BY MIKE STEVENS
ESCONDIDO – Trout season at Lake Wohlford is off and running as of Dec. 11 following 4,000 pounds of stocking that got the party started. Fishing for the new resident rainbows was excellent, but a monster catfish sapped at least a portion of the thunder out of the trout opener.
Valley Center angler Taylor Oshinski is no stranger to the trophy catfish scene at Lake Wohlford, and the latest addition to his impressive resume’ was a 59.8-pound blue catfish that stands as the third-largest on record out of Wohlford according to Ranger Specialist George Scalo. That fish was caught in Oakvale Cove on cut mackerel and was released. Chicken livers and shrimp are also working for holdover cats.
The trout bite was off to a hot start following that huge plant, and while Boat Dock Cove
shined as it always does early in the season, those fish circulated throughout the lake quicker than average, and trout were caught all over. PowerBait and nightcrawlers outshined artificials this time around, but there were some caught on jigs and spoons. The big trout of the weekend was a 6 pounder caught by David King of Rancho Penasquitos who was dunking PowerBait in Boat Dock Cove.
Fishing for bass has been slow for weeks, but now that trout are once again part of the equation, trophy hunting with swimbaits is a legitimate option for anglers.
Lake Wohlford is back to being open for fishing seven days per week (closed on Christmas), and the operating hours are 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. The water temperature is 57 degrees at the surface.
