Barrett: The 127 anglers checked reported 1,626 bass, 110 bluegill and 1 crappie. Open Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Reservations may be made through Ticketmaster at (619) 220-8497 or
www.ticketmaster.com. Reservations are sold the second Tuesday of the month, one month prior at 7 p.m.
Chollas: Open daily to youngsters 15 and under. San Diego Fly Fishers sponsors a Lend-A-Rod program on Sundays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and it includes free bait and tackle and fishing tips.
Cuyamaca: Action best right now for channel catfish, bass, crappie. Bigger catfish being caught around the rocks. Lake has a new area for RV groups. Camping area is open to a total of eight rigs, with a minimum rental to four. The rate is $200 a night for all eight sites. Can be rented by single RVs if the sites aren't reserved. Also, there are seven tent sites in the Lone Pine area. Call (877) 581-9904 for information. Notable catches: Zac Ruben, San Diego, 16-0 channel catfish, night crawler, Dike area. Patrick Szydlik,San Diego, 14-0 channel catfish, night crawler, North Finger Jetty. Andy Pena,Lemon Grove, 10-8 channel catfish, night crawler, Lone Pine. Silvia Shearer, Julian, 10-0 channel catfish, white jig, Finger Jetty. Tyler Kirk, Julian, 8-4 bass, Heron Point. Great time for kids to catch crappie and bullheads. Private boats now are allowed on the lake, but the boats must be sprayed for quagga mussels by a high-pressure heated wash prior to entering the lake. Cost is $10 for the spraying and it's good for multiple trips to Cuyamaca so long as the boat is not used in another reservoir in between visits. Open daily.
Diamond Valley Lake: Bass action still the best in Southern California. Honree Davis, Winchester, 15 bass (all released), 65 pounds with his three biggest going 8.1, 7.4 and 6.5 pounds. He used flukes and fished the East Dam. Mark Franco, who guides on the lake, said the trout bite is early and then shuts off by 11 a.m. or so. He's finding the rainbows at 20 to 40 feet. The catfish action is heating up with the water. Jim Smith, Sun City, 15.8-pound channel catfish. He baited shrimp in the third cove. Open daily.
Dixon: Very good catfish action here. Lots of big fish being caught during the day and at night on weekends. Lake will be stocked two more times during the month for night fishing. The cats have been in the 1-to 2-pound range with some larger fish in the 2-to 4-pound range thrown into the mix. Escondido angler, Anton Newman, hauled in a 22-10 catfish on cut mackerel. Steve Wheeler, Escondido, caught and released a 9-13 bass on a fluke jerk bait in Whisker Bay. Open daily, plus Friday and Saturday for night fishing.
El Capitan: The 128 anglers checked reported 5 bass kept (193 bass released), 21 channel catfish, 14 bluegill, 5 blue catfish and 4 crappie. Summer schedule with Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays open for fishing, general boating and water contact activities (waterskiing, wakeboarding, Jet Skiing, towing inflatables in the front bay only); Sundays are open for fishing, boating, and water contact activities (in both the front bay and North Arm); Mondays are open for fishing and general boating only. Rental boats are available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Sundays they stop renting boats at 10 a.m. All persons entering reservoir property must purchase a day use permit.
Henshaw: Best time to fish is Friday and Saturday during the lake's night fishing program. Fishing allowed from the lake's 150-foot long Fish-N-Float all summer long and along the shoreline. Martha Garcia, Bernardo Garcia, Ramon Rubio and Brian Garcia, all from Brawley, caught their limits of catfish, with the largest going 5 pounds. Arturo Sandoval, Brandon Sandoval, both from National City, and Christian Gonzales from San Diego, and Edgar Perez and Guillermo Villegos from Ramona, all caught their limits of catfish, with fish up to 4 pounds. Bill Nelson from Huntington Beach caught his five-fish limit of catfish, with the heaviest going 3 pounds. Bill Sauter, Derek Sauter, and Chuck De La Cruz, all from Ramona, and 9 year-old Bryce Bradley from Denver, landed 12 channel catfish, with the heaviest going 2 pounds. Tom Gugiu from Los Angeles used cornmeal balls near the north shore to land eight carp up to 4 pounds. Darryl Langley from Santa Ysabel landed two five-pound bass. Open daily for fishing, plus Friday and Saturday for night fishing.
