Thanks Andy, before kids, I used to fish solo all day at other lakes like
Loveland, Barrett, Murray, Hodges, Otay, and El Cap etc.
Back in the
day. Now its more about entertaining the kids, and not locking them into
a whole day on a boat or in the wild.
So ... I think the $5 parking and $9 to fish at Santee is a blessing. With 4
and 6 year old girls and a lovely wife along for the day, the most important things are:
1. clean bathrooms;
2. a store to buy ice cream;
3. big playgrounds and even playgrounds on islands;
4. trash picked up regularly around the lake;
5. plenty of picnic tables and manicured grass ... even on islands;
6. friendly rangers when you need one;
7. no ticks, rattlesnakes or climbing through brush;
8. LOTS of bluegill!
It's not for everyone, but we enjoy this place 20+ days a year.
Cheers to all you fishing dads out there!
Larry