San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Sutherland is DEAD! Never seen anything like it! I thought a bunch of rain would rejuvenate the lake but exactly the opposite seems to be true. Every fisherman I talked to (both of them) seemed to have a different explanation but all agreed; the fishing stinks! To top it off the forestry was weed-whacking the mountainside above the lake! WHY!!! The formerly peaceful oasis was NOT!
One little bass surprised me to fight off the skunk! Another gave a slight tug. That was it, in 6 hours!

Somewhere in the land of a lake not far from Ramona lies a giant group of thousands of slimy green critters swimming around in a tight throng laughing their gills off at a solo human in a rubber lounge chair flailing about WAYYY above them with a stick and string in his hand and phony offerings. Unknown to said human, and as much as it had pained them, they had all conspired that they would turn up their noses up at any and all offerings he should make.


I feel you pain, or rather, had in Jan. Feb. and March, not now.

PS If it's any consolation Barrett has gotten tough!! Only got 10 on top this past Wed, down from 15 the week before, down from 25 the week before that. ON the positive side, the frog has started working.

Thanks for the update, I was contemplating giving it another go but now I'll just save myself the discouragement.

Has the water level dropped at all yet?

Fisheromen wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 8:58 am Sutherland is DEAD! Never seen anything like it! I thought a bunch of rain would rejuvenate the lake but exactly the opposite seems to be true. Every fisherman I talked to (both of them) seemed to have a different explanation but all agreed; the fishing stinks! To top it off the forestry was weed-whacking the mountainside above the lake! WHY!!! The formerly peaceful oasis was NOT!
One little bass surprised me to fight off the skunk! Another gave a slight tug. That was it, in 6 hours!

So sorry to hear that. You and others have fished there for years and nothing but negative reports is coming out of there. Geez, it seemed like the bass bite would be going off like in previous years at this time. Hopefully it will change as the lake is open till September.
I normally would have headed up there to fish with you and @McFish,but after my last trip (not skunked...but one and done) I had enough hesitation that kept me closer to home.

One of my healthier bass from Murray yesterday... I know @mcfish is already packing stuff up for the long road trip down here...if he comes, you should follow ha ha

professionull wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 3:20 pm Thanks for the update, I was contemplating giving it another go but now I'll just save myself the discouragement.

Has the water level dropped at all yet?

Water has dropped about a foot. Another 20 feet and I may begin to recognize the lake.

otaymichael wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 9:28 am Somewhere in the land of a lake not far from Ramona lies a giant group of thousands of slimy green critters swimming around in a tight throng laughing their gills off at a solo human in a rubber lounge chair flailing about WAYYY above them with a stick and string in has hand and phony offerings. Unknown to said human, and as much as it had pained them, they had all conspired that they would turn up their noses up at any and all offerings he should make.


I feel you pain, or rather, had in Jan. Feb. and March, not now.

PS If it's any consolation Barrett has gotten tough!! Only got 10 on top this past Wed, down from 15 the week before, down from 25 the week before that. ON the positive side, the frog has started working.

The above is as good an explanation as I have heard!

Very frustrating and confusing! The lake looks so good and is fishing so bad!! After fishing it for the last 3 months, it actually seems to be getting worse..if that's possible! I'm not sure the 1'-2' water visibility is helping! In 6 hours, I covered alot of shoreline, flipped a bunch of bushes, fished the rocks, covered the points out to 25'...and got 1 bite and 1 fish for all that work! I've seen very little shad action in the shallows and I'm starting to think the bait and bass are suspended offshore in deep water..not easy to fish in float tubes and kayaks! I've seen some really good fisherman bite the skunk since the lake opened...so you've been warned! I'm hoping for changes with summer coming up, but sure don't see any evidence of that so far..good luck!!

My local lake has the same problem. I believe there was just too much Fertilizer washed into these lakes. The Algae blooms in the daytime but sucks Oxygen out of the water at night. Low Oxygen slows the Bass way down and more or less shuts them down. We are putting our offerings on the Fish but not getting any reaction. Things will eventually improve but the wait is tough. WHere I was killing on Topwater last year produces not a ripple this year. Downsizing and slowing up doesn’t seem to work in the turbid waters. I’m curious what the advanced Electronics would show. We get a Suicide Bass or two but not worth the trip for me. Other Lakes nearby are on fire. Flummoxed!

