Hobby Sports

I was fortunate to receive an invitation to fish Mission Viejo Lake this morning. Since only members of the Mission Viejo Association are permitted use of this lake, I am lucky to know a member. The lake has been stocked recently with rainbow trout from Nebraska Tailwalkers. Chul calls them ghetto steelhead, they are large shouldered fish with tiny heads. Although the lake has been stocked with them, my interest laid elsewhere. In particular the monster bass that live there. For years I have read about 8 to 16 lbs bass being pulled out of the lake. This was my focus. I could care less about stockers. I wanted my chance at a big bass or any bass for that matter.

Chul has fished here since he was young but has never caught a bass on a fly rod. To my recollection one of my first ever fish on a fly rod was a bass. I, for one, have always had a love/hate relationship with bass. I love the way they fight. I love the predictability of them. I love their never quit attitude. But I hate the ugly environments they live in. I hate the hot climates they are found in. I hate dirty water. Given all this I still love catching bass on a fly rod. In Southern California, unless you have a deep sea boat, the best fishing is for bass. So I go after them.

We began fishing just past 8AM. The lake is pretty clear and we spotted a few I the shallows. There were no takers in the morning. In one of the coves we saw a pair of monsters, at least 8 lbs but could have easily been much more. I casted to them but they didnt even consider my offerings. I started with the Scott S3S 7WT with a purple Burks V-worm then to a Foam Rabbit Tail fly. Eventually I tired of casting the big rod and moved to my favorite T&T Helix 5WT SW with the ASS fly and then Rattle Shad. I got a couple bumps but no serious takes. I switched to a purple bunny leech and fished that the rest of the day. Chul fished one of my propellor clousers and later switched flies. He managed his first bass on a fly rod on his 6 WT with a small black wooly bugger. In the same cove I had a serious take that bent the rod pretty good. Unfortunately Chul was maneuvering the boat at the time and I could get a good hook set as we were moving in a circle. The next cove over I did manage to set another bass. It was smaller and I managed to get to the boat before it went unglued. Afterwards I had several bites but was too slow to set the hook. The action all started after the sun peaked out of the clouds and heated the waters.

We fished until 2PM, about 5 or 6 hours and it only cost us $25. For a guy who has paid around $100 to fish Barrett and Newport Bay, MVL was a bargain. I look forward to hitting this place up again now that I have a little better idea on what I should expect.

Called Up From the Bench, Ghetto Steelhead, Missed hits, Monster Bluegill and Ass Rapings


Monster 2 Pound Bluegill (*Edit* This is actually a Redear not a Bluegill as previously thought)

With rain forecasted this weekend, Chul and I hit Mission Viejo Lake one more time.  After the last visit and armed with a little more knowledge, I was amped up to head out there.  Our original intention was to fish it yesterday but since it was a trout plant day, the lake was closed to fishing.

So we came today.  I am still convinced I can get one of those lunker bass that live here.  With that thought in mind I called up from the bench some old rods that have been collecting dust in the corner.  I brought my Sage RPLXI 9wt that has been fished so rarely that the cork handle is still clean.  I also brought, since breaking my favorite T&T 5wt, my Sage XP 5wt that I built years ago.  My game plan was to fish the big rod with my big articulated trout fly until I either caught a fish or became tired of casting the big rod.

"Ghetto Steelhead"

Chul was the first to hook up with a basszilla fly on his Sage 6wt.  To his surprise, it turned out to be a stocker trout.  It hit his fly hard and gave him many head shakes.  These are Nebraska Tailwaters and Chul affectionately refers to them as ghetto steelhead.  I was surprised how well it fought and how nicely formed the fins were.  Coloration was nice too.  These are not your typical DFG stockers that lie down and die when you hook them.  The fish was probably 18 inches or more and was rather fat and healthy.  It was a nice fish for a stocker.


We made into one cove where we were being thrown around like a rag doll by the wind.   With a purple wooly bugger I threw toward the middle of the cove and managed to get a fish.  I retrieved him toward the boat and noticed it to be a juvenile bass.  It popped off just before I tried to lip it.   I continued to cast in the middle of the cove and my line just stopped.  Initially I thought I sagged some submerged structure but then the line began moving.  The fish ran from the front of the boat and circled to the back going clockwise from the 12 oclock position to the 8 oclock position.  I was shocked to see it was a huge bluegill.  Due to its size, Chul initially thought it was a crappie when it was in the water.  I could not see it from my position but when I finally landed it, I was shocked.  This is the biggest bluegill Ive ever seen live.  I put him on the boga and he measured at 2 pounds.

I Roll Bandido-Style In Search of Big George

While fishing this cove a fisherman on the docks was telling us abut how he caught his trout and strung it up on his canoe, Big George, a 20 pound bass and his almost as large partner (the ones Chul and I saw last time) came up and hit his strung up trout.  I told him that is where Big George lives, we saw him last time.  His trout was at least 2 pounds.  Maybe I need to start casting even larger flies.  Maybe I should rig up some of those Marlin tube flies in a rainbow trout pattern.  We continued to fish here, though the wind was pushing the boat around.  I casted out and noticed my fly line was knotted up.  As I was fixing it my fly was hit hard.  Real hard.  I missed him as my hands were occupied and had no time to react.

Eventually we left this cove to head off to the other side of the lake.  There Chul managed a juvenile bass similar to the one I lost at the boat.  Here we were somewhat protected from the wind and casting and trolling the boat was much more manageable.  The fishing seemed to die after we left this cove.  We left at 5pm and called it a day.  It was not bad for a few hours of fishing. 

Chul with a Juvenile Bass

This Must Be What It Feels Like to be Ass Raped