OCTOBER 2023 Sutherland Lake Fishing Map, Fishing Report, Hunting Clubs private fishing nearby

  April  2023 Sutherland Lake Fishing Map, How to fish this lake, Fishing Report and fishing map, also San Diego Hunting Clubs and Ranches

 Quick View:

Location: Lake Sutherland is  located 6 miles east of Ramona.  Take Highway 78 east from  Escondido or Highway 67 east  from San Diego.  $8 dollars per person/$7.00 per boat launch

Species: Largemouth bass, blue and channel catfish. crappie,  bluegill and red ear. 

Facilities: Concession stand with  tackle and snacks, paved launch  ramp (may be out of service this  summer) and boat rentals, call  (619) 698 6474 for reservations. 

Information: Recorded message  available at (619) 465 3474. San  Diego Water Department may  have some additional information  at (619) 668-2050. 

How to Fish Sutherland Lake and Fishing Report      

It might be touch-and-go at the  launch ramp with your full-size rig, but if you can get on the water,  Lake Sutherland is one of the  prized stops on the Southern California bass fishing scene.

In its compact, less-than  200-acre expanse swim lots of large mouths, channel catfish and crappie  beckoning to the willing angler.  A lake record established just over 16 pounds. But the numbers are good here with plenty of  limit style catches ranging from 10 to 20  pounds or more in aggregate. 

The little valley which holds the lake  east of Ramona on Highway 78  heats up, but March or April temperatures were  still hover around 60 degrees. Once  summer kicks in fully (usually at the  end of July), the lake might not be so  generous with its bounty — but that‘s  another story. 

In Spring you want to rig up with a jig  and pig, crankbait, plastic worm or live  crawdad or waterdog and look for the  shallow rockpiles or rocky banks. With  the water low, you‘ll find very little  brush to cast to — thus you aim for the  rock, or whatever subtle  depth changes you find  along the shore. 

NORTH SHORE: The  primary area to fish is  near the eastern end of  the dam and buoy line. But after you  fish that key zone, you  really ought to drift down the entire shoreline on this side of the  Mesa Grande Arm and  look at each cut and  point. Now exposed are  an array of outcroppings, isolated rocks and  holes that will be underwater in some future  season. 

This bank is always so  misleading because the  points seem so featureless. It‘s obvious they  are not. What’s more, if  you find it is too crowded in the “corner” where  the island top and buoy  line converge, you  would be wise on a busy  weekend afternoon to  drift and split shot or  Carolina rig each of  these points.

Despite their lack of cover, there is  enough depth change and bait around to  draw a few feeders that you can pick off  with a small shad colored worm, slug or  reaper. This pattern usually kicks in after  the spawn and lasts  and lasts  until the moss  growth mucks up  the bottom in midsummer.

 MESA GRANDE  ARM: At the present water level,  the southeast corner of the arm has  the most outside  rockpiles — locatable by several  exposed tree  trunks. This is  excellent jig fishing water, although figure your going to lose a handful of jigs — it’s a craggy  bottom.  One of the isolated tree/rockpiles is  where we heard some advice: Keep throwing at the tree and let the bait fall right  down the trunk. Work from every angle until you get the bite.

  The scattered rocks throughout the back end of the arm  are running 3 to  roughly 12 feet  deep, so cast a big,  deep diving  crankbait and you  hit just about everything that’s down  there. Fire tiger is  pretty reliable, but shad or chrome finishes will also get  bit. 

On the south side  of the arm is a small  round cove with an  angular corner (not quite a point) that diagonals out into the  lake. On it are small broken, even scattered rocks that may not look like much,  but often hold a good fish or two early.  As you approach from the back end of the arm, always have your sonar running, for you may find a surprise high spot that can be your own private honey hole for the day. 

EAST SHORE: Much of the spawning  activity takes place on the east shore,  despite the fact most of the bank is barren. The key is the semi-hard bottom  which is good ground for nest making.  Although the water is murky, you can  usually draw strikes from a wide  expanse by dragging a splitshot or drop  shot rig along. 