Hodges: The 113 fishermen checked reported 2 bass kept (27 bass released), 28 crappie and 13 bluegill. Open Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Jennings: Catfish moving to deeper water, so boat anglers having the best luck with them. Anglers working hard for bass, with a 4-fish outing a very good one right now, according to supervising ranger Hugh Marx. He reports lots of small redears biting in the backs of coves. A wax worm working wonders on those, Marx said. Open Friday 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.; Saturday, 5:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m.; Sunday, 5:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Check www.lakejennings.org for more information.
Loveland: The 100 anglers checked reported 9 bass kept (85 bass released), 2 bluegill, 3 carp and 2 channel catfish. Open daily to hike-in fishing only on a limited area of shoreline. No permits required. Fishing license is required.
Miramar: The 61 anglers checked reported 12 bass kept (14 bass released), 8 channel catfish and 7 bluegill. Open daily to fishing. Miramar's launch ramp and boat dock are temporarily closed due to low water level. Call to check status before going out. There will be no rental boats until water level is back to normal. Pay fees at iron ranger or electronic pay station near the concession building.
Morena: Limit of trout caught last week to prove that trout like deep, cold water here. Chris Worthington landed the limit of rainbows in Paradise Cove. Very good bluegill action, with wax worms and red worms doing the trick. Reggie Steward, limit of bluegill on wax and red worms. He fished the launch ramp. Catfish action heating up, with chicken liver and mackerel working best. Area below the cabins is the hot spot. Also, anyone turning in a live blue catfish at the ranger station will get one free day of fishing. Open daily.
Murray: The 85 anglers checked reported 2 bass kept (43 bass released), 43 bluegill and 1 channel catfish. David Rudolph, La Mesa, 8.55 bass, night crawler, T-Float Dock. Open daily to fishing and boating. Pay fees at iron rangers near the abandoned concession building or at key access points.
Otay, Lower: The 295 anglers checked reported 8 bass kept (254 bass released), 448 bluegill, 28 channel catfish and 1 carp. Open Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Pay fees at iron rangers near the boat launch and abandoned concession building. Boats now available for rent.
Otay, Upper: The 15 anglers reported 36 bass (all released). Open Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday for fishing, sunrise to sunset. Upper Otay is a catch and release only fishery. Bait is not permitted, only artificial lures with barbless hooks. Boats are not permitted on Upper Otay, only shore fishing, waders and float tubes.
Poway: Jeff Kopischke, Chula Vista 15.6-pound channel catfish, mackerel, Log Boom. Reports indicate good catches along the shoreline, with catfish and a few bass showing, the latter taken on topwater lures. Good bluegill action in Hidden Bay. The annual Midnight Catfish Craze is Aug. 15 from 4 p.m. to midnight. Tickets will be available at the Lake Poway Grill and Tackle. Open Wednesday through Sunday, plus Friday and Saturday for night fishing. In order to prevent the introduction and infestation of quagga mussels, the following items are prohibited at Lake Poway: float tubes, private motors and anchors, live bait containers, fish finders, floating catch baskets, live bait from any source other than the Lake Poway concession, any items the staff considers to be potential contaminants.
Santee Lakes: Bass action good at Lake 4 near the fishing pier. Catfish action peaking during a summer in which 23,000 pounds of channel catfish will be stocked into the lake. Another 1,000 pounds due Friday. Jonathan Taing, 14, 27-7 channel catfish, part of his limit of channel cats from Lake 3. He used shrimp. The next night fishing event is set for Aug. 14. Bluegill hitting around the fishing docks. Red worms and meal worms working best. Check www.santeelakes.com. Open daily.
San Vicente: The 116 anglers checked reported 4 bass kept (151 bass released), 224 bluegill, 12 redear sunfish, 8 channel catfish and 6 blue catfish. On the heels or should we say fins of that recent pending state-record, 113.40-pound blue catfish, the angler known as Catfish Russ landed a 63.05-pound blue catfish on a mackerel head while fishing the back side of Lowell Island. The lake will close at dusk on Labor Day and remain closed for six to nine years for construction on the dam. The level of the reservoir will be raised to add more capacity and allow for more emergency water storage. Now on its summer schedule with Thursdays open to fishing and general boating only (no water contact), Fridays open to fishing, boating and water contact activities (waterskiing, wakeboarding, towing inflatables), Saturdays and Sundays open to boating and water contact only (no fishing). Rental boats are available on Thursdays and Fridays only. All persons entering reservoir property must purchase a day use permit. Due to construction, the shoreline from launch ramp to buoy line is closed to all activities. For construction schedules and information on the Emergency Storage Project, please check the San Diego County Water Authority's web site at www.sdcwa.org and click on San Vicente Dam Raise.
