Catfish Rigs for San Diego Lakes

[ironbelle]

New to the forum, sorry if this is in the wrong place. I live in San Diego, CA and they pay lakes here are stocked with channel cats. I made up some homemade bait from recipies found on the internet ie, shrimp marinated in Anise extract and hotdogs soaked in koolaid water and chicken soaked in koolaid water and garlic. I usually fish for trout and wanted to know if some folks could give me some good techniques on what kind of hooks, setup, etc. For trout I thread line through a barrel sinker, tie on a swivel, connect a treble hook on a leader and the line flowes freely through the sinker when the sinker hits bottom.

[centralcalcat]

First and foremost welcome to the BOC. In San Diego I mostly fished Lake Poway, Dixon, and Cuyamaca. For channels I used almost exclusively fresh cut makerel. Use either a cirle hook or larger treble and either flyline or use use a sliding sinker, you will find em.

Need any more info I fished lake Poway daily fo sixth monthes so I am pretty familiar with the fish habits.

[ironbelle]

Centralcat, thanks for the advise, Any pics of rigs you have would be great, You can email them to my email addy ironbelle at cox dot net if you wish. Thanks for the info! I'm going to Lake Murray near my place since my friends cancelled on me at Dixon. If you got any digital pics of rigs, that's great. When it comes to these things, if I see pics, I can imitiate the rig. I was going to just put line through a barrel sinker, tie on a swivel then a leader with a circle hook and put on a piece of shrimp, but I don't know if that is enough. The shrimp is marinated in Anise extract. Oh, how do you put hotdogs on a hook? I sliced up wieners in 1 inch pieces and would love to see how you put them on a hook. I tried, but when I pulled in my line, seems like the dog just fell off.

[vini]

Welcome to the board ironbelle.

You will find that a spool of thread can come in handy tying off baits;) just wrap the bait 4-5 times and secure it so its not so easy to get off or fall off, I used this on most baits unless there frozen or unless its some nasty sticky stink bait:cool:

[vini]

Two different setups you can try

[shania]

:0a25: to the B.O.C. "ironbelle"

I use both of the Rigs that Vini has in the photo above (Rig #2 more so than the Rig #1), but that is just me & everyone has there own Fishing Rigs that they swear by and mind is the sliding sinker rig - but the main thing is "That It Works". :)

Catfish Rigs to me are alot like Trout set-ups, - but much larger.
(Think About It :rolleyes: )

You will get all of the fishing information that you will ever need at the B.O.C.

These are all "Great People" & there here 24/7. :0a23:

Glad to have you aboard,
Bert:cool:
(Shaina)

[vini]

These are all "Great People" & there here 24/7.

Thats because i have no life other then this computer and fishing now and then oh yeah and work, good thing for that.

Mornin bert .:)

[shania]

:thumbsup:
Good mornin Vini - How are you doing Buddy?

Bert:cool:
(Shina)

[Big Country01]

welcome to the boc ironbelle,i'm sure your gonna like this site everyone here is great and full of information of some sort..now what part of san diego are you in? i grew up there and think it's great we now have a member there that can keep me informed on the fishing reports there...lol i mostly fished in cuyamacca lake fot their rainbows and fished otay for their bass but spent countless hours at the santee lakes for their channel cats i problely caught most of my bigger cats at lake hollingsworth but don't count out el capitan lake there are some nice ones in there as well as far as poway lake i lost a few good ones in there as well. if you're up for a drive take a trip to the all american river in the el centro valley area my mom lost the biggest cat fish i ever seen in my life in there...we would use cut macks' on the #2 rig that vini posted we would also use good ol' stink bait...well good luck and welcome to the boc i look foward to hearing some good fishing reports from my home town...

[shania]

Hey Bigcountry01,

Stink-Baits / Cut Baits :thumbsup:

"Now Your Talking"!!!! :)

I have to get out there and do some fishing now. :0a32: :0a23:
(LOL:happy: )

Take it easy,
Bert:cool:
(Shaina)

[ironbelle]

Two different setups you can try

Vini,

Thanks for the pics, Errr. do you have any "actual pictures of these rigs" with the drawings, I can't tell if those are beads or nots on rig #2. I'm happy that you took the time to post the pics, but the pics look like things that I have never fished with such as beads.

[ironbelle]

if you're up for a drive take a trip to the all american river in the el centro valley area my mom lost the biggest cat fish i ever seen in my life in there...we would use cut macks' on the #2 rig that vini posted we would also use good ol' stink bait...well good luck and welcome to the boc i look foward to hearing some good fishing reports from my home town...