Same with my local stomping grounds, its been ridiculously tough.....

bendopolo 44+ wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 4:44 pm My local lake has the same problem. I believe there was just too much Fertilizer washed into these lakes. The Algae blooms in the daytime but sucks Oxygen out of the water at night. Low Oxygen slows the Bass way down and more or less shuts them down. We are putting our offerings on the Fish but not getting any reaction. Things will eventually improve but the wait is tough. WHere I was killing on Topwater last year produces not a ripple this year. Downsizing and slowing up doesn’t seem to work in the turbid waters. I’m curious what the advanced Electronics would show. We get a Suicide Bass or two but not worth the trip for me. Other Lakes nearby are on fire. Flummoxed!

In places where the water has risen a great deal, now submerged shore line vegetation will start to decay, the process consumes more oxygen and can lead to reduced dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. Fish will seek out areas with more DO if they exist.

I have fished a couple of larger lakes (similar to Sutherland at its current size) where this happened. We found fish in pelagic areas of the lake, either suspended above the thermocline or over subsurface structure such as rock piles and ridges.

Smaller waters may not recover so well. What happened at Upper Otay is an example. Whether the die off there was due to fertilizer washed into the lake after a storm or a combination of things I don't know. I understand the the DO dropped to to low a level to support a healthy population of fish. And quickly, so not due to decomposing vegetation.

I been thinking of making the drive up to Sutherland since it opened. Been too lazy. Glad I have been.

Algae die off from a severe algae bloom can suck up oxygen, doesn't have to be vegetation die off.

As far as Upper Otay, if any insecticides or herbicides got into the lake, some of those are highly toxic to fish too.

Upper O was great in its day for float tubers, wish they would restock it. It's a shame that we don't get more for the fees we pay.

Upper Otay has been repeatedly tested for oxygen and it remains super low to zero. No point in putting fish in if they cannot respire.

As far as Sutherland, we shocked that lake this spring and there were fish EVERYWHERE...600-700 bass over 12" in 6 hours. I know everyone C&R's just about every bass caught so they didn't go anywhere...

Did you get shad and bluegill when you shocked?

Bait balls of shad and good amounts of bluegill for as cold as it was. We were done by May when they really start to push shallow.

Queue wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2023 10:29 am Upper Otay has been repeatedly tested for oxygen and it remains super low to zero. No point in putting fish in if they cannot respire.

As far as Sutherland, we shocked that lake this spring and there were fish EVERYWHERE...600-700 bass over 12" in 6 hours. I know everyone C&R's just about every bass caught so they didn't go anywhere...

Never meant to imply that there
We're no fish in the lake, just that the fishing was dead. BTW, update: it still is! (For me)

Queue wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2023 10:29 am Upper Otay has been repeatedly tested for oxygen and it remains super low to zero. No point in putting fish in if they cannot respire.

As far as Sutherland, we shocked that lake this spring and there were fish EVERYWHERE...600-700 bass over 12" in 6 hours. I know everyone C&R's just about every bass caught so they didn't go anywhere...

Where ever they went, it's not where they belong...it's a tough nut to crack this year! Some good fisherman have called it quits after the last 4 months of frustration up there!

Mcfish wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2023 8:39 pm

Queue wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2023 10:29 am Upper Otay has been repeatedly tested for oxygen and it remains super low to zero. No point in putting fish in if they cannot respire.

As far as Sutherland, we shocked that lake this spring and there were fish EVERYWHERE...600-700 bass over 12" in 6 hours. I know everyone C&R's just about every bass caught so they didn't go anywhere...

Where ever they went, it's not where they belong...it's a tough nut to crack this year! Some good fisherman have called it quits after the last 4 months of frustration up there!

It’s funny how a few locals and even I used to call it the lake of D&K or other terms when posting to try to disguise it in hopes not to encourage attracking lots of lots of fishermen there….and now this year to me and others it just is Lake Sutherland.