Good times, and request from staff

[otaymichael]

Fished last Wed and the one before, very hot, but good topwater action helps me forget about it.

_____________________________

Oh, the road is in terrible shape, thought it was just me, got worse in one week, and Laurie asked me to ask YOU to petition the city to get it graded.
Staff has to drive in and out all the time, so let's help save their vehicles, and backs, from getting destroyed, ok? Pretty please! Please respond if you do, let's get lots of us helping, squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Thanks from them and me.

I filmed some of the ride out, you could send the YouTube link to them, along with request by phone. Road takes a toll with over 200 folks driving in and out weekly.



Public Utilities
Reservoirs and Recreation Program Office
619-668-2050
lakes@sandiego.gov

EDIT: According to member TommyP, the person to contact at City Lakes is Bryan Norris (619.668.2014)

So went online, here's info:
"Of San Diego County’s 24 reservoirs and lakes, 18 allow fishing. Bryan Norris, Reservoirs and Recreation Program Manager for the City of San Diego, oversees eight locations offering recreational opportunities, including fishing." It listed the lake, Barrett was one. Sooooo....
I'd send him my complaints too then.
_______________________________

Now to the report...
Couple of shots for the past couple of trips out. Top gets me larger fish overall it seems, getting about 10 for a half days work (noonish till dusk). Many of the larger ones got off at the boat, barbless deal, as usual.

Getting them on top, boot tail flukes, poppers, spooks, buzzbaits.

Amazing how many bluegill hitting the jerkbait!!

[otaymichael]

PS, by clicking 'share' in the upper right corner of the video it opens your mail program and copies the link to it. Just add the request for immediate attention if 'they'd be so kind'.
Gracias again,
Ciao, MS




Fishing the 'cheese' with boot tail flukes, this one had such a giant explosion it scared me, too fun. Thank U Lord.

[otaymichael]

Always head out with high expectations... friendly staff helps check you in and get you out, and the lake rarely disappoints!

But sometimes the boats do, not too often...
Thank you kind people that towed me back to the dock (motor blew up 1/2 way down Hauser). Fished the area until someone could come by heading in, which was not till buddy Chuck in his Kayak towed me a 1/3 of the way in, and then these other folks took over the rest of the way. Thus I missed the buster bite that was hot and heavy Chuck reported, oh well.

Got this one, but lost a fiver on it last week. Had a net (and I don't want to lip it with all those hooks, don't care if it is BARBLESS), and knew fumbling for the net she'd throw it, but boat flipping a fiver is no easy task, and her head shake as she reached the rail of the boat she threw it. Ouch, fivers are not that easy to come by, and I had others that size exploded on my buzzbait, could tell by water displacement, but did not stick.

If they miss the bait, I let it drop down and many times they hit it on the sink. This one hit the top twice, then the sink, and each time I missed the hookset, surprisingly she hit the one on the sink, the fourth time was a charm, never had that happen before.

Sure is pretty out there.

[pierguy]

Thanks OtayM, I just sent the link to the lake dept and mentioned that I had to get my muffler re-welded and re-aligned, it was rattling so bad. The muffler shop asked if I did a lot of off-roading (I don’t) haha. This was a result of going to Barrett on our 5th trip for this season.

I can’t wait to get to the Big B with the repaired muffler soon, we’re signed up for three more trips in August!

[camobass]

An old Baja trick if you have the patience and a portable compressor is to air down to 15-20psi (lower side if your vehicle is smaller). It’s night and day.

[JWall]

You are the topwater maestro Michael!

[otaymichael]

Thanks OtayM, I just sent the link to the lake dept and mentioned that I had to get my muffler re-welded and re-aligned, it was rattling so bad. The muffler shop asked if I did a lot of off-roading (I don’t) haha. This was a result of going to Barrett on our 5th trip for this season.

I can’t wait to get to the Big B with the repaired muffler soon, we’re signed up for three more trips in August!

The lake staff and i say muchas gracias. I just followed up my email from last night with a phone call just now, took less than a minute to leave a message about the problem, and asking whom we should direct our calls (I think it's the folks we leave messages with, but it's good to leave one anyway, right?.)

Public Utilities
Reservoirs and Recreation Program Office
619-668-2050
lakes@sandiego.gov

[otaymichael]

Barrett 'tip of the day'.
You might notice a beach towel on the front deck of the boat where I'm getting towed back. The week before it was so hot, areas where there's no paint on the metal, you could fry an egg. Sooo hot to the touch that I burnt my hand in a split second of touching it. Now it's already 100 degrees out there, I sure don't need to make things worse by fishing in a skillet on high heat, which is what you're doing out there.

