Irvine Lake catfishing topped by 22-8 blue; bass and trout very active
by Steve Carson
8-3-2011
714-649-9111
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Good to very good action on multiple species remains the story at Irvine Lake, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The catfish are biting pretty well all over the lake", observed Getty. "Another big blue cat weighing 22-8 was checked in and then released under our 'Save the Blues' program where the lucky angler gets a free return pass to the lake.
It's also pretty amazing how good the trout fishing has been, considering we have not stocked any trout for almost 3 months. We had Marlon and Curtis Meade check in with a beautiful double-limit [10 fish] of rainbows one day this week!"
Getty tipped, "The best catfish bite is in the early morning from 6 AM to 9 AM, and then again in the evening from about 7 PM until closing. If you can get hold of some fresh-caught mackerel, it has been exceptionally good as bait."
Good catfish catches were checked in from the west shore, Boat Dock Cove, Santiago Flats, and Woody's Cove at depths of 5 to 15 feet. Most of the whiskerfish were eating-size channel cats from 2 to 4 pounds. Productive baits included mackerel, shrimp, the marshmallow/mealworm combo, and nightcrawlers.
Bass anglers found good to very good numbers of 2 to 7-pound largemouth, with both daytime and evening efforts rewarding. Local guide Don Spencer was hammering the fish with dartheads by chasing the shad boils. Chris Marso of Berkley brought a bunch of the new 2012 products recently unveiled at the ICAST show [including the amazing new Nanofil line], and proceeded to clean up on the bass. Marso reported that the bass are ranging at depths from 1 to 30 feet, and are keying in on crawdads.
The trout action continues to be surprising, both for those using traditional summertime deep water techniques, but also for anglers simply flatline-trolling. Standard issue is 4 to 6 colors of leadcore line with a cop car-color Luhr Jensen Needlefish, but deep-drifted Gulp! Pinched Crawlers or nightcrawlers, and trolled firetiger-color CD05 Rapala Countdowns also scored some beautiful holdover rainbows in the 3-pound class.
Crappie chasers found a good bite going by the trees in the back of Santiago Flats during the afternoon breeze period, mostly using white Atomic Tubes. The night-time crappie tactic of "light and wait" has been little practiced of late, because the light tends to spook the catfish and the crappie may already be stuffed with fry. Plenty of nice bluegill and redear are available for anglers soaking Gulp! Waxies or meal worms.
It's also pretty amazing how good the trout fishing has been, considering we have not stocked any trout for almost 3 months. We had Marlon and Curtis Meade check in with a beautiful double-limit [10 fish] of rainbows one day this week!"
Getty tipped, "The best catfish bite is in the early morning from 6 AM to 9 AM, and then again in the evening from about 7 PM until closing. If you can get hold of some fresh-caught mackerel, it has been exceptionally good as bait."
Good catfish catches were checked in from the west shore, Boat Dock Cove, Santiago Flats, and Woody's Cove at depths of 5 to 15 feet. Most of the whiskerfish were eating-size channel cats from 2 to 4 pounds. Productive baits included mackerel, shrimp, the marshmallow/mealworm combo, and nightcrawlers.
Bass anglers found good to very good numbers of 2 to 7-pound largemouth, with both daytime and evening efforts rewarding. Local guide Don Spencer was hammering the fish with dartheads by chasing the shad boils. Chris Marso of Berkley brought a bunch of the new 2012 products recently unveiled at the ICAST show [including the amazing new Nanofil line], and proceeded to clean up on the bass. Marso reported that the bass are ranging at depths from 1 to 30 feet, and are keying in on crawdads.
The trout action continues to be surprising, both for those using traditional summertime deep water techniques, but also for anglers simply flatline-trolling. Standard issue is 4 to 6 colors of leadcore line with a cop car-color Luhr Jensen Needlefish, but deep-drifted Gulp! Pinched Crawlers or nightcrawlers, and trolled firetiger-color CD05 Rapala Countdowns also scored some beautiful holdover rainbows in the 3-pound class.
Crappie chasers found a good bite going by the trees in the back of Santiago Flats during the afternoon breeze period, mostly using white Atomic Tubes. The night-time crappie tactic of "light and wait" has been little practiced of late, because the light tends to spook the catfish and the crappie may already be stuffed with fry. Plenty of nice bluegill and redear are available for anglers soaking Gulp! Waxies or meal worms.
More Reports
7-28-2011The calendar says July; and Irvine Lakes' famous multi-species bite just keeps going off like a firecracker, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "We have very good catfish action on eating-size fish all over the lake, and the trout are biting both deep-soaked baits and topline-trolled lures. Bass anglers can just choose their favorite techniques. Local guide Don Spencer has been releasing up to 40 bass per day in the 2 to 4-pound class." Catfish anglers have checked in good...... Read More
7-20-2011
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...... Read More
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...... Read More