The dusty drive down Warm Springs Canyon Road terminates at this duckweed-dotted reservoir. Fed by the Santa Ana River and its mountain tributaries, the water plunges to sudden depths at the shoreline.
The fish leaped and splashed in these flows as we practiced our casting. I sent many wigglers and mealworms to their doom, felt a few tugs, but no real bites. @Mattlovell, on the other hand, scored one small rainbow trout with his fancy metal lure.
You have to hike a bit closer from the parking spot on higher ground to get a line in. A sunflower points the way.
This water level tower looks like some kind of castle.
Here it is in black and white. It was built in 2000 to control 100-year floods.
Although the dam made conditions worse for local endangered species such as the Kangaroo Rat and Pupfish, the reservoir makes a sanctuary for all kinds of birds. We spotted ducks, cormorants, swifts, jays, and redwings.
Matt's lucky lure was soon stolen by one of the big trouts making a splash in the flow, so we put our First Catch in the cooler and headed back home. Tomorrow, we will try our hand at fishing the stocked Lake Gregory in Crestline.
