LAKE WOHLFORD How to get there: Take I-15 to Escondido's Valley Parkway, go east about eight miles to Lake Wohlford Road, turn right and follow the road up the hill. Road splits to the left for the Lake Wohlford Cafe, main lake entrance, launch ramp and rental boat dock; to the right for more shore fishing and Oakvale RV Park. Schedule: Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset until Sept. 9; weekends only Sept. 10-Dec. 16; trout season opens Dec. 15 and lake is open daily thereafter. Fish species: Largemouth bass, channel catfish, blue catfish, crappie, bluegill and trout (stocked in the winter and spring). Critters: Great birding with seasonal bald eagles, song birds and migratory birds. Wild turkeys have been seen just east of the lake. Southeast shore is secluded and best spot to watch wildlife. Concessions: Some fishing gear and good food at Smokey's Lake Wohlford Cafe. Fishermen's sack lunches available for $5, and restaurant is open daily for breakfast starting at 6 a.m. Oakvale RV Park has some snacks, bait and fishing supplies and offers primitive campsites, hook-ups for RVs, restrooms, hot showers, propane, laundry and disposal station. Mr. Paintball USA park to the west of the lake and the Escondido Fish & Game Association Shooting and Archery Range is east of the lake. Fishing tip: Good topwater action for bass right now early and late in the day. Catfish and carp hitting in deeper water, with catfish active in Oakvale Cove. Access: Well-kept trail on both sides of the lake, and with water very low, lots of fishing room. Boat launch ramp is only recommended right now for boats smaller than 16 feet. Prices: Fishing: Permits available only at Lake Wohlford Cafe and Oakvale RV Park. Adult permits, 16 and older, $5; seniors over 60, $4; youths, 8-15, $3; children under 8, free. Boating fees: Motorboats, $25 per day; after 1 p.m., $20; boat only, $14 per day; after 1 p.m., $10; private boat launch fee, $4 (maximum boat size, 20 feet; minimum, 10 feet); gasoline mixed for outboard motors, $5 per gallon. At Oakvale RV Park, primitive campsites, $15; water and electric hook-up, $19; full hook-up with sewer, $21 per night. Monthly rates available. Information: Lake Wohlford Cafe (760) 749-6585, Oakvale RV Park (760) 749-2895. Lake may be reached at (760) 839-4346.

ESCONDIDO – The water may be way down at Lake Wohlford, but the energy couldn't be any higher at the historic and rustic Lake Wohlford Cafe.

New owners Phyllis and Smokey Kamps have brought back the Friday night all-you-can-eat catfish fry and now offer entertainment, with live bands on Saturday nights. There's a new dance floor, a pool table and big-screen TV for “Monday Night Football.”

“We're cleaning the place up and we're trying to bring the place back to where it was 30 years ago, the place to be,” said Phyllis, a native of Kentucky with a fondness for fried green tomatoes, an item that may appear soon on the cafe's menu.

The cafe will be rocking this fall and winter, but the lake not so much, as city officials shift Wohlford's recreation to weekends only starting Sept. 10. “We want everyone to know that even though the lake will only be open on weekends until they stock trout in December, we're going to be open every day,” Phyllis said.

Stocked heavily with channel catfish at the beginning of summer, the lake can be a tough spot to fish this time of year. The lake's boulder-lined shoreline is exposed, with water 25 to 30 feet below it.

The 113-year old dam, originally called Bear Valley Dam, was built to catch water flowing off Palomar Mountain.

It's been a resort and an escape for residents of Escondido since the early 1900s and was renamed in 1924 for Alvin W. Wohlford, who owned Escondido National Bank and helped found the city's first irrigation district.

Wohlford doesn't have the big-bass reputation of its sister lake, Dixon, but those who know the lake well believe it has bass in the 20-pound class.

“Bass fishermen have to work at it here because the water isn't clear,” ranger George Scalo said. “They can't just follow bass around for that three to four weeks in the spring when they're spawning. We have some really good regular bass fishermen here, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of our regulars catches a 20-pounder.”

Steve Beasley has the lake record for bass at 19 pounds, 3 ounces, but that was set in the mid-1980s. Each month the Whopper of the Month contest rewards the angler who catches the heaviest bass, trout, crappie or catfish by giving the angler the use of a motorboat for a day. The Whopper of the Month contest and the Friday night fish fry at the cafe: two good reasons to visit Wohlford.

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This is the fifth in a Saturday series on San Diego County's lakes. Next week: Santee Lakes. To see previous stories and a map of area lakes, go to uniontrib.com/sports/outdoors.