Irvine Lake

[Socal-Mike]

Irvine Lake Reports & Info

I went out Sunday morning with the lil bro and did some shore fishing...didnt wanna spend the $50 on a boat when the lake closes at 4 pm.

The water is dropping steadily and the bite has picked up some.

We stayed until about 3pm and managed 2 cats. Missed quite a few bites and farmed one. ALOT more action than the previous 2 outings.

I'll probably get out again this upcoming weekend and rent the boat.

[bluehunter]

Good luck when you go. I may go out their the last weekend of the month on that Friday night and see if anything is picking up at the Vine. Will also look at Sutherland on that Saturday and they are getting good numbers of cats there as well.

[bluehunter]

I hear that the bite is picking up and that they are primarily in the trees in the flats and also Sierra Cove. So if anyone is going anytime soon you will want to hit by the trees.

[cliffey07]

my buddy went the other day but said the whole time he was there sierra cove was packed full of people so bad he couldnt even fish without someone jumping his spot, so he fished the trees by the dock and lots of people had some very nice stringers that day including him. they were killing them with the m and m combo right underneath the trees by the dock. His stringer was 15 pounds.

[hustlur]

Irvine starting to fire up. Headed over there last saturday night and managed some kitties in the 4-6 lb range and this one......all caught on 4lb test line.

[Socal-Mike]

Hmmmmm....damn i love the ALL DAY for $18...but hate the NEEDED boat rental.
My last trip to SARL was awful, dont feel liek riskin a drive to Hesperia...and i NEED to get on some catts...

You guys suggest irvine for this weekend...probably saturday?

[cliffey07]

mike, i am sure me and drews will be able to show up this time. we will get with you tomorrow and see whats going on. I am down for about anywhere we will catch some fish.

[Socal-Mike]

Hit me up champ,
went to the damn docs again today with these freakin headaches...gave me pills said to relax and rest, or it aint goin away. triggered from a while of lack of sleep and built up stress...sounds like a normal thing to me, but i guess im getti8n old at 26 :eek: Told me its a must i at least take this friday off, use the weekend to get REST and RELAX.
so on the bright side (if there is one) i get to be on pills for a lil while, fish (relaxing) and REST all the time.........
Obviously said to cut the stress out, easier said than done :glare:

Anyhow, LETS GO FISHIN.... :cool:

What im thinkin is Irvine........splitting a boat.
However, this time im at the gate at 6am..then gonna take a long break around 12 when it heats up until the sun starts to receed.......that way im charged and ready for the night bite too.

Ill PM ya

[drews0311]

Mike

Cliffey and i plan on going to the peir tonight to catch some fresh mack for tommarrow. I want to hit it hard this weekend because i am getting to poor to buy food from the grocery store. :D i will call you when i get off work today around 4 pm.


drews

[Socal-Mike]

I hear ya man...just hit me up today and lets plan. Check your PM-email..tell Cliffey too.

[Socal-Mike]

So me, the lil bro, Cliffey and Drews decide to meet up at irvine and get a boat early and get some cattin done. My pops decided he wanted to come along this time so i was excited to get him on some fish.
Got to the lake and in the boat by 715....runnin late again. :cursing:

Me, the bro and pops started off at sierra cove. Water was like glass, steam rising off the lake and was an awesome sight.
FIshed it for a while, nothing.
Moved over to the flats near the trees...both spots did have a nice amount of boats, im sure from the recent reports. The flats for a couple hours, NOTHIN- not even a nibble. I knew the night bite was king, but this was bad. Pops had to leave early, so i needed to get him fish before he left. Easier said than done.
Moved to the docks, nothin. Used mack, shrimp, m&M, crawlers and even some nitro biscuits to boot.....nothin :mad:
Headed back in for some lunch. Fueld up on some tuna and fruit and headed back out again.......back to the flats.
Nothin nothin and more nothin. Headed to the dam, more nothin. I even tied up some plastics and staretd bassin :confused:
Headed to sierra cove and tied to the docks. Got so slow pops started walkin the shore and found about 6 sweet rapala lures...nice ones. The water has dropped dramatically since the rain and theres tons of washed up gear :cool: pack rat style.
So we get a call from drews and cliffey around 4ish (kinda late) and finally see someone land a cat :eek:
We had hope! but it was a secluded one and he didnt get any after that and shortly moved.
So after 7-8 hours of solid fishing and ZERO bites my dad is ready to go home.
Pops leaves and we take a nice break.

