Multiple lunar irregularities, including a super moon, an eclipse, and even a blood moon may have confused the fish this week at Irvine Lake, reported Whitney Curry at the Pro Shop. “The catfish bite was a little slow overall”, observed Curry. “Catfishing was best right at sundown along the west shore, but the ‘super moon’ seemed to affect them adversely. Folks are definitely getting excited about our trout season opener coming up on October 30. ”

Curry added, “More of the serious carp anglers are showing up, since the lake record was broken twice in the past month, topped by a 45-pounder. Most of them are using flavored boilies or other specialty European carp techniques. My personal favorite way to catch carp at Irvine Lake is with flycasting tackle. I use an 8-weight floating line with a 10-pound test fluorocarbon leader, and sight cast to individual fish. A good fly pattern is called the ‘double-up’ which is tied with two tails that stick straight up.”

Best catfish spots have been the west shore and Boat Dock Cove, with 3-6 pound channel cats being the primary catch. Flylined or Carolina-rigged mackerel, shrimp, and bonito have been the favorite baits. Some anglers are fishing chunks of liver under a regular bobber, or set to suspend about 6 inches above the bottom under a slip bobber.

Bass anglers found fair numbers of 2-4 pound largemouth by walking the bank and using various plastics and reaction baits. A few larger bucketmouths were fooled by swimbaits. Some small-size bluegill and redear sunfish were hitting on mealworms and waxworms. Several fast-moving schools of hybrid striped bass were popping up along the west shore, boiling furiously on shad. Anglers caught unprepared were unable to react quickly with small, castable shad imitations, so none of the wipers were caught.

The Kids Lagoon is being drained for maintenance, in preparation for the upcoming trout season opener. Surface temperature on the main lake is in the high 70’s, with underwater visibility rated mixed. Anglers are reminded that not boats or other watercraft are allowed on Irvine Lake.

The big 2015-16 public Trout Season Opener will be Friday October 30, and a special limited-entry VIP Day will be available with advance tickets on Thursday October 29. Thousands of pounds of beautiful Nebraska Tailwalkers will be planted just prior to the opener.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Jimmy Getty of Silverado, 15-2 channel catfish [released] on a swimbait at Boat Dock Cove
Alex Ishii of Santa Ana, 7-8 largemouth bass [released] on a Huddleston Bluegill at the west shore.
Whit Curry of Silverado, 9-1 carp [released] on a fly at the west shore