Orange County
Orange County Fishing Reports
Checkout the latest Orange County fishing reports from local anglers and businesses.
Catfish season is still rolling at Santa Ana River Lakes, and the lake just loaded up again with a plant of Imperial cats and big tilapia on September 10. That follows a heavy Labor Day catfish stock and another cat/tilapia plant in late August, so there are plenty of fish in the water. Cut mackerel, blood bait, and dough bait are the go tos, and...
Catfish season is still rolling at Santa Ana River Lakes, and the lake just loaded up again with a plant of Imperial cats and big tilapia on September 10. That follows a heavy Labor Day catfish stock and another cat/tilapia plant in late August, so there are plenty of fish in the water. Cut mackerel, blood bait, and dough bait are the go tos, and cats over 10 pounds are not unusual. Tilapia are fun, and there are a few giants roaming as well. No license is needed, and day, night, and overnight sessions are all available. Rental boats are first come, first served, so get there early if you want one.
Irvine Lake is hovering in the low 80s, and while there's chatter of a major drawdown soon to repair the dam (no date confirmed), the fishing at the moment remains good, especially for big catfish. Folks are soaking cut mackerel and garlic prawns throughout the day into the evenings, landing some giants... a 30-pounder pulled out 2 weeks ago...
Irvine Lake is hovering in the low 80s, and while there's chatter of a major drawdown soon to repair the dam (no date confirmed), the fishing at the moment remains good, especially for big catfish. Folks are soaking cut mackerel and garlic prawns throughout the day into the evenings, landing some giants... a 30-pounder pulled out 2 weeks ago. Another catfish plant is planned for the second week of September to go with the upcoming catfish derby on Sept. 12.
The bass bite has been decent... mostly on finesse stuff. Urchin baits and Senkos are the go-to for fish in the 1-pound range.
Panfish guys are finding some nice redear on crappie jigs and mini-sized urchin baits.
Irvine was not stocked this past week due to the road being too muddy for the truck. Fishing for trout was very slow on the West Shore. The lake was only open this Sunday.
