dfft Irvine Lake Fishing Map, Report, How and Where to Fish Irvine

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Orange County's Irvine Lake bass lake, full of brush and shallow water for spinnerbaits, and topwater lures and Senkos.   In the Spring, Bass find their way to nests, while others are just moving in and investigating the newly flooded terrain. Although you can’t predetermine which pattern will be the most effective, you can certainly figure you won‘t have to fish very deep. Much of the flooded brush is in less than 8 feet of water, which means you need to fish baits designed for shallow water. First on your list should be a spinners.
On the west side of Trout Point try a chartreuse and white tandem with gold and silver blades retrieve it with a moderate wind, broken up with a stop to let the bait descend a foot or so before resuming the wind. What you are looking to do is find out just how active the fish may be.
If the bass strike while the bait falls, you know you need to slow down. If they swirl on the lure as you’re getting ready to pull the bait out of the water and make another cast, pick up your retrieve speed. Trailers, either chanteuse or white, usually make a difference in flooded green brush, perhaps because they give the fish more to look at while their vision is impaired by the extra growth in the water.
Curltails are probably just fine, but splittail eel types were getting lots of bites in late April. When the fish are not chasing, or when the sunlight seems to have forced them deeper into the cover, you might try a Senko. This cigar-shaped piece of plastic is popular— even more so than a Slug-Go - for spring fishing. Made by Yamamoto, the soft plastic stogie is so salt impregnated, it will sink even with out a hook in it. The 5-inch model in salt and pepper or ice blue with metal flake should be your choice.
You rig this on a 3/0 or 4/0 wide gap hook, Texas style, with just a bit of the hook point exposed on the back of the bait. Go with 10- to 12-pound test line. Merely toss this fat worm into gaps in the brush or openings near the bank and let it sink to the bottom. In just a few counts it will be down where you let it sit; you should then barely move the rod tip so the bait slithers off or tumbles from a bush top. If you don’t feel the strike — and many of you won’t — you‘ll know the fish is there because it will engulf the bait and swim off rapidly. When you set the hook, the fish is usually drilled right through the lip. It’s not as effective in deeper water, merely because you have to wait for the lure to get down.
Also, only on rare occasions will you catch more than one fish on a bait as dissolving salt and voracious hits render used baits unusable. TOPWATER, THE X FACTOR: The average Irvine largemouth is something under 3 pounds, even though the lake has given up several 13- to 14-pound fish over the last 12 months. And yet, among Southland bass, none seem more willing to hit a topwater. The warming water not only speeds up the metabolism of the bass, it also push- is the body clocks of the threadfin shad which typically spawn in early summer. Within the next four weeks, there will be loads of small fish — shad and bass fry — in the the shallow flooded areas, and those add up to excellent surface fishing. Several baits should be in your box. Standard, of course, is a Pop R or one of its more subtle imports such as an Lovino.
9When there is obvious surface action, these are great baits as they call fish up out of the flooded jungle. The TD Pencil, however, has been a big hit over the last two years.
Speed limit — many fishermen overlook the lake because they can‘t fire up their   200 horse engines. They miss out on some very good action when they do. Try a Boy Howdy, when dressed with a tail feather, it first darts, then settles back into the water, and finally, the feather opens up. That combination of motion makes it seem like its operating independently, and it’s a killer when the water is calm and you’re fishing close to the shoreline.
For a riffled surface, either a prop bait such as a Devils Horse or Zara Spook can be productive. You might scale down to a Super Spook Jr. since there are not a lot of big fish to pull from the rank and file. In any event, the first couple of hours each morning can be as exciting here as any of the waters with the better reputations.
OTHER THOUGHTS: While Irvine opens at 6 a.m. like most permit lakes, it closes early, usually at 4 p.m. And, because there is no fishing license required, the permit fees are higher than many other waters because the operation purchases its own fish — especially trout and catfish. While the costs are higher than some state- and city-run reservoirs, it‘s been a boon to Orange County fisher- men because they don't have the long travel associated with going to Castaic, Casitas or the San Diego lakes.
The lake also fishes bigger than it is because of the 5 m.p.h.   speed limit — many fishermen overlook the lake because they can‘t fire up their 200 horse engines. They miss out on some very good action when they do.              .
Take the Chapman Avenue exit east off the 55 Freeway to the lake entrance. Open season: Year-round. Bass fishing should dominate until trout plants begin in early November. Special regulations: All bass fishing is catch-and release, though you may bring a fish in live to weigh it. No fishing license is required. Fees Info: Lake office (714-649-9111)

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