irvine lake catfish setup question

[pasadenafishin]

I am looking for a catfish setup and am curious. Do you guys fish with bait casters or spin casters for catfish? Cause I was thinking of using a baitcaster because irvine has those huge blues but, there area also alot of smaller channels.

[bruce watson]

Most of the fish you are going to be catching are recently planted cats. As a general rule they will be between 2 and 10 pounds.

Yes, a few years ago Dave, Muskeyman, did catch a 75 and a 49 within a week or so. And there is a few other people dedicated to catching those monsters. If you own a boat and are willing to spend every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night of the season untill 2 am, you might catch one. Also, it helps to know the bottom of Irvine lake and what Blues like.

Ivine is a great place to catch catfish. No long drive and no license needed. I can't recall ever going to Irvine for cats and not getting fish. Bring your spinner and 8lb line and just enjoy catching those good eating size fish.

[Marley]

.... And your best bait comes from a place where they don't allow private boats, so it's in short supply.


I though those guys used the head-end half of fresh-caught mackerel. No?

[bluehunter]

Baitcaster or spinners will do the job at Irvine. It just depends on your personal preference. I love baitcasters, Catmando love spinners. Both will get you what you want. Just make sure you use teh kind that can stand up to big fish be it baitcasters or spinners. What I like about spinners is you can leave the bail open or have your line runner on. Baitcasters I like to hear that clicker go off. 20 - 25 pound test line is sufficient for the brutes at Irvine and will also get you the channels w/o them being line shy. Chunk pieces of mackerel will work well. Yes Marley the head ends work well as that is what the bulk of my big ones came on. But the bites are few and far in between on those. I may get one hit or 2 runs a season on those at Irvine, but you know its a good one when it hits. Chunks of mackerel will do well for both - big ones and small ones. 7/0 - 8/0 hooks is the average I use at Irvine in circles or J's.

[dixoncider]

What kinda setup you guys using for terminal tackle. Hook size? Sinker?

[VineAssist]

I agree with Brian on the hook size for the bigger fish, if you are going to target those bigger blue and channel catfish. Like he said the bigger fish will hit the heads or a big old slab of Mac will do the job.
In terms of terminal tackle I like Gamakatsu hooks or a plain old mustad 9173. The bigger the hook the better. As for line I like Maxima or P-line in Green (it matchs the water and that is what is on all my freshwater and inshore rods) in fifteen to thirty pound line.

As for the stockers or just regular sized fish it would all depend on what I was fishing on the hook size and line ratings... So I will leave a short list

-Marshmellow mealworm-probably the only set up I use a sinker on and even then it is a light egg sinker on a Carolina rig..As for a hook size I want a size 8-10 baitholder Gamakatsu or VMC. I use light line, like 4 or 6lb, because the fish are usually a little bit finicky that is the ONLY reason for the light line.
-On the chicken livers and shrimp I use a size four baitholder hook from either Gamakatsu or VMC and NO weight. I do not want the fish to feel any weight besides the bait! As for line I use between 8 and 15lb test depending on the cover and depth I am fishing.
-Nightcrawlers- I generally will not fish nightcrawlers for Catfish because they catch too much bycatch. But when I do I simply use a size four baitholder with a couple worms on it and toss it out with no weight.
-Mac- I will fish anywhere from a size 1 to 4/0 standared baitholder hook with once again NO weight. Cut the sections into one to three inch squares with no bones in the meat. If you do not like to cut your own bait Dumongs and Catmando make fine products.

With all Catfish I fish my rods out of gear! I do not want the fish to feel anything. A lot of times I can tell if a spot is loaded with fish just by the way the fish takes the bait. Furthermore, to enhance your chance of taking home some tasty kitties dip your baits in stinkbaits like Bowkers, Hawg Wild, Catmando......I also use primarily baitcasting gear because it has a lot more power on the bigger fish as opposed to spinning gear. I will use spinning gear on a M&m.

I hope this helps anyone in their pursuit of Catfish at the lake. And I want to wish everyone happy hunting for the TITANS this year. The fish we have been catching as of late or just heathy looking fish!

Please remeber that Irvine Lake likes for everyone to release fish of 20lbs or greater. Those who do and get varification from the lake staff will recieve a admission pass for all fish of 20lbs or greater. For a fifty pounder it is a motor boat. And if you manage to knock off the man himself Mr. Ronson "Catmando" Smothers record catfish of 89.6 you will recieve the bounty of $1,000. And yes I truly still believe there is a fish in the 120lb category at the lake. The lake is primed right now for a killer catfish season dont miss out!

[BingJr]

Originally Posted by bruce watson http://fishinghotpage.com/forum4/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?p=350659#post350659)
.... And your best bait comes from a place where they don't allow private boats, so it's in short supply.