545ish were back on the water with the 4 of us-

[Socal-Mike]

Guess u cant edit after so much time or somethin....

Part Two- the night bite
545ish were back on the water with the 4 of us-
When we docked we aked the guy where the damn fish were. He said he seen soem caught just a couple hundred yards out- so we head for the area...no boats around.
The sun is started to cease some and about 15 minutes at the new spot my line startes peeling slowly. :thumbsup: A bite, its a freakin bite!! Hookset and cat landed, a nice pansize. The lil bro nearly jumped out the boat when he seen the fish. (guess not seeing one all day scared him) Just a few minutes later, bros on...another pansize. Then Drews and Cliffey get on one a peice. Then we start getting snagged, big runs and by the time we set the hook...few seconds later, STUCK.
A guy who my bro was yackin to while we were docked started circling us and said he didnt see any fish but told us where the structure was around us. Im guessing there was tons of crap under there.
I get another one and the bro grabs my other pole runnin and ends up gettign one on it.
Drews first pole gets hooked and hes fighting a monster who runs and ends up wrapped on the anchor, at the same time his other pole (using a weight) gets HAMMERED and the only thing that saved it was the reel slamming against the rental! Was awesome. Unfortunately he lost both fish.. :sad:
The sun started to really go down and we decided to go get our lights and nigthtime equipment. Headed in with 6 fish. Im sad to say if we found this hole earlier my dad would have got on some fish...always next time.
Back in the water, but there was a couple boats and a tuber hangin around the spot now :cursing: Seen mr catmando doin a guide i beleive and a couple others from another site.
Hung out for a while a lil farther down and the bro landed another one pretty quik. We ended up farming a few more and the guys got on a couple and then i got on a NICE one -put up a good fight and read 5.65 on the irvine scale.
We ended up coming loose on the anchors somehow and drifted off and it gets slow...so we try by the docks, for nothing...i think Cliffey farmed another. He said hes gonna wear a pair of overalls out next time :happy:
So we move again....back to the flats. Its DARK as crap out there, we had 2 lanters and flash lights along with glow sticks..unfortunately others dont.
We try the flats for nothing after about 1 1/2 hours- we navigate slowly back closer to the spot again.
Its still pretty slow and the bites decrease...approachin 1245ish now. After another small one and of course a farm or two, i get hooked with another fun hog :0a6:
This one puts up a very nice fight. Hes running and im tryin to keep his ass off the bottom....get him to the surface, he shows and then darts to the bottom. He had the pole bendo and made runs at the anchor and bottom of the boat a coupel times. FInally got him upto the top and the bro nets him. He nets part of the stringer and thinks he got the wrong fish...so he dumps it back out :eek: FUnny now, cuz he got it quik again...but wasnt at the time. This one read 6.5 but fought like a champ.
No bites and another farm, we head back with 11 fish total. I got my 5 on my pole
All were caught on flylined shrimp n mack for me.
Day on the water with these nuts..the lil bro and pops was a great time.
Water was good, weather was nice. The day bite sucked but it was great to get on some decent fish. Biggest YTD for me. Had some good laughs, maybe too many- and cant wait to do it again.
Pics taken, but need to be scanned.
That goes for anyone that htis irvine. Im always down to split a boat and meet up- or if u got the boat, ill pay your entry and bring ya a sixer... Im a bargainer like that.

[cliffey07]

see the thing mike forogot to mention is everytime we got into some fish mike was being sneaky and kept the boat swinging so no one else could get in his honey hole :cursing: you have to watch out fo that guy he is sneaky.j/k. No i did farm alot of fish that day no one else to blame but myself. It least we all got some fish and for those last couple of hours we were getting into some fish.

[bluehunter]

Good job on finding the fish. Looks like things is looking good there.

[Socal-Mike]

see the thing mike forogot to mention is everytime we got into some fish mike was being sneaky and kept the boat swinging so no one else could get in his honey hole :cursing: you have to watch out fo that guy he is sneaky.j/k. No i did farm alot of fish that day no one else to blame but myself. It least we all got some fish and for those last couple of hours we were getting into some fish.

