Lower Otay Reservoir

Nice area to take a stroll, use to come fishing here way back. Still looks as though the lake gets used often for fishing. Will have to try the fishing out soon.

Bring your bug spray! I stopped for just a few minutes while I was out riding and and I swear I must have been attacked by about 80 Mosquitos in about a 3 minute span. My neck is still swollen!
But other than that it is peaceful and relaxing scenery. It’s nice to get away from the city life sometimes but not too far.
Like I said before don’t forget the bug spray!

Im here to rate and review the fishing at Lower Otay Lake.
The lake is one of the larger bodies of water in the San Diego City Lakes chain. The water clarity can range from slightly stained to very clear.
Otay has numerous types of cover that can be fished including tules, standing timber, and rocks.
Otay has bass, carp, crappie, bluegill, and catfish. This lake can offer solid fishing on crappie and bass in the early part of the year. The crappie seem to however, disappear out of sight after Feb. Untill then they can be caught in the coves using shiners and small jigs.
Bass will readily take top water lures, crankbaits, plastics, jigs, and live bait including crawdads and shiners.
Some very large catfish have been taken out of the lake but catfishing overall here is very inconsistant.
Bluegills start to spawn in May-​June and great numbers of them can be caught on a variety of live baits and small jigs.
Cons of fishing Otay: Shoreline fishing is very limited and its best to rent a motorboat or use a float-​tube.
Prices have increased for motorboat rentals to $ 45 a day. Last year there was a conflict between the City of San Diego and the consessions company that was providing rental boats and the sale of live bait and tackle for the San Diego City Lakes-​so no boats were availble last year or at least the time I tried to fish the lake.
Can get very windy in the afternoon which makes boat control difficult. I highly recommend the use of a troller motor for combating this problem.
Alot of water to cover! Must stay on the move always untill you find the fish.
Would rate more stars but this place requires knowledge of the waters, experience, and the willingness to fish hard and cover ground to find the fish. The uncertain boat rental situation does not help the rating either.
In summary: I enjoy fishing here and have experienced some success at Otay. I will be back!

When I lived in Eastlake I would enjoy driving out here and watching all the buildings and fake landscaping just drop off after the last track house. Everything turns into a velvety brown or green — depending on the season — and the mountains seem to rise out of nowhere.
There’s a lot of fishing and some boating out here. It’s not a bad place to go for a run or barbecue. There’s also a few campgrounds not far down the road.