San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Well it was a 77 mile trip to the lake and back home.....or was that just a large farm pond I fished at today???
Last year the water level at the lake of Donald & Kiefer was so high that you had to launch up near the concession stand as the
parking lot was all under water. It was absolutely shocking when I arrived and saw how low the water was. I cannot explain it....
but anyone who made it out to the lake had to be shocked also. Off to another later start as I got to the lake close to 7:30am
and unloaded everything into my kayak and was just about to take off and realized I left my phone in my truck. I ran back to
get it and searched for it and then realized it was actually sitting on top of my trucks hood near the front window so I shut the
door and locked my keys inside. Called Deb and she had to drive all the way up to the lake to bring me my spare keys.
That was a major bummer for the morning that threw my off as far as trying to concentrate on fishing waiting for her
and thinking about how stupid I was.
Anyway.....lots of float tubes and kayaks and seems most of them were crappie fishing.
It was a whole different lake that everyone seemed to be in talking distance of each other. It was crazy!
Anyway..missed a couple bites, had a bass on for 5 seconds and it came unbuttoned, and was able(thank goodness) to pick
up a couple bass. A dink and a 3 1/2 pounder....which was one of the only highlights of a tough morning and of course
chatting with @Mcfish and @Fisheromen is always fun.
If the lake keeps getting lower and lower, the float tubers and guys in kayaks soon will all be fishing in a giant
puddle....and be all on a first-name basis ...ha ha

Got a pic of the bigger one?

Fisheromen wrote: Fri Mar 01, 2024 6:52 pm Got a pic of the bigger one?

Funny!
Do you have any pics of any other bass you caught on your post?.............................................................................................
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...................silence.

Got another pic of the same fish!

You'll find all of Sutherland's water in San V now! They don't seem to mind destroying Sutherland to keep San V all fat and happy! It's a little late to save Sutherland now, winters almost over..damage is done!

Wow. The lake and water management in this county is appalling.

JWall wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2024 7:45 am Wow. The lake and water management in this county is appalling.

I think it's more on the lines of moronic. Who ever is in charge of these districts clearly is missing a couple chromosomes

professionull wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2024 9:16 am

JWall wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2024 7:45 am Wow. The lake and water management in this county is appalling.

I think it's more on the lines of moronic. Who ever is in charge of these districts clearly is missing a couple chromosomes

Actually, they are brilliant! After a record rainfall year filling our lakes, between El Cap and Hodges they have wasted 17 billion gallons of water by sending it to the ocean. Now they will have to import expensive water and therefore charge you more for your water...oh, and you'll have to pay for the new dam at Hodges, which they should of done 40 years ago for a third of the price! They have no clue what to do about El Cap's dam! Sutherland is one of the County's best dams, but they're dumping water daily with no real rain amounts in the next 9 months...ok, maybe not brilliant!

Unbelievable! My Grandfather is rolling over in his grave. That was his go to lake forever. There was always good water levels, except a few years when Mother Nature did not cooperate. Plus a middle class guy could afford the fuel to make the drive. I remember in the early and mid 80s when the shad were so thick, you could walk across them.

On the bright side, you can drag as many crankbaits as you want without getting hung-up.

Thanks for the reports everyone!!

It's a beautiful lake...well, it was! I would think by the end of March, all the brush, stickups, and trees will be high and dry! We'll see if the City gets smart before then...doubt it! San V can only take so much water before they have to dump!

I have seen the water 10' lower. Fishes pretty good. Some prefer it lower. I like it 10 feet higher! A very different lake at the various levels.

Fisheromen wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2024 6:37 pm I have seen the water 10' lower. Fishes pretty good. Some prefer it lower. I like it 10 feet higher! A very different lake at the various levels.

If it was 10 feet higher, I would’ve been fishing my rock pile and would’ve been a lot happier.

Hey, no politics on SDFISH lmao

So is that back arm just mud and sticks again?

You are talking about Santa Ysabel arm?
I did not go over there as water was flowing into the lake but it just looked mostly dry from the view from my truck when I entered
the lake.

I have had some great day when it was low, but the overwhelming magic days have been when it was full.

KillinTime wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2024 12:43 pm I have had some great day when it was low, but the overwhelming magic days have been when it was full.

I definitely prefer it being lower than the way it was last year.....but never in my dreams thought it would be this low.
I just kept looking around at some of my rock pile spots that were high and dry. Oh well....at least the lake is open.
Tight lines

Some Sad Sh*t.

I was so bummed out when I found out. Didn't think about checking the water levels while it was closed.

This is plain stupid. Lower than Hodges or Morena?

Reservoir Depth When Full Current Depth Storage Capacity (AF)
Barrett 160.40 ft 153.70 ft 34,805.5 29,478.6 65.21 84.7%
El Capitan 197.00 ft 129.98 ft 112,806.9 36,063.7 6.84 32.0%
Hodges 115.00 ft 79.20 ft 30,632.6 5,706.6 (60.48) 18.6%
Miramar 114.00 ft 107.28 ft 6,682.4 5,715.2 71.90 85.5%
Morena 157.00 ft 119.25 ft 50,694.0 12,328.7 168.84 24.3%
Murray 95.00 ft 86.90 ft 4,684.2 3,444.6 6.85 73.5%
Lower Otay 136.08 ft 137.32 ft 47,066.9 46,851.6 0 99.5%
San Vicente 306.00 ft 274.20 ft. 249,358.0 198,899.2 1,745.64 79.8%
Sutherland 145.00 ft 77.59 ft. 29,508.1 4,733.6 (835.19) 16.0%

I was totally looking forward to seeing this lake again super high like it was last year. Went aaaaaaaaaaallllllll the way back of Santa Ysabel Arm for the first time ever. Man it was nice.

So we went from too much water... Could not even launch safely. Had to use the road going down to the parking lot.

To this
Somebody should be fired over this crap. It's more than just stupid. Seriously, loose their job over this decision.

Murphy's Law.....The water was up so high last year because CDFW conducted a LMB population estimate that required shocking the entire perimeter of the lake. We banked on it being more like it is now instead of the mammoth it was last year. I drove an eboat for 8.5 hours straight (1730-0200) standing with my foot on the pedal and didn't get home until 330-4 AM. Sucked 100%.

As for the Mgmt of the lake's water level, Sutherland is there to collect the water that falls out of the sky and deliver it to the people of SD. It is fulfilling its purpose and is what it is. Nearly all of the reservoirs in the western USA have the same purpose......The fishery will persist.

Downstream.