Yeah, i was doin that...worked out nice. Kept sayin "hey move the anchor, were turning... "

Got a GAAAAAAAAANG of mack tonite at belmont..i mean, a gaaaaang. Hit me up and we'll do a sarl trip.

[goodguy]

great job on those cats last weekend. I'm going out on saturday evening with a buddy. I'll report what happens.

[crazychuy]

Went to Belmont last night and caught a grip of mac's. They are definetly on the bite right now. If you go when the sun goes down the hot ticket is a "glow" stick with a #6 hook and a piece of fresh mackeral. In five minutes I caught 10 mac's. Thinking of going again next week. Need some more bait.

Chuy

[cliffey07]

oceanside pier is another hot spot for mack right now. i am gonna have to go soon.

[bluehunter]

If anyone gets hold of any bonita while they are out there, let me know. I love to use bonita for bait more so than mackeral especially at San Vicente. Keep a heads up on that. I will be out there in a jippy for them.

[daystarchis]

Great post Mike!!!!! I really enjoyed it.

[Socal-Mike]

Thanks Robb-
Blue, i seen u talking about irvine shuttin down ealry this year again because of the stinkin troutin.
Hows the daytime bite for cats when it cools down, say NOV-DEC?

Second, i think i caught a couple small bonies my last two trips to belmont...nothin worth comin out and try for tho-

[janzaldo]

Hey Brian, my buddy is going on a five day fishing trip to Guadalupe Island on 9/22/05 aboard the Searcher. Last year he caught over twenty bonito all over ten pounds; I believe the biggest was fifteen pounds. He gave those away to the crew of the searcher. I will ask him to bring back bonito. Brian. How many can your freezer handle?

Jaime

[fourfingerbandit]

how do i sing up for the Socal Gathering 2005: IRVINE LAKE Sept. 17th

[bluehunter]

Hey Brian, my buddy is going on a five day fishing trip to Guadalupe Island on 9/22/05 aboard the Searcher. Last year he caught over twenty bonito all over ten pounds; I believe the biggest was fifteen pounds. He gave those away to the crew of the searcher. I will ask him to bring back bonito. Brian. How many can your freezer handle?

Jaime


I can handle at least 15 Jaime. I would appreciate it if I could get a hold on some bonita, also skip jack. Thanks for the offer.

[bluehunter]

how do i sing up for the Socal Gathering 2005: IRVINE LAKE Sept. 17th

Welcome to the BOC.

I see that you found the thread for the sign up. See you there.

[bluehunter]

I went to Irvine last night and found the channels after a while of slow fishing. They were stacked. Word to everyone is that they are in transition to deeper water so fishing real shallow is not the business much now. Nice chunks of mac did the trick. Also the use of circles as well. Biggest went 6.75. Not too bad. Had one nice scream but it shook lose. Look for bigger ones to show soon there as I am feeling its time for the 40 plus pounder to come along. I attached some pics.

[Socal-Mike]

Nice Job Brian.

Me n the lil bro also made a trip out. Got there at 5pm and got our first around 7pm by the buyou. Ended up sticking to that spot because nothing else was producing.

Farmed a couple snaggers :cursing: of course.
Both got limits, 7 new stockers 1# and a few 3-4#

Also had a nice screamer on a huge chunk of mack...i did manage to set the hook and the fight was about 45 seconds of bendo and he made a run and my 25 lb test snapped like a twig. The one that got away i guess...cant wait for next time :cool:

[bluehunter]

I hate when that happens. The line has to be check constantly for twists and abrasions to avoid that. Also have to make sure that drag is good. I check mine occasionally when I am fishing. Now especially in the fall you have to look out for that as the big ones come along. Its all good though, I lost several in the past that were big. Just have to learn from it, its paying your dues! You will land them soon.

