First post: Four days on Miramar (12/28-12/30 and 1/3)

[bfullerton17]

Hi all,

I relatively recently (late July '25) ended a roughly six-year hiatus from bass fishing. I didn't stop fishing in general, as I'm an avid fly fisherman and fish saltwater with conventional gear nearshore and within our bays from my paddleboard, but why I ever stopped fishing for green bass, I couldn't tell you! After several sessions spent fishing from shore at our local bass fisheries, I got myself a quality tube and have been fishing exclusively from that since October. Anyway, I'm pretty new to the San Diego bass fishing community, but the lakes have been treating me well for the most part, and I figured I could contribute to this forum with some fish reports. My first post will be dedicated to 4 days (12/28-12/30 and 1/3) of fishing at Miramar.

12/28: I planned on fishing El Cap on this day, but showed up at 5:45 AM to a locked gate and a line of cars waiting to get in. I waited around for a bit for the ranger to show up, as El Cap is kind of a drive for me, but I gave up just before 7 and headed to San V, which was pretty windy. Not ideal when fishing from a tube. Ultimately, I ended up at Miramar, made my first cast around 8:30 AM, and was off the water by about 12:30 PM. With no bites on the jerkbait or crankbait in the first hour, I fished a dropshot for the rest of the session. I ended the day with 3 fish caught, 2 lost, and 1 missed. All bites were on dropshot in deeper water (between 20 and 40 feet), with the fish significantly favoring a more natural-colored Roboworm over the Morning Dawn. The biggest fish of the day was 2lbs 6oz.

12/29: Of the three days in a row spent at Miramar, this was the best one in terms of numbers. I made my first cast at about 6:15 AM and was off the water by 1 PM. I tried to get on a reaction bite early with a jerk and crank, hoping I had just missed the window the previous day, but I got no bites on either. I fished a drop shot for the rest of the day and ended up figuring out a pretty solid pattern. I got a couple of fish around 7 AM and didn't get bit for a few hours. The bite turned on at about 10 AM and lasted until just after 11 AM. I followed the buoys marking the underwater pipe and was able to land 5 fish in that time frame, with all the bites happening between 20 and 40 feet of water. I got one more fish, a little after 12 PM, in the same zone before ending my day on the water. Final fish count: 8 fish caught, and 2 missed. All fish were caught on the same color and profile worm as the previous day.

12/30: I got on the water at first light and went straight to the zone where I caught most of my fish the previous day. I defaulted to the drop shot on this day, and managed 1 fish before the sun came up, and got 3 more between 7:30 - 8:30 AM. It was a decent morning, but I didn't get another bite until about 1 PM. That last fish, which was the biggest of the day (probably close to 3lbs), threw me on the jump, unfortunately. All bites occurred in the same types of areas, depths, and on the same colors and profiles as in the previous two days. The biggest fish of the day was 2lbs 15oz.

1/3: This was the longest of my 4 days at Miramar, getting on the water at about 6:30 AM and ending my day at about 3 PM. I started my morning with 3 fish on 3 casts, with 2 bites happening as soon as my drop shot hit the bottom, and 1 hitting it on the drop. Great start to the day! Landed 1 more fish in that zone about an hour later, then got another 2 fish in some other spots close by. The late morning and afternoon were rough. I caught my last fish just after 10 AM, and didn't get another bite until around 2 PM. That last fish came unpinned on the jump, and looked to be at least 3lbs. This was also the only fish within those 4 days that was hooked in relatively shallow water. Final fish count: 7 fish caught, and 1 fish lost. All fish were caught on a drop shot in 20 to 40 feet of water, with the biggest weighing in at 3lbs on the dot. Also, I saw an absolute tank floating toward the end of the day that looked like it had been dead for a few days. I'd guess it was between 10 and 12lbs. Hopefully, there are some live ones out there willing to take one of our offerings.

Hope you all enjoyed the multi-day report! I'll add images in future posts, and let me know if there's any other info you'd like to see in these reports. Tight lines!

Brad

[VinnyBass]

Enjoyed your post. Glad you were picking up some bass at Miramar. I usually do pretty well in the warmer months and actually somehow seem to not put it on the radar during the winter months. I guess there are no trout stocks planned up there after talking to a few guys which is a shame as I was geared up to toss some swimbaits up there after the stocks. Anyway....it is funny but even in the summer months I usually fish deep and pick up bass in the 30-40 feet of water that are lurking in the
weeds and grass. Yeah, there is a lot of tulles to hit, but I just like the action in deeper water. Last year there was hardly any topwater bite due to lack of shad and caught most of my bass on plastic worms.
Guess I may have to break tradition and go up and give it a whirl one day this winter.
Anyway....thanks for sharing and look forward to more posts from you.
Tight lines.

[bfullerton17]

Thanks for reading! I’ve talked to a few guys that have mentioned how awesome Miramar was in years past when the shad pop off. A couple of the 1-1.5lb clones I picked up in those session spit up some absolutely tiny ones. Probably could have fit two or three on a dime. Also spent quite a lot of time fishing from the pier straight across from the ramp closest to the buoy line in the late summer and early fall of last year and would see huge clouds of shad fry hanging out close to the tules and around the pier on most days. I’m hoping this bodes well for later this year and we’ll be smoking ‘em on topwater when those shad mature!

[JWall]

Thanks for the reports! Great details and way to catch ‘em. When you said a “more natural” color than Morning Dawn, can you be specific? I fish MD as well as Aarons Magic and Margarita Mutilator. Wondering if I need to spend more of my daughter’s inheritance on yet another color lol. Seriously, my 3 robo colors seem natural to me. Thanks!

[bfullerton17]

Ha! No need to spend your daughter’s inheritance just yet. Aaron’s Magic and Aaron’s Magic with red/black flake both worked well for me and are usually my go-to at Miramar, but the green pumpkin/purple got the most fish for me on these particular days by far. Makes me wonder how much of a difference the subtle color variations really make, as I can barely tell the difference between Aaron’s Magic and the green pumpkin/purple at first glance, but the bass seemed to like the latter noticeably more. In my mind I don’t really consider Morning Dawn, pinks, and purples as “natural” as green pumpkins, reds, and browns if that makes sense, but I guess it depends on the fishery at the end of the day!

[1Fishdude]

Its always amazed me how much difference that a subtle change in colors can really mean in quantity of bites on any given day. For example green pumpkin black flake versus green pumpkin purple flake. But there is definately a difference in the bass's mind small as it is. Nice to have your posts now on the forum.

[bfullerton17]

I fully agree. It really shows that not every adjustment on the water when it comes to bait color or profile needs to be drastic when the bite is tough. Like you said, it can be as subtle as switching to a bait that’s the same main color but with a different color flake. But as fascinating as it is, it can certainly make it difficult for us anglers to choose the “right” bait sometimes!