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DIAMOND VALLEY UPDATE -- matthews column 06aug03
Diamond Valley Lake opens Oct. 3, boat inspections ongoing
Diamond Valley Lake, the new 4,500-acre reservoir near Hemet, is already being touted as the best fishery in California, and it hasn't even opened yet. The official opening date is October 3, and thankfully there will be a reservation system for opening weekend or there would already be a line forming to be one of the first to get in to fish this reservoir.
Mike Giusti, the Department of Fish and Game biologist headquartered at the new lake, simply giggles when you ask him how good the fishing will be. The largemouth bass are averaging from two to four pounds, the rainbows are four pounds-plus, and no one is even thinking about catfish and bluegill. One-pound bluegill have been found stuck in the mouths of four-pound bass, however. All the fish are football-shaped there is so much food for them.
That's pretty well known, but the details about what boats and fishing will be allowed have been widely unknown or misrepresented. The Metropolitan Water District has been clarifying things for the past two weeks, since the opening day was announced. Here are some of the details anglers will need to know:
-- Reservations will be required opening weekend and probably for some time after that. Anglers should visit the MWD website http://www.mwdh2o.com for news about when and where reservations will be sold. That had not been determined yet, but reservations will cost $3 to $5 over the cost of admission, fishing and boat launching fees.
-- Fees will be $7 per vehicle for entrance and $3 per angler for fishing (with that money dedicated to maintaining the lake's fishery). The boat launch fee is $6.
-- Shore fishing will be allowed along 1 1/2 miles of beach in the east end beginning Oct. 3. Reservations will still be required for shore anglers at least through opening weekend.
-- There will not any special fishing regulations on the lake initially. For bass, the statewide five-fish, 12-inch minimum size regulations will apply. The trout limit will also be five fish. Giusti said he hopes the Fish and Game Commission will approve five-fish, 15-inch minimum size regulation for the largemouth and a catch-and-release regulation for the smallmouths. If they do, it would not go into affect until March 1.
-- No body contact activities are allowed at Diamond Valley. No swimming, jet skiing, water skiing, or float tubing will be allowed.
-- To maintain the cleanest water possible, only the following types of engines will be allowed: Boats with either four-stroke or direct fuel-injection, two-stroke engines are allowed. Rules also allow engines that comply with the California Air Resources Control Board's 2001 or later model spark-ignition marine engine standard. Traditional carbureted or electronic fuel injected (EFI) two-stroke engines are prohibited, but EFI four-stroke engines are acceptable.
-- Boats must be at least 12 feet long and 42 inches wide and have 12-inches of freeboard at idle speed. Touring and recreational-style kayaks are required to be at least 10 feet long with seating for all passengers. Rowboats, canoes, sailboats, and catamarans or other multi-hulled boats with solid, fixed decking are allowed. Sit-on-top kayaks are not allowed.
-- All watercraft must be inspected and MWD decal displayed on the craft prior to being launched. The MWD has inspections from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily at Lake Skinner and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at the Diamond Valley Lake Visitor Center (Newport Road, just west of the State Street intersection in Hemet). In addition, the MWD will offer free inspections 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Los Angeles Valley College and Aug. 16 at the west parking lot of the South Coast Air Quality Management District office, both in Los Angeles. Inspections will also be offered at sites in San Diego County on Aug. 23, but locations and times had not been selected yet. Inspections usually take less than 15 minutes.
Anglers can sign up at the lake website http://www.dvlake.com to be placed on an electronic subscription list to get updated news on Diamond Valley and its operation. Anglers can also call the toll-free number at 800-211-9863.
It's going to be an amazing fishery.
Diamond Valley Lake opens Oct. 3, boat inspections ongoing
Diamond Valley Lake, the new 4,500-acre reservoir near Hemet, is already being touted as the best fishery in California, and it hasn't even opened yet. The official opening date is October 3, and thankfully there will be a reservation system for opening weekend or there would already be a line forming to be one of the first to get in to fish this reservoir.
Mike Giusti, the Department of Fish and Game biologist headquartered at the new lake, simply giggles when you ask him how good the fishing will be. The largemouth bass are averaging from two to four pounds, the rainbows are four pounds-plus, and no one is even thinking about catfish and bluegill. One-pound bluegill have been found stuck in the mouths of four-pound bass, however. All the fish are football-shaped there is so much food for them.
That's pretty well known, but the details about what boats and fishing will be allowed have been widely unknown or misrepresented. The Metropolitan Water District has been clarifying things for the past two weeks, since the opening day was announced. Here are some of the details anglers will need to know:
-- Reservations will be required opening weekend and probably for some time after that. Anglers should visit the MWD website http://www.mwdh2o.com for news about when and where reservations will be sold. That had not been determined yet, but reservations will cost $3 to $5 over the cost of admission, fishing and boat launching fees.
-- Fees will be $7 per vehicle for entrance and $3 per angler for fishing (with that money dedicated to maintaining the lake's fishery). The boat launch fee is $6.
-- Shore fishing will be allowed along 1 1/2 miles of beach in the east end beginning Oct. 3. Reservations will still be required for shore anglers at least through opening weekend.
-- There will not any special fishing regulations on the lake initially. For bass, the statewide five-fish, 12-inch minimum size regulations will apply. The trout limit will also be five fish. Giusti said he hopes the Fish and Game Commission will approve five-fish, 15-inch minimum size regulation for the largemouth and a catch-and-release regulation for the smallmouths. If they do, it would not go into affect until March 1.
-- No body contact activities are allowed at Diamond Valley. No swimming, jet skiing, water skiing, or float tubing will be allowed.
-- To maintain the cleanest water possible, only the following types of engines will be allowed: Boats with either four-stroke or direct fuel-injection, two-stroke engines are allowed. Rules also allow engines that comply with the California Air Resources Control Board's 2001 or later model spark-ignition marine engine standard. Traditional carbureted or electronic fuel injected (EFI) two-stroke engines are prohibited, but EFI four-stroke engines are acceptable.
-- Boats must be at least 12 feet long and 42 inches wide and have 12-inches of freeboard at idle speed. Touring and recreational-style kayaks are required to be at least 10 feet long with seating for all passengers. Rowboats, canoes, sailboats, and catamarans or other multi-hulled boats with solid, fixed decking are allowed. Sit-on-top kayaks are not allowed.
-- All watercraft must be inspected and MWD decal displayed on the craft prior to being launched. The MWD has inspections from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily at Lake Skinner and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at the Diamond Valley Lake Visitor Center (Newport Road, just west of the State Street intersection in Hemet). In addition, the MWD will offer free inspections 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Los Angeles Valley College and Aug. 16 at the west parking lot of the South Coast Air Quality Management District office, both in Los Angeles. Inspections will also be offered at sites in San Diego County on Aug. 23, but locations and times had not been selected yet. Inspections usually take less than 15 minutes.
Anglers can sign up at the lake website http://www.dvlake.com to be placed on an electronic subscription list to get updated news on Diamond Valley and its operation. Anglers can also call the toll-free number at 800-211-9863.
It's going to be an amazing fishery.