[Socal-Mike]

Yup, itll take me a while but ill get the hang of it and get a feel for the lake alot more... It was actually fresh line (trilene big game) but my drag was too tight. (im thinkin) i just hope everything works out with the lake and all :confused:
May need some tips for the cold, is the cattin any good there during the winter?
Im stockin up the aresenal with bigger poles and better hooks, bigger baits :cool:
Ill be a steady Double digit slayer soon- Definately need to get my digi cam soon...disposables aint cuttin it :o

[bluehunter]

It can be good during the winter but the catting gets overshadowed from the trout. Its a lot more crowded as well and they cause interference for the catfisherman with boaters, trollers, and all. I fish for trout from time to time as well though. This is when I normally make the switch to San Diego catfishing as winter time is king at San Vicente. I think that the season will go longer at Irvine though this time from what I heard. Well see if it happens as I have not got an official word yet.

[Socal-Mike]

Yeah, ill do some troutin too...maybe make a trip to SD sometime soon.
Goin to the charger v chiefs on 10-31 maybe ill make it a weekend and get some fishing in too.
thats funny tho, seen ya on the docks yappin and heard "brian" about 5 times but didnt put the two together...... :D

cant wait tho.

[goodguy]

Went out on the water with a friend of mine. Got on the water at 4pm. headed over to the flats, got the lines out around 5, and didn't get any cats but I have an ultra light rod out with 4lb test and a small hook with a night crawler for whatever wanted to come by. Got bit pretty hard set the hook and felt something struggling but stuck in some structure. This began a 15min struggle, of giving slack seeing it pull up and stuck over and over. Finally pull in as hard as I can pull that 4lb p line and just when I thought he was gone bam a nice bass leaps out of the water. Pulled in a nice 1lb 6ounce largemouth hooked right in the corner of the mouth. Didn't get any cat action so aeound 7 headed over to boat dock cove in about 15feet with some structure. Landed 3 of the smallest fish I've ever caught at Irvine ever. They went a wopping 15oz, 14oz, and 13oz I kid you not. My friend lands a 1lb 6oz, and we get nothing for a while so we head out to sierra cove and set up Trollmeister cruises in and we chat for a while. We get nothing from a very promising spot 20feet with allot of structire under us. We leave after about 1 and a half hours. Got back to boat dock cove found went to 20-25 feet of water with some nice structure. My friend lands a 14ozer and the smallest of the day at a whopping 12oz. I thought they stocked bigger fish than that, maybe I was wrong or maybe they are native guys. I have fished Irvine a handful of times but havent been this summer, and have never caught such small fish. All in all it was a GREAT night though just to be out on the water drinking beers and kicking back! I'll take 6 tiny fish and a nice bass over nothing any day! Just looks like I was fishing too shallow, oh well. Sucks because I only get out once maybe twice a year because my boat is semiretired and can't afford to rent all the time. If anyone has room aboard their boat let me know I'll keep you company!

[Socal-Mike]

Went out on the water with a friend of mine. Got on the water at 4pm. headed over to the flats, got the lines out around 5, and didn't get any cats but I have an ultra light rod out with 4lb test and a small hook with a night crawler for whatever wanted to come by. Got bit pretty hard set the hook and felt something struggling but stuck in some structure. This began a 15min struggle, of giving slack seeing it pull up and stuck over and over. Finally pull in as hard as I can pull that 4lb p line and just when I thought he was gone bam a nice bass leaps out of the water. Pulled in a nice 1lb 6ounce largemouth hooked right in the corner of the mouth. Didn't get any cat action so aeound 7 headed over to boat dock cove in about 15feet with some structure. Landed 3 of the smallest fish I've ever caught at Irvine ever. They went a wopping 15oz, 14oz, and 13oz I kid you not. My friend lands a 1lb 6oz, and we get nothing for a while so we head out to sierra cove and set up Trollmeister cruises in and we chat for a while. We get nothing from a very promising spot 20feet with allot of structire under us. We leave after about 1 and a half hours. Got back to boat dock cove found went to 20-25 feet of water with some nice structure. My friend lands a 14ozer and the smallest of the day at a whopping 12oz. I thought they stocked bigger fish than that, maybe I was wrong or maybe they are native guys. I have fished Irvine a handful of times but havent been this summer, and have never caught such small fish. All in all it was a GREAT night though just to be out on the water drinking beers and kicking back! I'll take 6 tiny fish and a nice bass over nothing any day! Just looks like I was fishing too shallow, oh well. Sucks because I only get out once maybe twice a year because my boat is semiretired and can't afford to rent all the time. If anyone has room aboard their boat let me know I'll keep you company!