Sutherland: No report, but anglers say there's very good topwater action right now for bass. Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Sweetwater: The 60 anglers checked reported 2 bass kept (7 bass released), 7 channel catfish, 3 bluegill and 2 carp. Som Sack Khampsa of San Diego caught five channel catfish totaling 30 pounds, 1 ounce, with am 18-pounder. He used strips of mackerel. Open Saturday, Sunday and Monday to limited shoreline fishing only.
Wohlford: Carp and channel catfish have been the most active. Still an occasional bass roaming the shoreline early. Ban on private boats remains in place due to the threat of quagga mussels. Other banned equipment include canoes, kayaks, float tubes, trolling motors, fish finders, anchors, etc. Rental boats available. Open daily.
Stocking Schedule:
Catfish: Santee Lakes, 1,000 pounds Friday.
Pt. Loma Sportfishing, H&M Landing, Fisherman's Landing: 174 anglers, nine full-day boats: 3 yellowfin, 60 bluefin, 293 yellowtail, 257 dorado, 9 albacore; 61 anglers, three three-quarter day boats: 1 yellowfin, 14 dorado, 11 yellowtail, 5 calico bass, 185 sand bass, 13 barracuda, 10 rockfish, 1 halibut, 16 sculpin; 103 anglers, four half-day boats: 292 calico bass, 18 sand bass, 15 barracuda, 10 bonito, 1 lingcod, 2 sheephead, 1 halibut, 20 mackerel.
Seaforth: 61 anglers, three 1½ -day boats: 15 albacore, 22 bluefin, 2 yellowfin, 122 dorado, 197 yellowtail; 17 anglers, one full-day boat: 3 bluefin, 34 dorado, 74 yellowtail; 47 anglers, two three-quarter day boats: 1 yellowfin, 37 dorado, 21 yellowtail; 104 anglers, three half-day boats: 1 albacore, 16 dorado, 2 yellowtail; 16 anglers, one twilight boat: 56 barracuda, 27 calico bass, 6 sand bass, 4 rockfish.
Oceanside: 22 anglers, one three-quarter day boat: 15 sand bass, 97 calico bass, 1 barracuda, 2 sheephead, 2 bonito; 85 anglers, three half-day boats: 38 sand bass, 73 calico bass, 1 barracuda, 2 sheephead, 6 whitefish, 6 sculpin, 6 rockfish, 4 mackerel.
Mission Bay: 12 anglers, one three-quarter day boat: 15 dorado, 10 yellowtail; 47 anglers, two half-day boat: 1 yellowtail, 4 barracuda, 4 bonito, 54 calico bass, 8 rockfish, 1 sheephead, 2 yellowfin; 23 anglers, one twilight boat: 41 barracuda, 13 calico bass, 81 sand bass.
East Cape: Bisbee Tournament produced some good fishing for bigger marlin, with a couple topping 300 pounds, the tournament's minimum size limit. The ninth annual Bisbee's East Cape Offshore Tournament drew 56 boats and 255 anglers who competed for $317,310. Lots of international participation, with teams from the Ivory Coast in Africa, Costa Rica, France, Portugal and Switzerland who joined teams from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. The Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort hosted the event. The anglers released 114 billfish, with one black marlin, 20 striped marlin, 67 blue marlin and 18 billfish. John Martin, fishing aboard Wildcatter, landed the winning fish, a 360-pound blue marlin. The boat took the $89,535.60 first-place money and all the Day 1 jackpots Augustino Pino on the Fisherman landed the second-place fish, a 310-pound blue marlin. He earned $6,350.40 and also took home the trophy for first place Release Team.
Cabo San Lucas: Fair fishing here, with a few blue marlin showing. The Gaviota Fleet and Fish Cabo Fleet showed 14 striped marlin (11 released) one sailfish, one wahoo, five dorado and 24 yellowfin tuna for the 31 fishing days reported.
Noteworthy: Hunter Safety: Doug McLanahan's next hunter safety class is Aug. 9 in Descanso. Call (619) 445-2305 for information.
Ed Zieralski: (619) 293-1225; ed.zieralski@uniontrib.com
