San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

All my life I've been a salt water guy, had multiple boats, normally around the 21' range and I'd go looking for tuna. Sold all of that including my gear many years ago, my back just couldn't handle the pounding any longer (3 compressed disks).

My grandson has spina bifida so has a hard time walking and with balance. I decided to buy a small boat to take him to the lakes and do some freshwater fishing, he needs a hobby he can be good at. A flat lake is much easier for him to maintain his balance then any salt water fishing scenario. So now I'm trying to learn how to fresh water fish First few times I went on my own to make sure the boat was good to go and try my hand at bass fishing (watched YouTube to try and figure it out). Went to San Vicente, got hammered 4x on a ned rig with 6lb test and they ran into bushes/rocks/trees and broke off every time Now I know why my buddy doesn’t like fishing SV, the water is so high there’s nothing but trees and bushes under the shorelines.

Took my grandson to Lake Jennings a couple times, caught a couple trout on powerbait and some bluegill on some worms, he was pretty stoked. Then I took him to El Cap to try and catch some bass, skunked (all plastic worms that day). He told me I wasn't a very good fisherman We went back to El Cap yesterday this time with big night crawlers and redworms...I needed to redeem myself! Got there to a closed gate....damn it! First Friday of the month. Backed the boat down the road and had a hell of a time getting her turned around. Back to Jennings…. Water is really low there while they fix something by the damm, but really clear!

Found a spot where we caught some bluegill with worms but I couldn’t catch any bass. I know that lake has bass, in fact I saw a big fatty by the boat ramp cruising around. Anyways, my quest goes on to learn how to fish these lakes and put a smile on my grandson’s face. I probably need to get on a boat one day with someone that knows what the hell they’re doing…lol. Here’s a couple of photos. He’s in casts right now from a surgery to try and help him walk better.

Nice!

WTG!... You are a wonderful Grandfather, if lousy bass fisherman. ... As a fellow Grandfather and lousy bass fisherman, I applaud you... Sorry I can't help you with the bass fishing, but hope you keep trying with your Grandson... I'm sure you two will do just fine...
Butch

What a wonderful read. IMO, the basics of freshwater fishing is the same as saltwater: find the structure, match the hatch. Freshwater seems to be more determined by the time of the day due to insect hatches and plankton blooms dictated by the sun, hence sunrise and sunset are typically the best times. There are much more accomplished bass anglers here that can give you better tips.

One suggestion if you just want to get your grandson on hard pulling fish is to fish for carp at Henshaw or Morena. People catch dozens on corn and bread, and conditions are ideal right now.

2 simplest suggestions I can give you are:

1. Forget about freshwater fishing, it's tough as heck in San Diego. The bays are loaded with fish and you'll both have a ton of fun catching spotties, with the occasional other species showing up. Your boat looks pretty well suited for it, just wash up thoroughly afterwards.

2. The dock at Barrett. Do some practice yourself on a light/ultralight setup to learn how to crush the huge gills and crappie and pass the technique on your grandson. He will be grinning ear to ear as he pulls up panfish and the occasional bass for hours. You can fish for bass while he does that if you want, but I personally find the ultralight more enjoyable. I'd rather catch a 2lb crappie every 2 minutes than a 2lb bass every 15.

Bass fishing on other lakes really does take a skilled hand but if you put in the time, you can figure it out. For your grandson, San V has a robust population of big redear sunfish, and Murray holds some monsters too though I've never been able to really dial in on them. San V is my favorite lake and imo the finest non Barrett freshwater fishery we have.

May not seem as exciting or glamorous but a can of corn for carp or some mackerel or chicken livers for catfish is sure to get your grandson on fish. Carp is imo the funnest thing you can catch here in freshwater. If you could target them with artificials on conventional gear, nobody would ever fish for bass again. I'd recommend El Cap as it has a nice population of carp/catfish as well as being a great bass fishery.

MistrRocko wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 12:04 pm 2 simplest suggestions I can give you are:

1. Forget about freshwater fishing, it's tough as heck in San Diego. The bays are loaded with fish and you'll both have a ton of fun catching spotties, with the occasional other species showing up. Your boat looks pretty well suited for it, just wash up thoroughly afterwards.

