As thunder storms come and go the trout bite keeps getting better. Just before the thunder bumpers strike the barometer drops and bite is on. Curt Dills of Fish Big Bear Charter Service got limits of 20 trout for his party last week. The fish hit nickel Needlefish and Buoyants fished at 4 to 5 colors, as the clouds built. There is a little bit of surface action on Rapalas fished early and late, when the sun gets high, the trout shut down.

Bait anglers are enjoying the same type of action suspending PowerBait from 18 to 25 feet down. Michael Hoo, pictured from Northridge, brought the family up over the weekend. He and his daughters caught a nice stringer of trout just before Saturdays thunderstorms. The fish bit PowerBait off the mouths of Metcalf and Boulder Bays.

The west is best this time of year on Big Bear Lake. Fish early, fish late, just fish.