Thank you for the suggestion. I've driven through El Centro to get to Calexico and Yuma on the family trips to AZ. I'm more than happy to keep you updated on San Diego fishing. I just got home from Lake Dixon and it stunk. Very few people got their trout limits and the fish were not as aggresive as they usually are. If you got a nibble, you needed to capitalize on it cause they were far and few. We were tied to the buoyline in a boat and the boat next to us found a "barrel full of trout" cause they were killing em but anyone else next to em, couldn't reel one in. Lake Murray in La Mesa finally complete the water treatment center that they were building so they are starting to put water back in to the lake. It has been low for a long time. I pulled out one trout of of Murray on Saturday and that took me 4 hours. Again, the bites were not aggressive and they were far and few.

[Deltalover]

Welcome to the B.O.C. Ironbelle! You will find tons of information here and alot of good people! Vini is right about thread to tie baits on. You will want to use magic thread or miracle thread, they are elastic and all you have to do is wrap around your bait a few times and break it off. It cinches against it self!
Tight lines!

[ironbelle]

DeltaLover you have great pics on your blog! I realize you are in Tracy, but I had to say that I love the Sacramento area and I read that parts of the levy there are not up to code! When I hear the word "Delta" I associate it with the south, never the west. Thank you for the welcome! This is a very friendly board. Good to see that on the internet. I'll try to catch some cats and put up a pic or two.

[Big Country01]

hey ironbelle,what part of san diego are you in???

[ironbelle]

hey ironbelle,what part of san diego are you in???

I live in North Park, not far from Balboa Park and Downtown so I have to drive to all the lakes. The closest pay lake to me is Lake Murray in La Mesa. Never been to San Vicente or anything like that. I think I'll try to fish at those lakes. That is where everyone usually goes for catfish. I like pan size cats myself. When those cats get to be 50 plus pounds, they can't possibly taste good. People do not eat these really large cats do they?

[centralcalcat]

Ironbelle,
The rig you desribed with the sliding sinker, barrel swivel and circle hook is the same setup i use, the only difference is if I can get away with it I try not to use any weight at all.

[ironbelle]

Great! I will try that. I am going to try to get out this Saturday or Sunday morning.

[Big Country01]

hey ironbelle i grew up between el cajon and imperial beach with a short stay in alpine for a couple years if you like the pan size cats give santee lakes a try, plenty of channels in there i wanna say lake # 2 is susposed to be a the better of the bunch for cats theres also a decent lake for rainbow trout but i don't remember which one....good luck

[bluecatnut]

big it is lake 2,3,5 use fresh mackeral and whole shrimp with anise oil works very well

[vini]

Vini,

Thanks for the pics, Errr. do you have any "actual pictures of these rigs" with the drawings, I can't tell if those are beads or nots on rig #2. I'm happy that you took the time to post the pics, but the pics look like things that I have never fished with such as beads.


I'll see if my camera will take a decent picture I have an idea that might work.

[ironbelle]

if you like the pan size cats give santee lakes a try, plenty of channels in there i wanna say lake # 2 is susposed to be a the better of the bunch for cats theres also a decent lake for rainbow trout but i don't remember which one....good luck

I've lived here all my life, but have never fished at Santee lakes(I'm aware that they have like 5 lakes there) nor have I fished SV. I think I will need to venture out there. I tried shrimp marinated in Anise Extract at Lake Murray for cats, but no luck.

[Big Country01]

TRY SOAKING THE SHRIMP IN YUM IT COMES IN TWO FLAVORS SHAD OR CRAWFISH I WOULD TRY THE CRAWFISH THERE. YOU CAN GET THROUGH basspro.com. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I MISS BEING THERE......

[ironbelle]

I love San Diego. Year round great weather, can wear shorts in the wintertime. Maybe I should try to find someone going fishing at Santee Lakes this Saturday. I don't want to spend the entire day looking for spots when I could go with a regular one time.

[vini]

I'm still wearing shorts up here in fresno LOL year round baby!!


Good luck this weekend ironbelle be nice if you could hook up with a fishing partener thats what i did met a few guys on these boards and we fish together all the time .

