Recreation / San Diego : Turn Off the Lights : But Party Far From Over When Lake Poway’s Fishermen Come Out at Night

Off in the distance, the bright lights from a softball field were visible.

For those fishing at Lake Poway, the distant softball lights were the only sign of nearby activity.

It was so quiet on the lake that the sound of crickets was the dominant noise. And it was so rural that thousands of stars appeared in the sky.

After sunset, the concession stands had closed. All children, it appeared, had disappeared from the premises.

Peace and quiet.

Fishermen had come in clusters this night to try their luck. Lake Poway and Lake Dixon are the only two freshwater lakes that offer night fishing in San Diego County.

On this particular evening, fishing began slowly on Lake Poway. Jim Sayles, lake ranger, earlier had said the catfish normally start biting about 8:30 or 9 p.m.

How correct he was.

In the southeast corner of the lake, there is an area called Hidden Bay. Al and Carol Beauchamp of Chula Vista were fishing from a rented boat.

“This is my favorite spot,” Al said. “Just don’t tell anybody.”

It was too late. The secret of Hidden Bay already was out. Numerous fishermen would be there by the end of the night because that’s where the catfish seemed to be congregating.

Shortly after 8:30 p.m., Al Beauchamp proved that Sayles knew what he was talking about. It was time for the fish to start biting.

First, Beauchamp put a piece of cut mackerel on his hook. Then, he dipped his hook into a jar filled with something that smelled horrible. Fishermen call it stink bait, but it definitely smells good to catfish.

They simply can’t resist the mixture of cheese, calf blood and animal intestines.

For the next hour, the Beauchamps got a hook up each time they cast. More times than not, they were able to land the fish.

Al Beauchamp wouldn’t stop talking about his favorite fishing recipe--the stink bait.

“Last week, I was sitting next to this couple over there,” he said, pointing toward shore. “I was catching fish, and the other couple wasn’t. They wondered why. It was because I was using this stuff (stink bait) and they weren’t.”

Not everybody night fishing at Lake Poway can expect to catch the limit of 10 catfish. Fishing can be very unpredictable--great one day and awful the next.

Just ask Les Morrissey of El Cajon.

The previous week, Morrissey and a friend had caught 13 catfish. So Morrissey told another friend, Michael Franklin of Spring Valley, about how great night fishing was.

However, Franklin had a difficult time believing what he had been told.

“I’m sitting out here and haven’t had a darn bite,” Franklin said. “I told him (Morrissey) if we don’t catch any fish, he’s swimming in.”

He was only kidding--they didn’t catch any fish and Morrissey didn’t swim in.

Night fishermen usually begin appearing at about 6 p.m. Lake Poway is open from 6:30 a.m. until midnight Wednesday through Sunday.

The night fishermen come equipped with all of the necessities--fishing poles and tackle boxes, gas lanterns and ice chests.

After sunset, the lanterns are in abundance. Their appearance shows the areas that are most popular for fishing.

Some of the fishermen rent boats, others fish from the shore. There are no restricted areas.

Dave Plott, a lake ranger, said shore fishing is popular now because the water level is low. Fishermen are able to walk to virtually any area of the 60-acre lake.

During the summer, Lake Poway has 2,000 pounds of catfish stocked every other week. There are also bass and trout in the lake, but they are not stocked in the summer.

Since catfish are the lake’s most popular fish, it makes night fishing a natural.

“Catfish are nocturnal feeders,” Plott said. “They come up to shallow water to feed at night.”

Shore fishermen are in abundance because of the feeding patterns. Many people who rent boats pull them into areas that could probably be reached by casting from shore.

Among the shore fishermen, there were various reasons for being at Lake Poway.

“You don’t have to worry about getting sunburned,” said Tom Lawson of Escondido. “You get sunburned out here quite often during the day.”

Greg Smith of Ramona: “This keeps you out of the house. Plus, the fishing is pretty good.”

David Wilder of Rancho Penasquitos: “It’s a nice, quiet evening. It’s peaceful. You can listen to nature.”

Early on, the sound of fish being landed seldom was heard. But that didn’t stop some people from having fun.

On the north end of the lake, the Strickland family had been waiting in vain for their first bite on the line. Vonnie Strickland finally decided it was time to cast again.

Lo and behold, as she brought in the line, there was a fish on the end of it. Her bass was the first catch of the evening for the Stricklands.

“I don’t know if he’s four inches long or not,” Vonnie said, probably exaggerating the size of the puny fish. “And you know what? He’s so little that I didn’t even think I was caught in the weeds when I brought him in.”

As the night progressed, there were fish stories a plenty.

“I haven’t caught a fish since I was pregnant,” said Vonnie’s daughter-in-law, Debbie, who had given birth to twins seven weeks ago. “I’m going to bring the kids out next time. When I was pregnant, I caught fish all the time. Uncle Cliff over here hasn’t caught any, either, since I was pregnant.”

Uncle Cliff (that’s what he preferred to be called) wasn’t complaining about his luck.

“The beer is good and the night is fine,” he said. “So, to heck with it.”

On the opposite side of the lake, Les Payne of Spring Valley and Stan Bourne of Lemon Grove also were enjoying their beer. And the fishing wasn’t bad, either.

Payne and Bourne had a stringer of catfish that told they were approaching their limit. “I’ll tell you what,” Payne said. “Night fishing is fun. It has to be when you fish this late and get up for work at 6 in the morning. If I didn’t have a wife, I wouldn’t even go home from here. She doesn’t care if I’m out here. What can she say? This is better than having me out running the streets.”

As midnight approached, a siren sounded to inform fishermen their evening was about to end. They had no choice but to come back in and head home.

End of peace and quiet.

NIGHT FISHING FACTS

LAKE POWAY

Hours: 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Wednesday through Sunday.

Cost: $3.50 for adults; $2 for ages 8 to 15; free with adult for 7 and under.

Boat rental: $9 for motorboat; $5 for rowboat.

Directions from San Diego: Take Interstate 15 north to Rancho Bernardo Road east; after five miles, turn left on Lake Poway Road.

LAKE DIXON

Hours: 6 a.m. to midnight, Wednesday through Saturday.

Cost: $4 for adults; $3 for senior citizens 60 and over; $2 for ages 8 to 15; free with adult for 7 and under.

Boat rental: $9 for motorboat; $4 for rowboat.

Directions from San Diego: Take Interstate 15 north to El Norte Parkway east; after five miles, turn left on La Honda Drive.