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Bass not the only fish thriving in city lakes
Ed Zieralski, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 21, 2003
Sam Vong displays a string of redear sunfish he caught last week at Lake San Vicente. ED ZIERALSKI / Union-Tribune
Sam Vong's stringer of fish Wednesday at San Vicente included five redear sunfish, some of which rivaled the size of the bass he and his fishing buddy caught that day.
The quality redear sunfish, many up to 2 pounds, are a good example of how the San Diego City Lakes have improved in the last 40 years under fisheries biologist Larry Bottroff.
The lake has the usual Florida-strain largemouth bass population, better now than ever, and it also includes the sunfish, Florida-strain bluegill, Florida black crappie, channel catfish and blue catfish, one of which set the state record at 101 pounds.
It also has stocked rainbow trout that fishermen catch long after the last plant.
"When I started in the 1960s, largemouth bass fishing was horrible," Bottroff said. Low water levels had crowded the bass into smaller pools, and fluctuating levels had hurt spawns.
It was a time when the imported Florida-strain bass were mixing with the resident Northern bass, and that was what intrigued Bottroff the most.
Today, 22 of the top 25 largemouth bass caught and recorded are offspring of the original plant of Florida-strain bass in Upper Otay in 1960. Bottroff said the Florida-strain San Diego offspring now are spread throughout the United States.
"Over the years, California has sent fish to Arkansas, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, Washington and even back to Florida," Bottroff said.
Ed Zieralski, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 21, 2003
Sam Vong displays a string of redear sunfish he caught last week at Lake San Vicente. ED ZIERALSKI / Union-Tribune
Sam Vong's stringer of fish Wednesday at San Vicente included five redear sunfish, some of which rivaled the size of the bass he and his fishing buddy caught that day.
The quality redear sunfish, many up to 2 pounds, are a good example of how the San Diego City Lakes have improved in the last 40 years under fisheries biologist Larry Bottroff.
The lake has the usual Florida-strain largemouth bass population, better now than ever, and it also includes the sunfish, Florida-strain bluegill, Florida black crappie, channel catfish and blue catfish, one of which set the state record at 101 pounds.
It also has stocked rainbow trout that fishermen catch long after the last plant.
"When I started in the 1960s, largemouth bass fishing was horrible," Bottroff said. Low water levels had crowded the bass into smaller pools, and fluctuating levels had hurt spawns.
It was a time when the imported Florida-strain bass were mixing with the resident Northern bass, and that was what intrigued Bottroff the most.
Today, 22 of the top 25 largemouth bass caught and recorded are offspring of the original plant of Florida-strain bass in Upper Otay in 1960. Bottroff said the Florida-strain San Diego offspring now are spread throughout the United States.
"Over the years, California has sent fish to Arkansas, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, Washington and even back to Florida," Bottroff said.
