411 on the Real DEAL???

[Liteliner]

So my dads buddy tells him at a family function this weekend that Irvine Lake has the best tasting carp. Well he has been bugging me the last two days to catch him one. Ive never seen or even heard of carps at Irvine Lake though. Anybody nice enough to fill me in on the carp fishing there??? Yes I said carp.... Not trout.... but carp...... Any info would be great....

[Daryl]

You want carp, or Irvine Lake carp?

[Troutman65]

Irvine Lake has Carp. Not many people target them. There is no limit on the Carp at Irvine lake. The 2 fishing rod rule apply's . Good luck on your Carp adventure at Irvine Lake . They are in there !!

[AnglerBob]

Yes, the lake does have carp. Several years ago, I watched two Japanese guys on Trout Island rig up these surf-sized poles. One went to cast, but not with his rod. The rod was placed in the holder with the bail open. Off to the side, he held sinker the size of a cannonball in one of those things that looks like a Jai-Alai thrower, for those of you who have been to Tijuana (and hey, what fisherman hasn't, for some nefarious purpose). Anyhoo, the guy took aim and threw the cannonball as hard as he could. Line peeled from the reel, and the sinker landed in the middle of the lake with a splash like a depth charge. I could hardly contain my laughter, which my fishing buddy pointed out wasn't too polite. But the last laugh was on me: they ended up with two GIANT carp.

Not sure what they were using for bait. Corn or doughballs, perhaps.

[troutdog]

Send Bullets a Pm if he does not see this thread, he knows how to get them to bite.

I've seen them in the shallows to the right of the boat docks....they are in there for sure.


TD

[Steve Carson]

There are plenty of "common carp" in Irvine Lake, some in excess of 30 pounds.
We don't have any of the more exotic varieties like grass carp or mirror carp that they have in other parts of the country.
Despite naysayers in the USA, carp are by far the world's most popular game fish, there really is nothing close to its popularity, especially in England, the rest of Europe, and Asia.
In some parts of Europe, families gather around the "Christmas carp" instead of a turkey.
Like most fish, the local favorite eating fish is an acquired thing, and with carp in particular the flavor is strongly affected by their local diet.
All of that said, we have a few carp specialists who visit the lake each month, who mostly appear to be from eastern Europe.
They apply a variety of specialty techniques using homemade baits and make some impressive catches, and their tackle is out of this world.
Carp are very well known to get hook-shy in a hurry, so I'm not sure how long the great catches would continue if a whole bunch of people started doing it, but it would be nice if people enjoyed this untapped resource more often.
Don't dismiss carp, Berkley sells tonnage of "Carp formula" Power Bait in Europe, and there is even an organization called "CarpMasters'!!!!.

[Liteliner]

Thanks for the info guys. I might be out there this saturday if I dont go south for some crappie action. I might just bait a rod down with carp bait and jig for trout with the other rod. Havent heard much reports about the steelhead in the lake either. I thought they put a pretty heavy plant in there of the steelies. Maybe i should try some tactics I learned from lake superior.

[MAVERICK27]

I saw one HUGE carp brought in from the dam with mackeral. That was several months back.

As far as steelhead, I have cught several and they eat a wide variety. So, no real special baits needed. A lot of the normal baits for trout trigger them. I had good luck on nightcrawlers.

I do know that the carp fight visciously! I would love to catch a few there too.

[Marley]

I don't target them, but I have caught them and can say that there are definitely big carp in Irvine Lake. Freshwater yellowtail, they fight so hard! I don't like their smell (heck, they probably don't like mine, either!) so I don't even try to catch them, but occasionally find one's big lips wrapped around a wad of salmon eggs, Velveeta and anything "else" fished on the bottom... Fun stuff on 2-lb. trout tackle.

[Liteliner]

Thanks for the added info guys. I think im gonna wait til trout season gets closer to the end so I dont have to fight the crowds. Im thinking they will be spawn by that time which can lead to some awesome sight fishing for carp...