Escondido, CA. Fishermen have been drooling over the thought of fishing Olivenhain Reservoir since it was completed in 2003 - and after almost 12 years of waiting, they'll finally get their shot...April Fools folks! Olivenhain Reservoir located in Escondido, California was created in August of 2003 when its 300 foot tall dam was completed after a 5 year construction period. The lake is connected to the other San Diego City Lakes through the aqueduct and Lake Hodges, but has never been available for fishing.
In fact, it was never the intention to allow fishing on the reservoir, but because it received a stock of 50 largemouth bass (owned by the citizens of California) from Lake Hodges as it was filling, a local judge has ordered the lake has to be made available for fishing.
In addition to those largemouth bass, who have had 12 years to populate the lake, there is thought to be a very promising population of striped bass and panfish that were transients with the water from the aqueduct.
Because the lake was built with water storage in mind, the lake is built like a storage tank - deep and relatively featureless. Several large points jet out into deep water and will provide promising spots to fish this summer.
It's 200 surface acres make it about 30 surface acres larger than Lake Murray, and about 10 times the size of Upper Otay. Olivenhain has a max depth of about 300 feet, considerably deeper than most other lakes in San Diego County.
The lake is scheduled to open on Saturday, August 1st and access will be limited based on availability within the park's parking lot. It will be open on a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday schedule for fishing.
P.S. Don't tell a friend!
In fact, it was never the intention to allow fishing on the reservoir, but because it received a stock of 50 largemouth bass (owned by the citizens of California) from Lake Hodges as it was filling, a local judge has ordered the lake has to be made available for fishing.
In addition to those largemouth bass, who have had 12 years to populate the lake, there is thought to be a very promising population of striped bass and panfish that were transients with the water from the aqueduct.
Because the lake was built with water storage in mind, the lake is built like a storage tank - deep and relatively featureless. Several large points jet out into deep water and will provide promising spots to fish this summer.
It's 200 surface acres make it about 30 surface acres larger than Lake Murray, and about 10 times the size of Upper Otay. Olivenhain has a max depth of about 300 feet, considerably deeper than most other lakes in San Diego County.
The lake is scheduled to open on Saturday, August 1st and access will be limited based on availability within the park's parking lot. It will be open on a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday schedule for fishing.
P.S. Don't tell a friend!
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