Upper Otay Lake 5/10

I got a late start this morning. Not that I had any intention of rising early, I just hadn't decided to go fishing until I was up for a little while. It's only common sense that getting on the water at 10 a.m. isn't really ideal. In fact, as much trouble as I've had catching fish at Upper Otay in recent weeks, I figured this might end up a boating trip, more than a fishing trip. To drive home my hunch, a few of the bass guys on the lake were heading in already.

But I came for a relaxing day of bobbing around a beautiful lake, so I wasn't over-confident, nor was I discouraged. I also had a new fly line I wanted to try out. I got an Orvis sink-tip line for my 4 weight rod. Which helps me get flies down a little more and a little faster than the floating line I've been using. I brought the floating line as well, as I got the new line on a spare spool.

The reason I brought both is the west side of the lake's topography is shallow, while the east side is is steep. In case this isn't obvious, or you've just never had a reason to think about it, a lake, pond, bay or whatever generally follows the grade of the terrain surrounding it. In the most extreme examples on a lake, a beach or a cliff, if you look at a beach the dirt will continue into the water at the angle it has on the shore. It is unlikely there will be an abrupt change because of the water. Same for a cliff, if a lake has a cliff on one of its borders, the cliff generally continues down into the water. Of course, exceptions exist.

The western edge of Upper Otay is also heavily covered in foliage; trees, tullies, bushes. Even dead, submerged branches, that love catching flies. So much so it's hard even to see the water from shore in most places. The steep east shore is less heavily covered by tullies, but has more overhanging, and partially submerged trees.

Which brings me to structure. This little lake has a ridiculous amount of potential fish-holding cover. Common fishing wisdom says fish hold in cover. Smaller fish hide in cover, big fish ambush from cover (or structure). This lake is a catch-and-release, artificial-lure only lake. The lake is only open from sunrise to sunset, three days a week. This place ought to be frigging lousy with fish. Lousy!

So, why then in four trips have I only managed to scratch 3 measly fish? I don't have an answer. Talking to bass fisherman at the lake though gives me at least a little comfort, as they seem to be having a tough time enticing fish as well. Hopefully as spring continues, and the water continues to warm and clear up, the fishing will get better. It's a great place. The bird life is amazing. There are box turtles. I just bought a float tube, I like it so much.

That said, I did manage to catch a nice bluegill today. In a small, calm cove, where my buddy, Scott, caught one on our first trip this year. In almost the same corner of the cove. To be honest, I was a little surprised as I didn't land said fish until around 2 p.m., and like I said, I got on the water around 10. It's hard not to at least check this cove. It's snugged up against the west side of the lake, with heavy tullie coverage, and some trees, all of which help block the afternoon wind from the west. There were also two bird species I hadn't seen before at the lake; a couple Least Bitterns, and a few mating pairs of Ruddy Ducks. The American Coots were all over as usual, diving for plants and making a racket.

Not two minutes after I landed the bluegill, I hooked a small bass, but after a nice little jump, not 4 feet from me, it threw my barbless hook.


Two fish in two minutes lead me to believe the fishing was about to turn in my favor, but after another hour, and a few hundred yards of shoreline, I hadn't gotten another strike. So I headed in. I hadn't eaten anything but a chocolate old-fashioned, a cup of coffee, and a Cliff Bar, so I was craving the bagel and banana I had in the car.