Irvine Lake sees lunker 29-10 blue catfish; largest of year so far
by Steve Carson
7-20-2011
714-649-9111
Website
CATFISH
The size of the catfish typically increases at Irvine Lake as the summer progresses. Accordingly, a 29-10 blue cat is the heaviest whiskerfish of the year (so far), reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "We had the largest catfish of the season weighed this week, a 29-10 blue cat. The overall catfish bite is staying strong, and the limits have primarily been caught during the evenings. In contrast, the bigger fish are coming when it's still light out; the big one was caught at 6:00 PM."
Good numbers of catfish were checked in from Boat Dock Cove, Santiago Flats, the west shore, and Trout Island. Best depth was 5 to 15 feet in the proximity of trees. Favored baits were mackerel and shrimp. Most catfish on the stringers were eating-size 2 to 6-pounders, with an assortment of 8 to 10 pounders keeping things interesting. It should be noted that although the 29-10 blue is the largest of this season, the lake has yielded a couple of whoppers over 80 pounds in the past decade.
BASS
Bass anglers found decent numbers of 2 to 5-pound largemouth, although rumors of a true whopper were hard to nail down. Most bassers are hitting points at 10 to 25 feet, and throwing Carolina rigs, jigs, and crankbaits. Fortunate anglers can still find a few large schools of bass boiling up on shad, and at such times a few sunshine bass (hybrid stripers) over 6 pounds will be mixed with the largemouth.
CRAPPIE
Crappie anglers are catching plenty of fish, mostly by setting out a floating lantern and waiting for the insect/baitfish food chain to build up over about an hour's time. Top crappie lures have been white Berkley Atomic Tubes or 2-inch Gulp! Minnow Grubs. Plenty of bluegill are biting in the brushy shallows on mealworms or Gulp! Waxies.
TROUT
Trout anglers were somewhat reluctant to weigh in this week, but some beautiful holdover rainbows were caught by skilled leadcore line trollers dragging 5 to 7 colors, trailed by cop car-color Luhr Jensen Needlefish or firetiger-color Rapala Jointed J5's.
The size of the catfish typically increases at Irvine Lake as the summer progresses. Accordingly, a 29-10 blue cat is the heaviest whiskerfish of the year (so far), reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "We had the largest catfish of the season weighed this week, a 29-10 blue cat. The overall catfish bite is staying strong, and the limits have primarily been caught during the evenings. In contrast, the bigger fish are coming when it's still light out; the big one was caught at 6:00 PM."
Good numbers of catfish were checked in from Boat Dock Cove, Santiago Flats, the west shore, and Trout Island. Best depth was 5 to 15 feet in the proximity of trees. Favored baits were mackerel and shrimp. Most catfish on the stringers were eating-size 2 to 6-pounders, with an assortment of 8 to 10 pounders keeping things interesting. It should be noted that although the 29-10 blue is the largest of this season, the lake has yielded a couple of whoppers over 80 pounds in the past decade.
BASS
Bass anglers found decent numbers of 2 to 5-pound largemouth, although rumors of a true whopper were hard to nail down. Most bassers are hitting points at 10 to 25 feet, and throwing Carolina rigs, jigs, and crankbaits. Fortunate anglers can still find a few large schools of bass boiling up on shad, and at such times a few sunshine bass (hybrid stripers) over 6 pounds will be mixed with the largemouth.
CRAPPIE
Crappie anglers are catching plenty of fish, mostly by setting out a floating lantern and waiting for the insect/baitfish food chain to build up over about an hour's time. Top crappie lures have been white Berkley Atomic Tubes or 2-inch Gulp! Minnow Grubs. Plenty of bluegill are biting in the brushy shallows on mealworms or Gulp! Waxies.
TROUT
Trout anglers were somewhat reluctant to weigh in this week, but some beautiful holdover rainbows were caught by skilled leadcore line trollers dragging 5 to 7 colors, trailed by cop car-color Luhr Jensen Needlefish or firetiger-color Rapala Jointed J5's.
More Reports
7-10-2011The heat of summer got Irvine Lakes' catfish population into a serious biting mood, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The heat really made the catfish bite take off", observed Getty. "We are seeing a lot of nice limits, including 3 fish over 10 pounds, and we even had our first 20-pounder of the season." Good catfish catches were checked in from Woody's Cove, Boat Dock Cove, Trout Island, and Santiago Flats. Top producing baits were mackerel and shrimp. Most...... Read More
Irvine Lake bass exploding on shad schools
Irvine LakeThe week prior to the 4th of July saw a different kind of explosion at Irvine Lake, as marauding schools of largemouth bass ripped into large balls of shad. "The bass fishing is totally wide-open if you can get on one of the shad boils", enthused Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "It looked like tuna boils out on the ocean. Several bass anglers were releasing 50 or 60 fish in a day, throwing anything that looked like a shad....... Read More