Freshwater Fishing in San Diego, California

San Diego has something for everyone from sight seeing to camping. Even fishermen and women can enjoy San Diego with over twenty lakes and reservoirs as well as ocean piers, almost every type of fish can be caught. This article offers five of the more well known lakes around San Diego County. Two excellent and well thought out web sites to help the fisherman find out where they really want to go and what to expect during their trip are www.sdfish.com and www.californiafishingonline.com. So grab the rod and tackle, wrangle up the bait and let's explore five of San Diego's highest rated fishing destinations:

Lake Dixon: Located up in Escondido with seventy acres of fishing. This lake is open year around and offers night fishing during the summer months. The fees range from $3 to $5 and offers shore fishing. Boat rentals are available as well as a bait shop on the premises.

Lake El Capitan aka El Capitan Reservoir: Over fifteen hundred acres of fishing and picnicking. The lake is open Friday through Sunday and offers twenty-two miles of shoreline along with a maximum water depth of one hundred ninety-seven. There are no concession stands available, but there are vending machines. The staff of El Capitan sells bait and fishing licenses and a day use permit is sold at the entrance.

Lake Hodges: Located in Del Mar with over twelve hundred acres. This lake offers boat rentals as well as allowing use of private boats with only paying a small launch fee. There are no concession stands available and the staff handles the permit purchase at the docks available.

Lower Otay Lake: Down in the South Bay location of San Diego, this lake gives the fisherman over twelve hundred acres of fishing, both from the shore and by boat. The lake has a concession stand located in the picnic grounds. This is one of the few lakes that allow dogs (leashed) to enjoy a day with their family as long they are kept fifty feet away from the water. Boat rentals and permits are sold be the lake staff. If wishing to use a private boat, the lake does charge a launch fee.

Lake Miramar: This lake is open ten months a year (only closed in October and November). With one hundred and sixty-two acres, shore fishing and boat fishing abound. Boat rentals are available on the weekends only and private boats are welcome at any time. The concession stand sells permit and bait (including tackle) and also sells basic items. There are barbeque sites available in the picnic area.

All of these lakes are stocked with a variety of fish including but not limited to large mouth bass, rainbow trout, catfish and crappie. Each site does have a limit to the amount of fish that can be caught and each are clearly listed where the permits are sold.