Fishermen in California have a wide choice of lakes which provide them with excellent fishing opportunities. One of the best in southern California for bass fishing is the Lower Otay Lake.

Located on the Otay River in San Diego County, the lake was created on the completion of the Savage Dam. Typical lake information includes its size which is around 1,100 acres and its average depth which is approximately 125 feet. The lake is considered one of the best bass fishing spots on the west coast as the many old dead trees and rock piles provide perfect habitat.

The other primary fish species in the lake include catfish, bluegill, crappie and bullhead. Fish limits are 5 catfish, 5 bass and 25 crappie with no limit on other fish species. The lake is a Bassmaster Tournament location and is a popular spot in California during the fishing season.

Other lake information includes that it is open for fishing on Wednesday and the weekend and this can be done by boat, from the shoreline or using a float tube. No overnight camping is allowed around the lake with the nearest campground facilities being 2 miles away. The nearest city is Chula Vista which is around 8 miles west of the lake with downtown San Diego being a 30 minute drive away.

The weather is generally fine throughout the year with little rain. The high temperature in the summer months reaches into the 80’s with temperatures in the 60’s more typical during the winter. Other local attractions include boating and hiking.

When planning your family vacation near the ocean you might want to consider deep sea fishing as a day activity to take your family on. Deep sea fishing can be an incredibly fun activity that every person in your family can enjoy. One of the most important factors to consider as you plan your family deep sea fishing vacation is which charter company you’re going to choose. There are plenty of options, so let’s go over some now.

What sort of experience are you looking to have?

The answer to this question has a lot to do with which charter co. you’ll want to choose. Some deep sea fishing charter companies focus specifically on reef and/or wreck fishing while others focus more on inshore fishing. Then you’re also going to have to determine which fish you’d like to target. Of course, this is going to need to be something you decide before you even take your vacation because each area is going to have its own unique fish.

What’s your level of experience?

If you’re an expert fisherman you’re going to get bored on a boat that’s catering to beginners. If you’re a beginner you’re going to have a hard time succeeding on a boat full of experts. Factoring your level into what charter company you choose is extremely important because it will determine how much fun you have and your chances of having a successful fishing trip.

Some charter companies also specialize in trips designed around families, so find the one that best suits your needs.

What does the charter offer?

The best way to find out what charters offer is to ask the captain. The captain will always be willing to tell you what you need to know so you don’t waste time or money on a charter boat that isn’t going to give you exactly what you’re looking for.

Part of understanding what you want and what the charter offers is (more…)

The new Yo-Zuri Sashimi Minnow is a groundbreaking, highly detailed lure that actually changes color, mimicking the color changing behavior of many baitfish. These new lures attract inshore and offshore gamefish such as Stripers, Bluefish, Wahoo, Tuna, and more.

The Sashimi Minnow is available in 7 different patterns and features an internal rattle chamber.

If you’re like me, you like to carry around a few versatile lures that can be used for different types of fishing situations that may come up.

Macks Lure has introduced a new ‘hybrid spinner’ call hummbait. The unique lure is designed to attract fish with noise, vibration & appearance. This lure can be used for several different fishing techniques from casting, to buzzbait or even trolling.

HummBaits comes in three different sizes: 1/4 oz. (Minnow), 3/8 oz. (Smelts), and 1/2 oz. (Shad). Prices range from $3.29 to $3.99. You can pick them up at MacksLure.com or perhaps even find a deal at ebay

The Charlie Lure features the best properties of soft and hard plastic lures. Soft plastic on the outside gives it a realistic look and feel along with realistic swmming action that fish won’t be able to resist. Read more reviews of this ICAST Award Winning Swimbait: Charlie Lure Here

Looking for a free subscription to Sportsman Magazine? Just click over to here and provide your name, address, etc, and they will send it out to you.

This is the second soft shell crab lure we’ve reviewed here at Lure of the Day. The first one was a Storm Lures Swimming Crab. The Softshell Crab by D.O.A. is another very nice soft crab lure.

This lure came about because fishermen kept finding small crabs inside so many of the fish that we cleaned. Other fishermen confirmed the findings and D.O.A. knew that if the fish were feeding on real crabs, they would feed on our Softshell Crab.

D.O.A. Crab Lures have caught everything from red drum to permit, tarpon, snook and even bass. Try one. Walk it sideways across the bottom or swim it slowly in the current. This lure can be crept slowly across potholes or slid right across the surface for that topwater strike.

You’ll be pleased with it’s lifelike swimming and feeding action and you’ll be in for some great fishing fun.

Price at $3.79 a piece.

The JLVLures Model Deep Minnow is very similar to the Frantic Minnow I review several weeks ago, except this one is a deep diver. It has an extra long lip giving it the strength to diver into deeper water.

It measures 6.75 inches in length and weighs roughly 9/16 oz. It’s hooked with 9650 X-Strong Stainless Salt-Water Red Hooks. These hooks are just itching to pierce the mouth of a fish.

This is a high quality lure at an awesome price. They have a track record of satisfied customers so you can feel safe buying one of these. They start at only $2.99 a piece.

The world’s number one saltwater hardbodied lure. Whether fishing the shallow running floating models or the sinking CountDown models, you can be sure the lure has been hand-tuned and tank-tested. Magnums not oly catch virtually every saltwater gamefish, they are deadly on freshwater species such as northern pike, striped bass and muskie.

This sinking magnum is a big boy. They don’t call it magnum for nothing. It measures 7 inches in length and weighs 2 3/8 ounces.

This particular model is painted and designed to look similiar to a sardine, the meal of choice for many top game fish.

The Sinking Magnum is for the serious angler. It costs a pretty penny, but with it you know you’re getting top notch quality. The price for each lure is $19.99, a savings of 10% if you buy through Amazon.