Lower Otay Lake
Chula Vista · near Chula Vista · San Diego
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Spring bass; summer catfish
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+) plus a city permit (age 8+ needs a day permit). Open Wed, Sat & Sun year-round, sunrise–sunset. 12-inch bass minimum.
What is here
- Features
- Historic big-bass/tournament water · South Bay near the border · Weedy, fertile bass habitat · Trophy catfish too
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Fishing detail
- Water type
- lake
- Water
- fresh
- Methods
- Live bait · Casting · Spin · Jigging
- Boat
- both
- Target species
- Largemouth bass · Channel & blue catfish · Crappie · Bluegill
- Intl tip
- Target the weed edges and flooded brush with weedless soft plastics; mornings before the wind are prime.
The guide
Lower Otay is a South Bay classic with deep tournament heritage — its fertile, weedy flats have produced enormous largemouth ov…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Lower Otay Lake — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.628, -116.937