Lake Cuyamaca Fishing Overview

Positioned on the eastern side of the Cuyamaca Mountains, Lake Cuyamaca boasts a diverse fishery for anglers... including bass, trout, catfish, crappie, bluegill, and even sturgeon. In the early summer, the lake is especially known for its bass and crappie fishing. Abundant large bass and daily crappie limits are common. The lake's record for largemouth bass stands at a substantial 14 pounds, 3 ounces. Come winter, exceptional trout fishing emerges — a rarity in the region. Thanks to Cuyamaca's elevation, the water maintains a cooler...

Positioned on the eastern side of the Cuyamaca Mountains, Lake Cuyamaca boasts a diverse fishery for anglers... including bass, trout, catfish, crappie, bluegill, and even sturgeon.

In the early summer, the lake is especially known for its bass and crappie fishing. Abundant large bass and daily crappie limits are common. The lake's record for largemouth bass stands at a substantial 14 pounds, 3 ounces.

Come winter, exceptional trout fishing emerges — a rarity in the region. Thanks to Cuyamaca's elevation, the water maintains a cooler temperature for a longer duration, allowing trout to be stocked throughout the year. This distinction makes it the sole lake in San Diego County with year-round trout stocking. And some of these trout grow impressively large, with the lake record for rainbow trout being a remarkable 17.5 pounds.

During the summer and fall, anglers can anticipate a steady catfish bite. Interestingly, sturgeon were stocked in the lake back in the 90s. Every so often, these ancient behemoths surprise trout and catfish anglers with an unexpected bite.

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Species:

Rainbow Trout, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Black Crappie, White Sturgeon

Stocked Date:

Trout stocked 1 month ago - View Schedule

Trophy Fish:

Largemouth Bass: 14.18 lb (1996)
Rainbow Trout: 17.5 lb (2015)
Sturgeon: 62 in (2014)
Channel Catfish: 28.31 lb (1998)
Black Crappie: 2.5 lb

Boating / Access:

No wake. Stay within buoys. No fishing from pedal boats. All boats must be inspected before launched.

Geography:

Surface Area: 111 acres

Surface Elevation: 4,612 ft

Fishing Reports

Log Report

Lake Cuyamaca

Jul 18

San Diego County

Public

Good Trout bite

Trout, Carp, Bullhead

73°F Muddy

Water temps are up in the 70s at Cuyamaca, but the trout bite remains quite good this late in the season. Anglers are catching trout limits in a variety of different ways... some soaking Powerbait or mice tails, others throwing Panther Martins or gold spoons (especially in the morning). And a few folks are even getting fish with the old-fashioned night crawler under a bobber strategy (also landing bullhead and carp too). Overall, the bite remains very good for July, although most fish are on the small end. Look for the bigger fish to start biting once fall hits.

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3 anglers found this report useful

Lake Cuyamaca

@davidennis

Feb 4

Public

Trip Report

Trout

65°F Mostly Cloudy with High Wind

Muddy

Have not seen a trout caught by me or any one. Fished 4 days in January fishing now February 2nd thru the 4th. Every day I would check the barrels at the fish cleaning station to see if anyone cleaned fish. Not a nibble by me or many other fishermen here that I talked to. Used jigs, power bait, mice tails, night crawlers and spinners nothing. This...

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3 anglers found this report useful