Fresh paint would help, but Laurie said no way the city would do that (not like their not making a ton of $ weekly from all our fees, huh?). Anyway, I figured if I covered the two seats and the front deck it would reduce the skillet effect, and it sure did! Thank U Lord. Try it, you'll thank me later. (Just get permission from the wife first, I used the good ones and got fish blood from a gill hooked one all over the one on the front deck, OOPS! \


PS,UPDATE: I went to the cities website and filled out a form for 'sidewalk repair request' (since there's no 'boat needs paint repair' check-box). I mean heck, how hard would it be to run a roller over the large surfaces and remedy 90% of the heat making surface of the boats, we don't need the whole thing painted. The interior sides are fine anyways, they don't get warn off like the seats and front deck, right? Please join me with that request, while your at it, ok? Good fishermen.

[TommyP]

The person to contact at City Lakes is Bryan Norris(619.668.2014) Its a bit absurd that we as fisherman have to request something that concerns maintenance. Its not like the place is not making $$$, after all it is sold out month after month. Seasonally, Barrett generates the most revenue of all the lakes. You would think that some of the $$ would be put back into the facility to keep it running. That lake staff is the hardest working staff, especially with what they have to work with. Sometime ask about the work boat and the lake boat......terrible condition. El Cap lake boat has a brand new 25 hp motor. Here we go again.....having to complain to the City when they just raised the rates(to fish and launch boats) 40%(on average). Emails are also good for the record......bnorris@sandiego.gov. Please be(somewhat) respectful. I went thru this same situation last year with Bryan.......they just do not care!!

TommyP

[camobass]

Imagine if you painted the boat seats yourself. You see that local guy at wind n sea that painted the stairs? He did a pro job, sanding etc and got a ticket from the city.the stairs were shot and the paint was all but gone before he took matters into his own hands. We the people haha

I bet if Adam and Steve burnt their cheeks while wearing their daisy dukes in one of those boats , Gloria would have all those boats painted and sexy.

[SLURP]

Food for thought – not really trying to rub people the wrong way or start a huge internet discussion - just giving another very important perspective.

The easiest thing to do for the city is to shut it down so keep that in mind before you start blowing up the city. This is a really valid point and want to start off with this before my next valid points so it sinks way in and I do not offend you so much that you shut down and don’t see my other valid points. So again, can fish Barrett vs can’t fish Barrett. Think about it.

The Road – Really? I mean really? I have personally seen so much worse. I see people driving this road so fast, maybe slow down it really helps. Saying the lake staff drives it every day and telling us how great the lake staff is blah blah blah. Its counter intuitive. Think about it? The Lake staff is so great but they can’t get it done? You are basically complaining for the lake staff. If they want, they can complain for themselves and get it done if it is even a problem for them. What is a problem is when a bunch of people start complain about things that aren’t really a problem when you think about it. I can think of one easy way to solve that problem and every other comfort problem visiting fisherman have - Shut it down!

Painting the boats cause its hot! LOL this is so funny to me!! When Barrett is hot its hot – a little paint ain’t doing jack – bring your, towel or pack your parasol if needed. But man, paint the boats and complain to the city to paint the boats!?

People think Barrett is making money hand over fist? Well, they are not and in fact it’s a city thing but they are not allowed to make a profit. They do maintain the motors, boats, anchors, gas for the boat’s porta potties and probably a whole bunch of other stuff I am failing to mention. I do know they grade from time to time; I wonder what that cost is? I wonder how much it is to drive a vehicle out there and suck the shat from the porto john? All the $$ collected does not go right back into your fishing comfort. There are pumps and equipment to maintain. There are city trucks, salaries and pensions to keep up with. The $$$ spent to maintain the entire lake vs the fees collected is not even in the realm of profit center. Any homeowners out there? What’s it cost to maintain your little piece of land – now think about an entire lake..

One thing I do agree about is the lake staff is great, I love them and they do a great job year after year! I am always respectful. I get back to the dock so they do not have to find me at the end of the day. I don’t park like an a-hole and block other people in. I wind my rope around the anchor. I CLEAN UP MY SHAT from the boat and throw ALL of my trash away, including line and the mess that other slobs left behind. I place the gas can back on top of the back bench of the boat - where I found it to make it easier on the staff to refuel. I am always amazed at the amount of disrespect I see towards the staff. When people can not even pick up their own trash from the boat its super weak sauce, and very disrespectful in my opinion.

