Catfish: Catfish are still being pulled out of the lake even after we’ve stopped stocking, just not as fast as anglers would like. Catfish are nocturnal scavengers, so you’d usually find the best time for them is either early morning or around sunset, however good bait and patience can snag you a couple at any time of the day. Catfish scavenge for food by detecting its scent in the water (their barbels [the whisker like appendages] are excellent in doing so), so any smelly bait works great on them! Most anglers stick to using cut up mackerel, chicken liver, shrimp, and the classic nightcrawler, however I have heard through the grape vine that hotdogs either soaked in Kool-Aid or by themselves can produce some results. If you happen to have your bait the night before you go fishing, see if you can let it soak in some garlic oil before you head out the next day, that should do wonders for catching cats. Catfish are a benthonic species (they live primary near the bottom), because of that, any rig setup that can get the bait near the lake bed is a good idea, so make sure to have decently heavy weights for your rig (personally I use a drop shot rig for catfish so I don’t have to worry about any snags down there)! Catfish Cove, Whisker Bay, and near the buoys (typically the middle of them) are all great spots to try your luck for our cats! Reminder: Catfish are limited to 5 per permit!

Largemouth Bass: Bass fishing is reaching a turning point right now. With the cooling of the waters as fall moves in, bass are returning to the shallows, slowly but surely, as they aren’t driven away by Escondido’s famous excessively hot weather and scorching sun. Swimbaits are commonly used here for bass, Senkos and Roboworms are the usual, but any swimbait will do if you know how to work them properly. Topwater baits are also a fine choice, whether you use a rat or frog, you should see nice results using them. Dropshots and Texas rigs are excellent setups to use, Texas rigs especially if you’re fishing in the algae (do keep in mind that if you’re going to be casting into algae, having a heavier line will help reduce line breaks, you don’t want to lose that whopper on the other end! But our fish are as smart as our waters are clear, so if your line is too heavy, I don’t think you’ll fool the bass of Dixon.). Largemouth are ambush predators, meaning they like to hide in and around structures and heavily grown algae beds, waiting for a tasty snack to swim by before striking. I always recommend casting perpendicular to the edge of said cover, whether it be any of the piers, near algae, or tules to help lure them out. However, going straight through/above the algae beds is also a fruitful tactic (Texas rig!). Reminder: Bass are limited to 2 per permit, and must be at least 12 inches to keep!

Bluegill: In the same family as bass (Sunfish [or Centrarchidae]), Bluegill are also coming out of the deep as surface temperatures start to become more stable and the sun becoming less harsh. Hot spots for bluegills are the dense algae beds (try to look for any open spots in said beds, it’s a great place to drop your line with a bobber attached), near and in the tules, around natural structures (such as rocks or sunken trees) and of course right beneath our any of our piers. Bluegill fishing is timeless fun for all ages, and as such they are a great fish to teach newer anglers if you’re looking to take the little ones out for a great time at the lake! Bluegill rigs are as simple as they come, have your hook on the bottom, some light weight(s) about a foot or so above, and a bobber starting off at about a foot away from the weight, keep in mind you’ll most likely will need to move the bobber up or down your depending on where the gills are at in the water column While you can use small lures such as plastic minnows and small jigs, I always recommend either meal/red worms or cut up nightcrawler on about a size 6 hook. Bigger live baits/hooks can land bigger bluegills, just be careful, the small ones can and will take your bait leaving you with just a bare hook! Pier 1 is where most of our bluegill fishers go, its an easy walk with a lovely view of the lake, not to mention 3 benches there to laze away the day while waiting for that monster gill to come by. Reminder: Bluegills are limited to 25 per permit and cannot be used as bait!

Trout: Trout haven’t been caught since mid-May. The spring turnover lowered the dissolved oxygen levels below what the trout need to flourish, and the heat of summer warmed our waters too much for them as well. With how many trout our anglers pulled out during trout season and the lake becoming uninhabitable, you’ll have to wait until we have our next trout stock, to catch that 10 pounder! Reminder: Trout are limited to 5 per permit and cannot be released after being caught!