Despite the calendar saying December, mixed species catches still dominated at Irvine Lake this week, reported Daniela Gavaldon in the Pro Shop. “Lots of trout and catfish have been on the stringers”, observed Gavaldon. “We are now offering ‘no limit’ fishing on both trout and catfish. Bass species are still catch and release. The most outstanding catch of the week was the huge 14-9 hybrid striped bass caught by expert angler and Team 57 member Armando Renteria.”

Veteran Irvine Lake angler Terry Lairson of Huntington Beach tipped, “The late afternoon catfish bite did not disappoint, and got started right at 2:00 PM. Our larger baits targeting big blue cats caused the channels to do a tentative pick and drop. The activity on 4 to 10 pound cats kept going right up until closing. It looked like the trout anglers were averaging about three fish per stringer.”

Trout anglers did best using inflated nightcrawlers and PowerBait, with some anglers successfully using a nightcrawler under a bobber. Top spot for trouters was the west shoreline, and most of the trout were in the 2-4 pound range.

Bass anglers making long hikes as far as the Red Clay Cliffs to get away from the crowd, and are making excellent catches of 2-4 pound largemouth, mostly on Scatter Rap Shad SCRS07’s and other shad-imitating crankbaits. Some bluegill and redear sunfish are being caught incidentally by trout anglers using nightcrawlers.

The afternoon catfish bite was best at the far end of the west shore road, past the berm. Carolina-rigs and longer surf-style rods were the trick to getting a bait way out there to the whiskerfish. Productive baits included mackerel, shrimp, Macbites, bonito, and skipjack.

Families with children age 12 and under found slow fishing in the Kids Lagoon. Anglers are reminded that watercraft are not permitted at Irvine Lake. Lake hours are Wednesdays through Sundays, 6 AM-4 PM, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The lake will be open regular hours on Christmas Eve [Dec24], closed on Christmas Day [Dec25], and open regular hours on Dec26.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Armando Renteria of Pacoima, 14-9 wiper on Macbites at the west shore
Art Bouyamian of Reseda, 10-5 channel catfish on Macbites
Terry Lairson of Huntington Beach, 8-1 channel catfish on Macbites
Chris Hagopian of Redondo Beach, 3-5 rainbow trout on nightcrawlers at the west shore
Eddie Williams of Costa Mesa, 6-0 largemouth bass [released] on nightcrawlers at the west shore