18” as your leader.

1. This is spot is where they stock trout in the big lake and trout usually travels from spot 2 to spot 3. I hardly ever see any trout caught anywhere else other than these areas. The west and north side of the lake has always been agonizingly slow for me.

2. Here is a bridge that trout likes to swim to. You can see some stranded trout swimming in this area for easy targets. Use a polarize sunglass to detect them.

3. From spot 2 to this spot is where you will see a lot of the trout getting pulled in. Use power bait and fluorocarbon lines.

4. You are fishing in a dirt hill so do not drop your rods here or they can get damage. Be very careful when landing trout. This is one of the most productive parts of the lake. Use irons like kastmaster, thomas buoyant, etc as far as you can. This spot was red hot for me and it was every cast.

5. This is also a productive trout spot. Again, use those irons.

Yucaipa


Yucaipa Regional Lake is my favorite fishing lake in San Bernardino. It is located in a very nice part of the city, looks really clean and serene. There is also plenty of shore space to fish as it has three separate lakes – although I’ve never fished the bottom lake. Last year, the bottom lake did pull some quality sized trout so by any means, fish it!

1. This is considered the top lake and this lake gets very crowded. Get here early if you want to fish the top lake. This lake is also very shallow and weedy. The whole lake is hot spot to catch trout and anywhere can be very productive.

2. This is one of my favorite spot to fish at this lake. There are rocks here that trout swims down too so you might lose some lures if you are not careful. This is a very productive part of the lake. You can fish by the rocks or away from the rocks by using a small 1/12oz kastmasters and just cast as far possible. Some trout are way out there.

3. Here is an outlet that trout swims too. Very shallow area and you can see them swim by and usually in school. You will see a lot of sight fishermen here using mini jigs and trout worms.

4. This part of the lake has been very productive and I caught some nice size trout here. Try casting towards the boat docks with jigs or irons.

CONCLUSION
Well, I hope this article has some usefulness and that you learn something new about fishing for trout in the Inland Empire. For all those OC fishermen I encourage to go out and try the I.E. lakes and you might just get hooked! Anyway, TIGHT LINES, goodluck and hope see you there!

[IncredibleHuck]

wow what a grerat article! I remember when we first met at Glen Helen.....LOL I still got he pics from that day too!!!

[Local Rookie]

Oh yes! Good ol' times! Talking on the cell phone and hooking up on steelhead! Thanks for showing me the ropes!

[IncredibleHuck]

You're welcome young grasshopper! LOL

[dodoman]

great read .

[Hate2Fish]

Thanks for the help