How's it going everyone! We have some special news in this fish report. As part of the East County Advanced Water Purification project, a pond up by the Wastewater Reclamation Facility had to get drained. In a collaborative effort with WRF staff, environmentalists, and Santee Lakes Park staff, we managed to relocate hundreds of fish from the pond that was drained into various lakes within the park, not just for their sake, but for all your enjoyment as well. We stocked lakes 4, 5, 6, and 7 with these fish. Each of the lakes mentioned received Largemouth Bass, Crappie and Sunfish as part of the relocation effort. The Kids pond at lake 5 received around 50 Crappie in the 6”-8” range, and several dozen various sunfish. Most exciting, were the big Blue Catfish that were relocated. Staff placed three 30+ lb. catfish in Camper lake 7, and another 20-25lb. catfish in lake 4. Remember that Lake 7 is for Campers only, unless you purchase the additional special permit from the gatehouse or general store. Pictured above are two of the three 30+lb catfish that were released into lake 7. 

The catfish bite has been steady recently. We will be stocking lakes 3 and 4 tomorrow with 1,000lbs split between the two and it will be open for fishing this Saturday. We last stocked 4 and 7 on the 9th with 1,000lbs split between those two. The best bait to use for catfish would be stinkbait, mackerel, nightcrawlers, and shrimp.

The bass bite has been hot recently, especially on the sunny days. It has been a little slower on the cloudy days but the water has warmed up and is in the high 60s so the bass are definitely active even on the cloudy days. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits, worms, and topwater baits are good bets.

Lake Lowdown

Average Water Temperature: 66 - 69°F

Water Clarity: 2 - 5 Feet