2. The dock at Barrett. Do some practice yourself on a light/ultralight setup to learn how to crush the huge gills and crappie and pass the technique on your grandson. He will be grinning ear to ear as he pulls up panfish and the occasional bass for hours. You can fish for bass while he does that if you want, but I personally find the ultralight more enjoyable. I'd rather catch a 2lb crappie every 2 minutes than a 2lb bass every 15.

Bass fishing on other lakes really does take a skilled hand but if you put in the time, you can figure it out. For your grandson, San V has a robust population of big redear sunfish, and Murray holds some monsters too though I've never been able to really dial in on them. San V is my favorite lake and imo the finest non Barrett freshwater fishery we have.

May not seem as exciting or glamorous but a can of corn for carp or some mackerel or chicken livers for catfish is sure to get your grandson on fish. Carp is imo the funnest thing you can catch here in freshwater. If you could target them with artificials on conventional gear, nobody would ever fish for bass again. I'd recommend El Cap as it has a nice population of carp/catfish as well as being a great bass fishery.

Thanks for that info I had no idea El Cap had carp. I do plan on taking him to the bay one day. We shall see how his legs come out from this operation first. I've got to lug him around right now and it's like carrying a sack of concrete in and out of the boat.

I am teaching my 7 year old son to fish. I second the idea that freshwater is not worth it. I took my son to a location to catch bluegill. It is one of the only locations in the entire county that is not:
1. Dangerous
2. Filthy
3. Overgrown with reeds
4. Packed with anglers
5. Very hard to catch anything due to massive fishing pressure

I got the tip from a tackle shop when I brought my son in to fish. They said to use bait, which I do not like to do. My son could not bear to throw the first bluegill back so we kept it. The second was gut hooked so we kept it. You cannot use a bobber at this place because the fish will not take the bait. I had to hook the fish and let him catch them because the bite was so subtle. This is one of the easiest spots I've ever been to in SD county in 35 years of fishing here other than a pond that is now a patch of dirt. Most casts came in with so much weeds that it took time to clean the rig. Sometimes the weeds stripped the bait off. One time the weeds made it hard to feel the fish. I will not disclose this place in this post because if I do, it will be emptied of fish in a week. I saw bass and cast to them. They shied away from the lure. The two bass anglers I saw caught nothing but weeds. My son did not like the taste of the bluegill so my wife ate them.

I took my son to Carlsbad beaches the next several days. When I was a kid my father and grandfather refused to let me surf fish because they said it is too difficult for kids so I was worried. I set him to catching sand fleas while I rig up. I am using freshwater gear that I rinse with a garden hose when I get home. I use cheap hooks from Amazon on a Carolina rig. He has caught BSP and YFC on sand fleas, Gulp camo sandworm, and MORF curly tail grubs. I usually throw out the first few casts to feel for bites and if the spot is good, I cast and he retrieves. By the second trip he could feel the bites and set the hook properly. The only issue with him is when he goes too long between bites, he starts feeling "bites" that are weeds or waves and I have to cast more often for him. He wants to eat fish so I feel better about the ocean rather than overfishing a lake or pond or eating fish from the polluted lagoon.

The BSP are in 1-2 feet of water very close to shore. I bury the hook in multiple sand fleas so that no hook is showing. This is less an issue with OWNER brand mosquito hooks but at $1 a hook, I will bury a cheap Amazon hook in multiple sand fleas instead. Other people say that the sand flea needs to be presented like a natural sand flea, etc. I never get into debates on fishing technique because my philosophy is that I am no good at fishing and everyone else knows more than me and I am so bad at it that if I find anything that works I stick with it.

Another alternative is Aqua Hedionda Lagoon. I make a drop shot type rig and take the tiniest hook I can find. I bury a thawed out pea on the hook and opaleye are all over it. The peas float and the opaleye will not hit topwater so I adjust the distance between hook and sinker so that the pea is at the level of the fish. He can see the fish which is exciting for him.