A little update...

[boomstikit]

Talked to somebody who I feel has a pretty good idea about what is going on with the lake and the new management. First, the rumor about the people who run Santa Ana Lakes taking over is just that... a rumor. Apparently the County is going to start interviewing for the operation of the lake, in the next six months or so is what I was told. Sounds to me that we won't see the lake open to the public until 2018? On a brighter note, the water level is WAY up!!! I am not sure if it is from the recent rain or they are letting water into the lake.

[goodguy]

On a brighter note, the water level is WAY up!!! I am not sure if it is from the recent rain or they are letting water into the lake.

It's from the recent rains. I drive by it 5 days a week to get to and from work. I've seen it gradually go up which each passing storm. It was the one on 1/22 that really added a ton of water! Once all the creeks finished emptying, it looks more like the old Irvine lake.

[Marley]

Hopefully the County chooses a good operator.

[twin22s]

It would be cool if the county or city ran it like SD/Escondido do with Dixon. reasonable prices and good stocks. I probably won't fish it if it costs $25 a head just to get in.

[Marley]

It would be cool if the county or city ran it like SD/Escondido do with Dixon. reasonable prices and good stocks. I probably won't fish it if it costs $25 a head just to get in.

I was thinking the same thing. Of course with the higher fees you get more fish but maybe that will work out.

[riverbud55]

i was thinking the same thing. Of course with the higher fees you get more fish but maybe that will work out.

wouldn't expect to be ran any different then any other public lake, with a few stocked by dfg in the amounts you see a diamond valley puddingstone etc,,going take license, it won't be a pay lake per say with tons of fish added every week or anything that's not raised by dfg, lots of little trout and cats, be lucky to see anything put in bigger than a pound ,,, of course the instead of the lake patrol going to be patrolled by the sheriff dept. And dfg hopefully that will keep all the drunk a$$es off the lake

[etucker1959]

wouldn't expect to be ran any different then any other public lake, with a few stocked by dfg in the amounts you see a diamond valley puddingstone etc,,going take license, it won't be a pay lake per say with tons of fish added every week or anything that's not raised by dfg, lots of little trout and cats, be lucky to see anything put in bigger than a pound ,,, of course the instead of the lake patrol going to be patrolled by the sheriff dept. And dfg hopefully that will keep all the drunk a$$es off the lake

If you look at LNL as a model it's not as bleak as it could be. LNL was taken over by Orange County and then ran as a regional park lake. They do their own trout stocking's in 1,000-2,000 lbs at a shot. I don't think DFG is even involved with them.

[twin22s]

I love LNL, it definitely Isn't as well maintained as it was when it was a private lake but still is a great place to stick a few fish on a day I don't have time to drive to the wood or skinner. I am not a trout fisherman unless we are talking about streams and rivers so as far as I'm concerned the 1lb DFG stocks can feed all the big bass, haha.

[Nuoc Mam]

I love LNL, it definitely Isn't as well maintained as it was when it was a private lake but still is a great place to stick a few fish on a day I don't have time to drive to the wood or skinner. I am not a trout fisherman unless we are talking about streams and rivers so as far as I'm concerned the 1lb DFG stocks can feed all the big bass, haha.

1lbers??? more like 1/2lbers or even 1/4lbers by dfg hahah.

That's the size that the OC parks been getting. bunch of 4-8 inchers hahah an 11 incher in an OC park now is a whopper =0)
Yeah, the bass guys love them because they will plump up the bass in the lakes.

[Brewcrafter]

Plump up the bass? That's the first time I have heard of cormorants referred to as "bass" ��

[JAG107]

Plump up the bass? That's the first time I have heard of cormorants referred to as "bass" ��

There's plenty of largies in Irvine that will slurp up those candy bars...and now they're so small, we can call them "fun size"!

This is really good news that there's even talk of a new operator taking over. If it's another year or two, who cares, as long as we can get back onto that water with private boats I'd be thrilled, and I wouldn't be the only person either.

