Lake Morena

Lake Morena is located on the remote eastern slope of the laguna mountains, just 63 miles northeast of San Diego. Enclosed in this beautiful 3,250 acre recreation park you will find hundreds of hills lined with chaparrel, large oak trees, and grasslands filled with large rock formations. Lake Morena sits at 3,000 feet above sea level and is the farthest reservoir San Diego has to offer.

Constuction of the Morena dam began in 1897 which eventually resulted in the creation of a reservoir on Cottonwood Creek. One year later the project was halted because of money problems but, was finally finished in 1912. January of 1916 was a fluke month for Lake Morena. The last four years produced hardly any rain and caused the polititions to find an outside source to fill the reservoir. Thier best choice was Charles M. Hatfield, a popular rainmaker from Los Angeles. I cannot speculate as to the cause of this freak storm. Some claim it was the rainmaker and others say mother nature or act of god. I can say that in any event, it did rain. It rained for most of the month, causing death, distruction, and mayhem! The floods killed dozens of people, destroyed all but two of the 112 bridges maintained by the city, and damaged two other county reservoirs.

There are miles of shoreline with rocks, ledges, trees, and bushes to fish. There is even an island on Lake Morena but, only when the water level is up. The lake has a healthy supply of forage fish with semi~stained to clear water, allowing for easy spotting of bass feeding. The type of fish you will find are Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout, German Brown Trout, and Channel Catfish.