Where to Get a Line on Fishing

At 5:45 a.m. the sun had yet to come up from behind the hills and rise over Lake Hodges, but the fishermen were already walking down the long, narrow dock to the rental boats.

Some came alone, but most were in groups of two or three, carrying fishing poles, tackle boxes and coolers. Some carried containers of live bait. There were groups of friends, husbands and wives, and fathers with sons barely big enough to carry the poles they were clutching. Some took off slowly in rowboats, others glided away from the dock in motorboats.

By the time the sun had risen and began warming the air and water, the lake was dotted with boats. A few craft headed to the deeper waters near the middle of the lake, others stayed close to shore and moved silently to the extensive weed beds that line the banks of the lake.

They were looking to hook into the big one, to be sure, or to snare their limit of largemouth bass, catfish or sunfish. But they also welcomed the chance to spend a few hours relaxing, and matching wits and wills with their inherently wary quarry.

Fisherman play out the same scene every day--morning, noon and in some cases night--at the lakes in or on the outskirts of North County.

Each of the area lakes popular with fishermen has its own personality and peculiarities. The lakes, which are all man-made, are domestic drinking water reservoirs. Some are fed by natural runoff, others are part of the California aqueduct system.

Many fish--trout in particular--pulled from the lakes were “planted” there. That is, they started life in a hatchery and were later released into the lake. Other fish are the descendants of species planted long ago.

Lake Dixon in Escondido and Lake Miramar in the Scripps Ranch area both stock rainbow trout during the cooler months of the year--from November through May, when, typically, 1,200 pounds of live trout will be planted every week. Lake San Vicente, just east of Poway, and Lake Poway also stock trout in the winter and spring, as does Lake Wohlford in Escondido.

Lake Cuyamaca, with its mountain location just south of Julian, is the only lake in San Diego County able to stock trout, which need cool waters, all year long.

Most of the trout used to stock North County lakes are from the Mojave Trout Hatchery in Victorville or from the Whitewater Trout Hatchery in Palm Springs.

Although fishing is certainly a timeless sport, long gone are the days when all you needed to do was pick up a pole and head for the nearest fishing hole. Today, you would be advised to check your wallet, calendar and watch before heading out.

To start with, a state fishing license is required of anyone 16 or older (at a cost of $23.65 per year or $8.40 for one day). Daily fishing permit fees at each lake are additional.

And, in an effort to control the impact of use, many lakes limit the hours or seasons when fishing is allowed.

Lake Hodges, for instance, is open for fishing only on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from March through November.

Other lakes, such as Miramar, Dixon, and Lake Henshaw in Santa Ysabel, are open year-round. Dixon and Henshaw are open seven days a week, and Miramar is open Saturday through Tuesday.

Two lakes, Dixon and Poway, offer night fishing during the summer.

All the lakes fall under the jurisdiction of some government body.

Hodges, Miramar, San Vicente, El Capitan and Sutherland are under the jurisdiction of the city of San Diego Lakes Recreation Program, Water Utilities Department.

Lakes Wohlford and Dixon are run by the city of Escondido, and Lake Poway by the city of Poway. Lake Henshaw is privately run, though it’s owned by the Vista Irrigation District.

Whatever their jurisdiction, the lakes all sell the required fishing licenses and permits, and offer boats for rent.

There are bait shops, concessions, tip sheets or bulletin boards to give information on the hot areas and the best methods of catching each available species of fish. Rangers or park aides are usually willing to tell you where the fish are biting.

Lake Cuyamaca goes so far as to offer a free fishing class every Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

“There’s a lot of good fishing lakes here in North County,” said Don Young of Escondido, an avid fisherman who works on the motorboats at Lake Hodges and is a veteran of many years of fishing expeditions. “You can go to a different lake every day. Miramar and Dixon are good for trout, while Wohlford has trout and is known for its catfish. At San Vicente, it’s more or less bass and catfish. Here at Hodges, the catfish have been best lately. It goes in spurts. There’s still plenty of bass out there, but you just have to really work for them.”