[Brent]

Just looked at the lake Saturday and the water is up and going into Woody's Cove now.
It'll be full before long.....Boy did it look like it's holding some hungry, lonely bass.

[dixoncider]

wow.! its been awhile since waters been that high... man i miss this place...:Sad:

[BannedJr]

wow.! its been awhile since waters been that high... man i miss this place...:Sad:

What made it special for me was the ability to night fish for the Kitties. Nothing like being out on the boat with Friends and family on a warm summer night having a blast. Sometimes we caught a few, sometimes we caught a ton, but there was nothing like it around us in so cal. I REALLY miss the summer kitty fishing. Talk about it almost every week with the buddies and the wife.

[muskyman]

I gotta admit, I do miss that night fishing. There are some big boys in that lake.

[chompot]

I am not in CA anymore, but I sure hope you guys get the lake back. It sounds promising now.

If they allow for public input at all I would stress for special management of the largemouth. I am not sure what that would be as I am not a fish biologist, but with the old management requiring catch and release it sure made it a fun bass lake. Catch and release only may not be entirely feasible as a public lake, but I am sure there are some slot limit or size options.

Have fun guys!

[titos334]

1lbers??? more like 1/2lbers or even 1/4lbers by dfg hahah.

That's the size that the OC parks been getting. bunch of 4-8 inchers hahah an 11 incher in an OC park now is a whopper =0)
Yeah, the bass guys love them because they will plump up the bass in the lakes.

Lol 1lb would be on the smaller side at LNL although they have put in a mix of trout including some dinks but that's not the normal fish. They've put in numerous 4-6lb trout and even a couple I've seen look to be pushing 10lb.

[jonshibata1]

What does being a public lake have to do with catch and release for bass? Who keeps largemouth? I know many bass fisherman, and none of us keep any bass. If you get a big one, take a picture and let it go. They don't stock bass like trout, so if you keep them, you'll just deplete the fishery for the future.

[etucker1959]

What does being a public lake have to do with catch and release for bass? Who keeps largemouth? I know many bass fisherman, and none of us keep any bass. If you get a big one, take a picture and let it go. They don't stock bass like trout, so if you keep them, you'll just deplete the fishery for the future.

Ok reality check. (no disrespect) If Irvine lake was run as a Regional Park with no fees to fish except parking. It could attract a very unsophisticated group of fishermen. The kind who expect to bring home dinner!!!!! It doesn't really matter what kind of fish that might be. Of course you would hope it would be a put and take fish like a trout or catfish or even a few bluegill. But if the only thing that ate their night crawler was a LMB, it could very easily end up on a stringer. Not everyone who fishes has a subscription to Bass master magazine!!! lol

[Ornery Bob]

I'll second what etucker said. There are a lot of bucket brigade people who think fishing for the "sport" of it is for spoiled rich people and taking home as many pounds of fish as possible is the only sensible thing to do. You're paying money to get into this fish market and you're going to leave empty handed?

[Brent]

I'll second what etucker said. There are a lot of bucket brigade people who think fishing for the "sport" of it is for spoiled rich people and taking home as many pounds of fish as possible is the only sensible thing to do. You're paying money to get into this fish market and you're going to leave empty handed?

Sad but true guys

[titos334]

It's a price worth paying.

[Stinkbait]

So you all know the show In Fisherman, they rated Irvine one of the best blue cat fisheries in the nation.
That alone would be worth dropping some coin on it for proper management by a food bio and team.

I have had some of my best top water bass fishing days there in my life. It was August, muggy and overcast. The LMB were eating the full size Zara Spook with reckless abandoned. 2-3 blowups per retrieve. They were waking while chasing the damn thing. Epic. Also can beat the frog in the fall in the sticks.

[etucker1959]

So you all know the show In Fisherman, they rated Irvine one of the best blue cat fisheries in the nation.
That alone would be worth dropping some coin on it for proper management by a food bio and team.

I have had some of my best top water bass fishing days there in my life. It was August, muggy and overcast. The LMB were eating the full size Zara Spook with reckless abandoned. 2-3 blowups per retrieve. They were waking while chasing the damn thing. Epic. Also can beat the frog in the fall in the sticks.