Brown Creek, which is also pretty  smooth-sided, can be surprisingly good  — but it needs baitfish present. When  the shad begin to spawn in May, there  will be lots of post-spawn bass in the  area looking for an easy meal. Throw  your tandem spinnerbaits — either white  or chartreuse up on the bank and  grind them through on a moderate  retrieve and you should get results. 

A flat point directly across from the  boat dock is another key big bass spot.  Right near the tip of the point in roughly 6 to 12 feet of water is a flat, horizontal rock about 20 feet wide. The top may be  as shallow as 3 feet, but the face goes all  the way to 15 and many a big bass, as well as channel catfish will slide up on  the structure since it is not apparent to  the naked eye.      

 Also, with not much  area here at low water,  the Santa Ysabel Arm  continuing the east  bank and including the  west bank and elbow  area, all draw both cat fish and bass. Tube  fishermen like to drift  shiners around the  boulders and get a few  big fish this way. At  low water, however,  there do not seem to be  as many bass the shallower you go.       

WEST SHORE: Pretty  much the domain of  float tubers and shore fishermen, the  area from the launch ramp to Mossy  Cove near the buoy line is a big bass  area, but doesn’t seem to sport the numbers of bass you'll find elsewhere. There  are lots of spawning flat areas, but it is  harder for boat fishermen to maneuver  among the tubes.  It‘s perfect for shore fishermen however, who don’t mind the hike and like to  cast around and cover a lot of water.  Texas or Carolina-rigged plastic worms spinnerbaits and 1/4-  ounce or lighter jigs are  the best artificials for  fishing uphill.  Top colors remain  brown with a blue vein,  grape, a dark green weenie in 4- to 8-inch sizes. 

MAIN LAKE SURPRISE: While everyone  assumes all the spawning bass are near the  bank, that’s never the  case. With so many fish  and not a lot of surface  acreage, many Lake  Sutherland bass are  located in the main lake basin on several structure spots.  Take a course from the spillway of the  dam to the rocky cover on the west side  of the mouth of the Santa Ysabel Arm  and watch your sonar as you cross in  from of Brown Creek. You’ll see rock  piles, ledges and other cover you wouldn’t  expect and home for some lunker bass  and catfish.       

Click on a county for Hunting Clubs & Private Ranches:

ALAMEDA	ALPINE	AMADOR	BUTTE	CALVERAS
COLUSA	CONTRA COSTA	EL DORADO	DEL NORTE	FRESNO
GLENN	HUMBOLDT	IMPERIAL	INYO	KERN
LASSEN	LAKE	LOS ANGELES	MARIN	MENDOCINO
MONTEREY	MERCED	NAPA	PLACER	RIVERSIDE
SACRAMENTO	SANTA CLARA	SANTA BARBARA	SAN BERNADINO	SANTA CRUZ
SAN DIEGO	SAN FRANCISCO	SAN JOAQUIN	SAN LUIS OBISPO	SHASTA
SISKIYOU	SOLANO	SONOMA	TEHAMA	TRINITY
YOLO	YUBA	HUNTING AND FISHING MAPS	HUNTING CLUBS &RANCHES  SITE	CONTACT US

Click on a county for OREGON Hunting Clubs & Private Ranches:

COOS HUNTING FISH	GILLIAM HUNTING FISH	GRANT HUNTING FISH	HARNEY HUNTING FISH	HOOD HUNTING FISHING
KLAMATH HUNTING FISH	MORROW HUNTING FISH	SHERMAN HUNTING FISH	ST.HELENS HUNTING FISH	WHEELER HUNTING FISH
HUNTING FISH	HUNTING FISH	HUNTING CLUBS & RANCHES SITE	HUNTING & FISHING MAPS	CONTACT US

Oregon and California hunting and fishing  maps of hunting clubs, hunting ranches, public and private fishing.

If you like our Fishing map and information on how to fish this lake, we have many more hunting and fishing maps, here is a screen shot, but if you want more info, click on this link:

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Also, if you want very specific county by county information on fishing and hunting clubs in California and Oregon for private fishing, hunting clubs, and exclusive network of hunting ranches found nowhere else, here is a screen shot below, click on this link to go to the site:

www.ranchhuntandfish.com

www.ranchhuntandfish.com
California and Oregon for private fishing, hunting clubs, and exclusive network of hunting ranches
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