At Lake Miramar, the trout stocking will continue through this month, and the bass are hitting.

“The bass are biting great here now,” said Sandy DeFresco, who works at the bait shop at Miramar. Anglers say that, when the bass are spawning, as they will be into June, they are easier to catch because they exhibit more aggressive behavior while protecting their nest. They will strike at a worm or lure out of anger as well as hunger.

DeFresco, an avid angler herself, said that women have increasingly taken up the pastime. “Fishing is great for women,” she said. “You’re not doing dishes, the yard or clothes. You’re just out there fishing, and there’s not a thing you can do but fish.”

Whether it’s trout or bass, catfish or any other game fish, the immense satisfaction and thrill of reeling in a big one is the same for the veteran angler as it is for the first-time fisherman.

“You don’t ever lose the excitement of catching a fish. Basically, that’s why you do it,” said Young. “It’s an adrenaline rush--like a guy in baseball hitting a home run. Plus, there’s a lot of enjoyment in just being out there. You don’t always have to catch fish to have a good time.”

As summer sets in and the lakes warm, trout are usually no longer stocked, and the remaining rainbows head for deeper, cooler areas of the lake.

When the lakes are cooler in the winter and spring, however, the hatchery trout are plentiful in the lakes in which they are stocked. Anglers say that they like the intricacies of trout fishing--the tiny hooks and web-thin leader lines.

“Trout is a whole different ballgame than bass,” DeFresco said. “Trout are more skittish, you need a lighter setup and smaller hooks. When you think trout, you think small. I prefer bass and catfish. You put a hook on the line and throw it in. You don’t need a special setup.”

As for bass fishing, it’s becoming more and more popular.

“There are a lot more bass fishermen now than there were a few years ago,” said Frank Pasalich, a 25-year-old Poway angler who caught his first fish at age 5 while fishing with his grandfather at Lake Miramar and now is a frequent top finisher in area bass tournaments. “Bass fishing is really growing here in North County. There are probably about 20 bass fishing clubs in the San Diego area.”

Among the decisions those who fish hold dear is whether to use live bait or lures.

Some choose lures because they think using live bait is just too easy, especially for hatchery-raised trout that are used to being fed.

But others like the natural simplicity of live bait. Worms, particularly night crawlers, are ever-popular.

Still, some try to improve upon even this most basic of creatures by inflating it with air. A worm blower, which looks like a nasal spray container with a needle on the end, creates a plumper looking worm, presumably more attractive to a fish. Worm blowers are sold in tackle shops.

Crawfish, minnows, water dogs and crickets are other popular forms of live bait. “If you fish with live bait, you’ll definitely catch fish,” said George Jones, owner of Poway Bait & Tackle.

“Live bait takes care of itself,” DeFresco said. “With artificial bait you constantly have to work it.”

Those who prefer artificial bait, known as lures, say it’s more economical, since it lasts longer and can be reused many times. There are myriad plastic worms and other forms of artificial bait. It is an industry unto itself.

“We have over 500 types of plastic worms,” said Dennis White of Bob’s Bait and Tackle in Oceanside. “They come in all shapes, colors and lengths. Some are scented and some are even flavored.” There are hundreds of types of spinner bait and surface lures.

Assuming a fish takes the bait, there’s the question of what to do with it.

Many fishermen like to catch and then release their fish. Others prefer the traditional catch-and-cook method.

Most area lakes promote the catch-and-release technique as a way to protect the fish population. But some lakes, such as Lake Poway, prohibit catch and release for trout because the trout take the bait far into their gills, and then the fish is damaged further when handled in the attempt to release it.

Whether the fish is thrown back into the drink or into a frying pan, the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction of outsmarting the fish is a powerful lure.

“I’m not sure who’s getting hooked, the fish or the fisherman,” DeFresco said. “Once you catch that first fish, then you’re hooked.”

“It’s always a challenge,” said veteran Escondido fisherman Young. “Like I tell my kids, if it were that simple, they’d call it catchin’ instead of fishin’.”