Irvine lake is the Best "Feed lot" for Blue catfish. Which means if you stock regularly 10-15 pounders they will continue to grow to 90 lbs. But you always have to keep stocking those 10-15 pounders or your big fish will eventually die off in about 15-20 years. So if the county takes over and doesn't stock those fish, you've got about another 15 years after they re-open it to catch a trophy Blue catfish. (after that Irvine won't be any thing special in the way of a trophy Blue cat fishery!!!!) Yea I've been keeping track for 50 years!!!!!

[bassnet]

So you all know the show In Fisherman, they rated Irvine one of the best blue cat fisheries in the nation.
That alone would be worth dropping some coin on it for proper management by a food bio and team.

I have had some of my best top water bass fishing days there in my life. It was August, muggy and overcast. The LMB were eating the full size Zara Spook with reckless abandoned. 2-3 blowups per retrieve. They were waking while chasing the damn thing. Epic. Also can beat the frog in the fall in the sticks.

Oh man, right before it closed, I had a really fun afternoon/ evening in the rain, the bass were pounding the buzzbait, then choking the big worm and chatter into the night- I hope we get to fish it again!
Too bad those giant blues in LMV bought the farm with the golden algae

[bassnet]

Irvine lake is the Best "Feed lot" for Blue catfish. Which means if you stock regularly 10-15 pounders they will continue to grow to 90 lbs. But you always have to keep stocking those 10-15 pounders or your big fish will eventually die off in about 15-20 years. So if the county takes over and doesn't stock those fish, you've got about another 15 years after they re-open it to catch a trophy Blue catfish. (after that Irvine won't be any thing special in the way of a trophy Blue cat fishery!!!!) Yea I've been keeping track for 50 years!!!!!

Those triple digit cats gotta be lurking in San V, anybody targeting them yet?

[iPhish]

Figured this would have been posted.... but here's the latest on Irvine Line.... great article with lots of factual background information!

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/02/lockout-at-irvine-lake-how-stagnant-negotiations-have-barred-the-public-from-a-favorite-orange-county-fishing-spot/

[dixoncider]

Thanks for the info.. sounds like nothing is happening

[muskyman]

If you guys really wanna get back to fishing there, you gotta put the pressure on these crooks that are in the decision making process. Look at the interview that recently happened ; if the register had never called, what little you got so far, would have never happened. The squeeky reel gets the job done.

[pineapple express]

sure do miss fishing here... hope all the issues get worked out soon so we all can enjoy this beautiful lake again. fingers crossed !!!

[smokehound]

So you all know the show In Fisherman, they rated Irvine one of the best blue cat fisheries in the nation.
That alone would be worth dropping some coin on it for proper management by a food bio and team.

I have had some of my best top water bass fishing days there in my life. It was August, muggy and overcast. The LMB were eating the full size Zara Spook with reckless abandoned. 2-3 blowups per retrieve. They were waking while chasing the damn thing. Epic. Also can beat the frog in the fall in the sticks.Lower Otay blows irvine away when it comes to blues. Always has, always will.

[etucker1959]

Lower Otay blows irvine away when it comes to blues. Always has, always will.

Irvine Lake ability to produce Monster Blue Catfish is a simple formula. (same as a feed lot for cows) Stock medium size Blue Catfish and watch them grow. As far as I can tell, "Irvine lake as very little natural reproduction on the Blue Catfish." So if you don't continual stock Medium size Blue Catfish. You will eventually end up with nothing!!!

[lucky1]

The lake has boat docks and speed buoys out in the water, I heard it might be opening soon.

[goodguy]

Really? The water level is REALLY low... But, any sign of life is positive!

[Brent]

The lake has boat docks and speed buoys out in the water, I heard it might be opening soon.

Don't believe the hype lucky1

[Number1topgun]

Probably the same docks and bouys left by previous management.

[Ssortasober]

I call bullshit.
That place had boat races as well as concerts. come on dude get your **** straight