Folkestad, who is confident with a number of methods and lures on the San Diego lakes, reminded me of another lure that works well on Otay’s big bass.

For many years, he has fished so-called Monster Worms, huge 12-inch replicas of night crawlers. These big soft-plastics will get hits from smaller fish, but they excel in getting the attention of really big bass.

Mostly rigged Texas-style, these huge plastic worms work best fished with very little weight. An 1/8-ounce worm weight makes the big worm sink very slowly. You can also fish these big worms on a Carolina Rig to cover a lot of water.

Brown, black, dirty olive and similar grubby earth colors are just the ticket for Otay.

Of course, nobody should visit a prime bass lake like Otay with just big worms and swimbaits. Pig-n-jig setups, using either pork or plastic trailers, are very good for Otay’s big bass. These lures imitate crayfish.

Then again, you can also go right to the source and fish live crayfish. If you do, use a slow retrieve to inch a live crayfish through bottom rubble and weeds until it gets the attention of a big bass. Around here, the technique is called “stitchin’.”

You can also throw crankbaits on this lake. When the bluegills are nesting, I’ve scored some good fish using bluegill-patterned crankbaits along the shoreline.

All the finesse techniques of small plastic worms, including drop-shotting, have their place. But by and large, you get a better chance for a trophy fish by throwing the big baits.

Otay isn’t a lake that gets a lot of surface action. Boils do happen when bass feeding on shad or other bait at the surface, but overall, expect to fish deeper for the big fish.

CHANGES ON THE WAY
Otay Lake used to be open for only part of the year, and then only on selected days. This was the plan for all the San Diego City reservoirs.

It was a carefully thought-out plan to limit the fishing pressure on any one lake, while still leaving one or two open at any time of the year.

But that schedule has changed. It’s just one of a number of changes to the fishing program for the city lakes. Otay is now open year ‘round.

Joe Weber, City Lakes Recreation manager, said in November through January, it would be open via the Iron Ranger method of payment. Otherwise, it will be fully manned this spring.

What Weber didn’t say is that the Iron Ranger method of opening the lakes is just the tip of the iceberg for change. It is clear that the City Water Department’s new director is trying to get the Water Department out of the recreation business.

As things stand now, if the recreation operation is allowed to continue, in the future it will be handled by the Parks and Recreation Department.

There’s a small chance that in the future, the City of San Diego’s famous lakes may be closed to fishing. It hasn’t yet gone that far, but sportsmen should be aware of what could happen if they don’t get involved.

For sportsmen fishing San Diego lakes, the other major issue is possible closures and restrictions following the discovery of quagga mussels, an aquatic pest introduced into the U.S. waters from abroad.