[Deltalover]

Sorry to break topic here, but ironbelle, you might be interested in the colorado river gathering in april! There will be quite a few southern calif members there and you will meet some fishing buddies! Bert and I are also planning on drving down. Here is the link! Hope to see you there! http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4006
Followup thread
http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7248

[daystarchis]

I'm still wearing shorts up here in fresno LOL year round baby! .LOL..... Yep, but you didn't tell Ironbelle how you froze your butt off that night with Brian and I at the slough. Brian came to the rescue with that awesome fire:)

[ironbelle]

Sorry to break topic here, but ironbelle, you might be interested in the colorado river gathering in april! There will be quite a few southern calif members there and you will meet some fishing buddies! Bert and I are also planning on drving down. Here is the link! Hope to see you there! http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4006
Followup thread
http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7248

Deltalover, Thank you for the invite. I gotta ask though, how many women will be here. I don't want to go stomping into the "Man Club" where there's a bunch of men peeing off the side of the boat, etc. Seriously, I like a mix of men and women. I'm one of those women who really try to think that men & women can get along.

[vini]

I'm sure they'd all be very polite gentlemen with you're presence there Renay:0a19:

[vini]

LOL..... Yep, but you didn't tell Ironbelle how you froze your butt off that night with Brian and I at the slough. Brian came to the rescue with that awesome fire:)


Ok it got chilly that night:0a10:

that was a durn good fire though

[centralcalcat]

Ok it got chilly that night:0a10:

that was a durn good fire though


Your welcme Vini, can't have ya freezin now:p

[daystarchis]

Your welcme Vini, can't have ya freezin now:p
LOL!!!! ROFLOL!!!!!!! HE WAS TURNING BLUE:0a18: LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bluehunter]

First of all welcome to the BOC.

San Diego has some great catfishing lakes. You have San V, Lake jennings, El capitan, and even Murry for good action on channels. I normally make way down there twice a month to fish and stay at friends houses there and cousins place.. The rigs given earlier is helpful. I like to fish flyline style at San V and the other lakes as I fish from a boat mostly. The only time I use weight is when I am fishing from the bank, or is using meal worms and marshmellows or crawlers. When I am fishing for the blues, I use big pieces of cut bait. At San V I have caught a few trophies, plus have some friends taht regularly gets 50 pound plus blues there. We all fish the same style by flylining. We use 25 - 40 pound test depending on if we are fishing structure or not. Use 6/0 to 9/0 hooks depending on was size bait we use. I like to use the 6/0 hooks for regular cuts or chunks of cut bait. I use the 7/0 - 9/0 for head pices. Yep head pices of mackeral or bonita. The big blues love the head and that is the ticket for getting the big blues. Thats all you need. A good rod, strong line, and a big hook. The bait will sink to the bottom because of the size of the bait you are using. Somewtimes you catch A SUSPENDING fish this way as well. You can use either baitcasters or spinning reels for this. It works better in spinning reels though as all you have to do is fish with your bail open and when the fish hit, the line will come spinning out. After a while engage your reel and set the hook. It works good with baitcasters as well as you can set your clicker on and hear them scream when they stricke it. I fish flyline style 99 percent of the time in lakes unless I am bank fishing. This will not work in a river with strong current though, only in lakes. Irvine lake is another lake I frequent and this is the style I use there as well. Go at it that way there and you can not go wrong. Its great for catching channels as well.

When it comes to using cut baits, I am a believer in fresh bloody baits. Fresh Mackeral is great. Especially if you can go the the local piers in SD and get them when they are running. If you can get Bonita that is even better. Do not overlook stopping by the ocean landings like Pierpoint and H&M and going to the overnight boats and charter boats and seeing if they have skipjack, bonita, and also mackeral. Lots of times they bring them back and give them away as some fisherman do not eat them. But fishing off the piers down there and catching them will do they job for mackeral and the bonita. Use sabaki rigs which you can get at most takle store, even the ones on the piers, and that will get them. If you can not get fresh bait than the frozen ones will work dandy. Most of us can not get fresh bait with the time constraints ya know.

This should get you rolling there. Hope this helps.

[riverbud55]

ironbelle welcome to the boc

man open up your ears up to what bluehunter has to say not alot know more about big cats then blue down there, was going to tell ya to look at his pics of his big one's, but not tn the profiles any more his big one is an 84lb blue out of san v. the man knows his stuff. just start looken threw all his post

ironbelle were having a gathering in the first part of april down at the river in blythe, hoping to get some big flatheads. just look in the CA talk section. hope to see ya out there if ya can make it, ther a blast

[karodi]

Welcome to the BOC. I just wanted to ditto what blue said but also add to it. If you can not get bait from the pier. You can try the 99 grocery store (asian market) they have fresh bait in there Mac,Bonita,Shiners,Live Tilapia I pick up what i need from there from time to time. Hope you can make it to the River. Keith.

[plainsman]

ironbelle, i got a friend who lives la jolla, he fishes santee a lot, I think he knows those lakes pretty good, maybe you could hook up with him