BY BRADY GARRETT
ESCONDIDO— While 99 percent of the people who fished Wohlford this month were after trout, it was the catfish that stole the show. A new lake record was broken when a mammoth 71-pound catfish was weighed in by Abisail Martinez who was fishing a nightcrawler at the Crappie Float. However, three other big cats of 31, 21, and 17 pounds were also reported.
With 7,000 pounds of Jess Ranch Trout planted, two stocks of 700 pounds of DFW fish in December, and 1,500 more pounds of fish arriving last week, Wohlford is off to a hot start this trout season. Both Jess Ranch and the DFW put fish in the week of December 27, so the anglers who fished between Christmas and New Years scored very good stringers. While most trout landed were not huge, there were some quality fish landed. Big fish of the month (so far) is a 6-pound beauty by Mathew Lacourse of Otay Mesa. He was fishing a minijig in Willow Cove. A 5.5-pound fish was also weighed in by Angler Ian Cube.
These trout are very spread out, from the usual spots like Boat Dock Cove and the Senior Shoreline, to Oakvale Cove, and the East End. Boaters had the best success in the East End, which is always a prime spot due to the influx of fresh water from Lake Henshaw. Shore anglers have plenty of room to fish, and the farther from the boat ramp they were, the more space they had.
One of the perks of this lake is various techniques work. Creative trout fishermen are molding PowerBait into the shape of a worm, making a cast, and slowly twitching the bait back. Jig heads used on minijigs are now being used with Trout Worms or Berkley Micetails as well, as anglers are fishing them the exact same way they would fish a minijig. Fly anglers are using small midges and leeches under an indicator to catch their limits, too.
Surprisingly, crappie and bass are being caught, although in far lower numbers than the trout. A few 4- to 5-pound largemouth were reported, as well as crappie to two pounds. Usually, these two species disappear in the winter at this lake, but they’ve been available.