I think Bruce is referencing flyling a fresh LMB from DVL for the Monster Blues. They currently do not allow Private boats but you can rent one to go out and catch your bait!!!:EyePop: :LOL:


Jimmy would you use a weight and what size hook when using the above bait for the Big Blues!

[dixoncider]

I agree with Brian on the hook size for the bigger fish, if you are going to target those bigger blue and channel catfish. Like he said the bigger fish will hit the heads or a big old slab of Mac will do the job.
In terms of terminal tackle I like Gamakatsu hooks or a plain old mustad 9173. The bigger the hook the better. As for line I like Maxima or P-line in Green (it matchs the water and that is what is on all my freshwater and inshore rods) in fifteen to thirty pound line.

As for the stockers or just regular sized fish it would all depend on what I was fishing on the hook size and line ratings... So I will leave a short list

-Marshmellow mealworm-probably the only set up I use a sinker on and even then it is a light egg sinker on a Carolina rig..As for a hook size I want a size 8-10 baitholder Gamakatsu or VMC. I use light line, like 4 or 6lb, because the fish are usually a little bit finicky that is the ONLY reason for the light line.
-On the chicken livers and shrimp I use a size four baitholder hook from either Gamakatsu or VMC and NO weight. I do not want the fish to feel any weight besides the bait! As for line I use between 8 and 15lb test depending on the cover and depth I am fishing.
-Nightcrawlers- I generally will not fish nightcrawlers for Catfish because they catch too much bycatch. But when I do I simply use a size four baitholder with a couple worms on it and toss it out with no weight.
-Mac- I will fish anywhere from a size 1 to 4/0 standared baitholder hook with once again NO weight. Cut the sections into one to three inch squares with no bones in the meat. If you do not like to cut your own bait Dumongs and Catmando make fine products.

With all Catfish I fish my rods out of gear! I do not want the fish to feel anything. A lot of times I can tell if a spot is loaded with fish just by the way the fish takes the bait. Furthermore, to enhance your chance of taking home some tasty kitties dip your baits in stinkbaits like Bowkers, Hawg Wild, Catmando......I also use primarily baitcasting gear because it has a lot more power on the bigger fish as opposed to spinning gear. I will use spinning gear on a M&m.

I hope this helps anyone in their pursuit of Catfish at the lake. And I want to wish everyone happy hunting for the TITANS this year. The fish we have been catching as of late or just heathy looking fish!

Please remeber that Irvine Lake likes for everyone to release fish of 20lbs or greater. Those who do and get varification from the lake staff will recieve a admission pass for all fish of 20lbs or greater. For a fifty pounder it is a motor boat. And if you manage to knock off the man himself Mr. Ronson "Catmando" Smothers record catfish of 89.6 you will recieve the bounty of $1,000. And yes I truly still believe there is a fish in the 120lb category at the lake. The lake is primed right now for a killer catfish season dont miss out!

THanks for all the killer info's

[bruce watson]

Originally Posted by bruce watson http://fishinghotpage.com/forum4/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?p=350659#post350659)
.... And your best bait comes from a place where they don't allow private boats, so it's in short supply.


I think Bruce is referencing flyling a fresh LMB from DVL for the Monster Blues. They currently do not allow Private boats but you can rent one to go out and catch your bait!!!:EyePop: :LOL:


Jimmy would you use a weight and what size hook when using the above bait for the Big Blues!

I've never heard of anyone using LMB as bait. I don't see any advantage for that over Macs. Think fresh dead shad.

[BigBass777]

Last year my friend and I got our arses kicked bad at Irvine. I had 6lb,10lb, and 20lb set ups to use. The catfish would not touch our bait with the 6lb line. These 5 guys in a boat were using either Catmando or Dumongs (I think Dumongs) in 25ft of water with a small bb size split shot 6 inches up the line. They ended up with 25 catfish fishing the outside area of Santiago Flats where the drop is. It was sick. We were near them fishing in the same depth and they were very finicky of the line size.

I used a Hayabusa 3/0 hook with a 1/2 piece of the garlic flavored Dumongs when the catfish bite was really good. A 10 inch leader with a 3/4oz sinker. When the fish are hungry they don't care about the weight. Sometimes a weight is needed as the wind can come up at night too. The flyline approach will work but it keeps a big belly in the line as the boat moves around with the wind.

[VineAssist]

Originally Posted by bruce watson http://fishinghotpage.com/forum4/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?p=350659#post350659)
.... And your best bait comes from a place where they don't allow private boats, so it's in short supply.


I think Bruce is referencing flyling a fresh LMB from DVL for the Monster Blues. They currently do not allow Private boats but you can rent one to go out and catch your bait!!!:EyePop: :LOL:


Jimmy would you use a weight and what size hook when using the above bait for the Big Blues!

In that case Binger I would use a 16oz Torpedo Sinker with a 14/0 7691 Stainless Steel Mustad hook. You would also not fish anything under 100. Those big Grouper will pull you straight out of the boat.