lake wohlford

Chainsaw training stumps local eucalyptus

In our never-ending battle against invasive species, chainsaws are a most important tool. But the safety of our staff and volunteers always takes precedent. So, last month, Conservancy staff, volunteers, and some of our conservation partners spent a full day learning the basics of chainsaw safety and maintenance. “Investing in this training is worth it,” said Conservancy Land Director Hannah Walchak, “because not knowing how…


Wildlife habitat gets break around Wohlford

The Escondido Creek Conservancy (Conservancy) has secured $4.2 million in grant funds from the State of California to protect the 282-acre John Henry property near Lake Wohlford—now known as George Sardina, MD Preserve. The Conservancy took ownership of the property on July 2 and is already making plans to restore areas damaged by past uses. Between the George Sardina, MD Preserve and the 693-acre Mountain…


MONSTER ALERT! 16.3-pound bass caught at Lake Wohlford

Rising big bass star Greg Springer of Vista has caught and released the largest bass in San Diego in almost two years, a truly massive 16.3 pounder. Springer landed the fish on Friday at Escondido’s Lake Wohlford near the South Shore Rockpile, while fishing from the shoreline with a 3:16 Lure Company Kokanee Glide Bait (pictured in one of those photos below). Springer had been on a mission to…


Saturday dawn’s first light brings Lake Wohlford trout season to an opening crescendo

 Lake Wohlford 25453 Lake Wohlford Road, Escondido Before first light, in the early-morning low-40s temperature, over 200 fishermen hit the opening day of trout season at Escondido’s Lake Wohlford. The Dec. 12 opener was preceded a few days earlier with a 6000-pound plant of Nebraska tailwalkers. The rainbow trout are prized for their larger size and fighting ability. The 6 a.m. start time saw anglers filling…


Lake Wohlford where the catfish are biting

You know what they say, a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work. And then some. That’s what brought three diverse generations of the Brinneman clan to the shore of Lake Wohlford last week where they found the catfish fishing and it was good. “We’ve got three catfish in there,” Roy Brinneman said, pointing to a cooler. “They just stocked…


Kersplat! From Airsoft to high velocity, Mr. Paintball USA is shooting up Lake Wohlford Road

Red, white and/or blue, maybe yellow, green and orange, Mr. Paintball USA is shooting up Lake Wohlford Road, but in the fun, non-lethal way. “When we’re reffing,” Raul Anda said, “We get shot all the time. The kids like playing the Airsoft games. They’re more like video games. We have several fields here, very fast action games; close quarter contact fields, special low impact games.”…


A Drive North — Smokey’s Lake Wohlford Cafe, an appreciation and review

Thought I’d get out my East County posting “rut” and still stay within San Diego County, which is about 4,200-square-miles. I had a long story about how we got here, but will leave that for another time. Let’s just say “The Mister” and I drove through Escondido to Valley Center, picked up some meat by the side of the road, still $35, and then stopped at Bates Nut Farm…