Irvine Lake’s three major species were still biting, reported Whitney Curry at the Pro Shop. “We had different anglers score on good numbers of catfish, bass, and trout”, observed Curry. “Lake regular Chris Hagopian had two catfish that were over 10 pounds each fishing off the west shore. Another angler landed 13 trout on PowerBait; there is no limit on catfish or trout right now.”

Most of the catfish on the stringers were nice fish in the 3-6 pound class, with a mixture of larger whiskerfish also present. Favored baits were mackerel, shrimp, bonito, and skipjack.

Best offering for trout was still a nightcrawler under a bobber, but Rick Ellis used the more traditional PowerBait approach and took advantage of the “no limit” status of trout to land 13 beautiful Nebraska Tailwalker rainbows up to 3.5 pounds.

Bass anglers continued to do well, particularly if they hike some distance to the less-traveled areas, according to local guide Don Spencer. “Best bet for bass has been brown jigs, or wacky-rigged green pumpkin Senkos. The bigger bass to 8 pounds are hitting on swimbaits over on the east side.”

Families with children age 12 and under found very good numbers of 1-3 pound catfish in the Kids Lagoon using nightcrawlers or mackerel. Anglers are reminded that no watercraft are allowed on Irvine Lake. The main lake currently offers “no limit” fishing for catfish and trout, but a 3-fish limit applies in the Kids Lagoon. Fishing hours are Wednesdays-Sundays 6 AM-4 PM, Mondays-Tuesdays closed.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Chris Hagopian of Redondo Beach, 13-1 channel catfish on mackerel at the west shore
Rick Ellis of Orange, 3-8 rainbow trout on Power bait at Boat Dock Cove
Hideto Shibata or Irvine, 5-14 largemouth bass [released] on a Klash Swimbait on the east side
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