®
Spring 2019
N
estled in the hills above Moreno Valley and
Perris, Calif. is a small, 2,250 surface acre urban
lake that boasts monster largemouth bass. It is located approximately 71-miles outside of Los Angeles and
was originally completed in 1973.
The Lake Perris State Recreation Area offers a variety
of recreational activities, which includes fishing, hunting,
boating, camping, hiking, rock climbing and a host of other
water sports.
The lake’s proximity to several major urban centers
means that crowding often takes place during the warmer
summer months and on most any warm weekend.
Perris regularly produces record size bass in the
10-pound class and was once a thriving trophy spotted bass
fishery.
The lake is finally receiving much needed water after
completing a nearly four-year construction project to
reinforce the 130-foot tall dam.
THE UPGRADE
The DWR completed a major retrofit to the Perris dam in April of 2018. Upon completion, the fishery received some much-needed water and spawning habitat courtesy
of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) improvement project.
The project was part of a statewide effort to improve the structural integrity of the dam during an earthquake. Lake Perris is located in a major urban residential center with over 100,000 people residing in nearby cities. The improvements to the dam allow area residents to rest easy should a major earthquake hit the region.
The upgrades also allow Perris to increase the surface acres of water that is stored in the lake.
NOW UNDERWATER
Increased flows into the lake have enabled anglers to fish an abundance of newly flooded shoreline cover. Water now covers areas of the lake that haven’t been underwater since construction began on the dam in the fall of 2014.
“It is good to see Perris getting water again” Lowrance and Angler’s Marine pro Rod Wynn said. “The lake is very healthy, and the bass will continue to grow, because there are now a lot more places for them to hide.
“Higher water offers anglers an opportunity to spread out more. I have been fishing Lake Perris since I was a kid and it’s good to see the water back to levels where you can
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