Sure, you can call up every official and complain the road is bumpy and the weather is hot at your own peril. If the lake gets shut down which is a real possibility, (California) if they field too many complaints and they think there is a liability that is not worth covering. Its way easier to shut it down then to keep up with every comfort wish from a few squeaky wheels.

Here is a something everyone needs to understand – The lake staff is the lake staff whether or not Barrett is open for fishing and hunting. They will still be the lake staff even if the lake is not open for recreation. If they shut down recreation the lake still needs staff.

So Yes – I will call Bryan Norris (619.668.2014), and tell him how much I do appreciate the lake staff, because I do. I will also mention how much I love fishing Barrett and the love I have for this lake and I for one am very grateful to have access and hope it always remains open for me and mine for generations to come. I know I pissed off a few people with my comments but some should really and seriously think about the context of what I am pointing out.

If city officials got a whole bunch of calls telling them how great the lake staff is and what jewel Lake Barrett is they may think hmm - how can we improve the experience for our residents. Or they get a bunch of calls saying the road is bumpy and I burned my hand on the boat cause is hot. You catch more flies with honey and you will catch more bass when the lake is open.

[camobass]

There are ways to drive that road to avoid a majority of the washboard. I’ve lived on a dirt road my whole life. People from the city always complain about the dirt road and the people from the back country always complain about the people from the city complaining about the dirt road haha

[TommyP]

Some good points.......FYI Bryan is NOT your fishermans friend. Also FYI if there was not a stink made last season there would not have been any boat/motor rentals. Part of the contract with respect to the City Lakes is "there are recreational activities" available. There is supposed to be a "review of the status" of all the City Lakes done every 3 years. The last one done was last year resulting in all the fee increases. The last time the review was done was 12 years ago! Hey, I am not trying to stir up s..t. There are three sides to every story.....your side, my side and the truth.

TommyP

[jpm]

glad to be able to help you ohttps://www.sdfish.org/download/file.php?mode=view&id=2558ut,it was a special trip fishing with my daughter

as always a great day at barrett

[otaymichael]

glad to be able to help you ohttps://www.sdfish.org/download/file.php?mode=view&id=2558ut,it was a special trip fishing with my daughterIMG_1449.jpg as always a great day at barrett

Before you two took over my buddy towed me with his Kayak, while his buddy in another one held the side of my boat and 'peddled'. It must have looked funny.

Thanks so much. Did you guys get any over at the dam?

[otaymichael]

Some good points.......FYI Bryan is NOT your fishermans friend. Also FYI if there was not a stink made last season there would not have been any boat/motor rentals. Part of the contract with respect to the City Lakes is "there are recreational activities" available. There is supposed to be a "review of the status" of all the City Lakes done every 3 years. The last one done was last year resulting in all the fee increases. The last time the review was done was 12 years ago! Hey, I am not trying to stir up s..t. There are three sides to every story.....your side, my side and the truth.

TommyP

GREAT points. Any email address for this Bryan guy?

[jpm]

We got 6 more over by the dam,not bad for 30 minutes

[Early release]

glad to be able to help you ohttps://www.sdfish.org/download/file.php?mode=view&id=2558ut,it was a special trip fishing with my daughterIMG_1449.jpg as always a great day at barrett

Before you two took over my buddy towed me with his Kayak, while his buddy in another one held the side of my boat and 'peddled'. It must have looked funny.

Thanks so much. Did you guys get any over at the dam?

Hey Michael, that was me that held the side and pedaled to help a little. Nice to meet you.

[TommyP]

bnorris@sandiego.gov

TommyP

[otaymichael]

Finally got a chance to send an email to the guy. Here's a sample if anyone would be kind enough to help out the Staff, AND us!
Also called: Bryan Norris (619.668.2014)
__________
bnorris@sandiego.gov

Dear Mr Norris, I'm writing as I'm dreading going to Barrett Lake tomorrow, because two weeks ago, my, and dozens of other cars and trucks, got TORN up by the poor condition of the road. Here's video proof of how bad the wash board effect is.

h ttps://youtu.be/n-7sDfXo3as (note, remove space from beginning of this link, and this note too).

Please attend to this ASAP, things don't get better over time with this problem, and the staff (GREAT FOLKS, all of them) say they hate having to drive it daily but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears!!  

Thanks,
Barrett Lake Patrons for 20 years now.