Berkeley PowerBaits are always good choices for bait-fishermen, and night crawlers will attract the bigger fish. Don’t overlook small green mini-jigs. I watched one angler haul in a limit of lightning trout in less than two hours, using the minis from shore in Half Moon Bay.

LAKE WOHLFORD:OLD RELIABLE
Continuing north a few more miles, winter trout anglers can head for the 145-acre Lake Wohlford near Valley Center. This is one of the county’s older lakes and is operated by the city of Escondido. The lake is open from 6 a.m. to sunset daily, from the opening of trout season in mid-December through Labor Day. About 26,000 pounds of Mount Lassen rainbows are planted each year at Wohlford from early December until May.

Wohlford is an old, scenic lake with lots of structure, good shore access, boat rentals and a launch ramp for private boats. A few picnic tables can be found under some of the huge old oak trees that line some areas of the shore. Bait, tackle and food are available at the Lake Wohlford Resort on the north side. The record here stands at 12-0.

Lake Wohlford has always been one of those dependable fishing holes where the more competitive trout angler can work the big ones, or the armchair fisherman could relax while slowly filling his stringer.

Boaters can find good action for trout in Boat Dock and Willow Coves, and shore-fishermen can back their cars right down to the edge of the lake at the Senior Shoreline to fish in comfort.

“A Kastmaster lure always seems to work after the stock, and then PowerBait,” said Art Bullard, a ranger at Wohlford.

This is not a big trolling lake, maybe because the water is not very clear. The stocked fish seem to hang about 8 to 12 inches off the bottom, so bait or lures that run deep seem to work best. Flyfishermen also find that wet flies or streamers are far more successful than dries. “On a good day, we see a lot of 3- to 4-pound fish coming in,” Bullard said. “And we try to keep the lake stocked with fish in the 1- to 2-pound range, with some bigger ones tossed in.”