I dont know about "room" but im the same as you, the rentals kill me. Id be more than willing to split one anytime........keep me posted. Welcome to the BOC by the way

[goodguy]

Yeah I shared a boat with my friend, but still an extra $25 to go fishing? That hurts, especiall since my wife, daughter and I just moved into a new house and tripled out mortgage payment because of it to a whoppin $2652.02 a month, ouch! :cursing: $43 to get in and share a boat on top of bait, food, drink, etc. you're looking at a $75 night for fishing. Thanks I was on the BOC website before it got changed but I guess my account didn't transfer or something.

[Socal-Mike]

Yeeeeeeeah, i hear ya mang...
well, next time ill bring a solid supply of mack for our boat..thatll cut the cost by a couple dollars at least....also lookin for a fixer boat for $1000 or less...

[goodguy]

I have an old 16 foot 1971 stinger ski/speed boat, with a 1971 chrysler 120 on the back. It was my dad's boat but I inherited it. The transom is in bad shape and every time I take it out it gets worse. So until I can completely restore it, it sits in my garage. I have gotten some good use out of it though, for being 35 years old the outboard is in great shape, the compression is outstanding and everything. I am going to get a nice merc 115 or something like that and have the whole boat restored, but that will have to wait until I can afford some more loan payments. So for now I'm renting :mad: If I can afford it and need a rental partner I'll hit you up.

[crazychuy]

Hey guys,

One of these days when I land another WHALE (that's sales talk for a BIG rip) I'll take a couple of you guys out on a pontoon boat and we'll make it a day at da 'Vine. I'll let you know when.

Chuy

[bluehunter]

Yeah I shared a boat with my friend, but still an extra $25 to go fishing? That hurts, especiall since my wife, daughter and I just moved into a new house and tripled out mortgage payment because of it to a whoppin $2652.02 a month, ouch! :cursing: $43 to get in and share a boat on top of bait, food, drink, etc. you're looking at a $75 night for fishing. Thanks I was on the BOC website before it got changed but I guess my account didn't transfer or something.


That is quite a bit per month good guy. I know what you mean. I been struggling on the ends as well. Thats why I have not been out much. I normally make a 2 day ocean trip every summer but had to hold off on that this year and cut back on fishing,. Rough times for all I guess. Irvine can be expensive, that why I was selective on when I go and I know the fall time is good. I am glad I changed the original date from Aug the 13th.

[bluehunter]

Socal if you get a hold of extra mac can I use some as well? If it is fresh thats even better. I was thinking of making a run to the pier, but do not have the time for it.

[Socal-Mike]

Socal if you get a hold of extra mac can I use some as well? If it is fresh thats even better. I was thinking of making a run to the pier, but do not have the time for it.

I'll definately be running to the pier a couple times this week. I should be able to get some quality time in, hoping....theyre still there like they were. I used quite a bite the last time out at irvine. CHanging after every snag, got alot of hooks safely lost bait tho...I'll hook u up.

Lets hope i can get a partner (mom,dad or bro) and slay em like we did last time 15 a peice :thumbsup: times two days.
I plan on bringing a few sandwhich bags with each one having a different flavour on some of the mack.

Quik question, when fishin at night...do u prefer your light off or does it matter when fishin deeper areas?

peace-

[Socal-Mike]

O yeah one other question.

When you use your circle hooks, say the clicker goes off...do u pick it up and just stop it and let the hook set? or..do u let it run until it its a constant runn and assume the hook is set? (not the clikikikikikik.........clikikikkikik....)

thansk for the help!

[goodguy]

Hey guys,

One of these days when I land another WHALE (that's sales talk for a BIG rip) I'll take a couple of you guys out on a pontoon boat and we'll make it a day at da 'Vine. I'll let you know when.

Chuy

I'll be there if there's room!

[crazychuy]

Mike,

From my understanding and experience of using circles. You don't want to let the fish run too long because then it'll make the hook go sideways and when you do set the hook it'll slip out of his mouth. From my understanding, you just want to close your bail as soon as he takes the bait and DO NOT set the hook hard. Just hold your rod at a 90 degree angle and hold it. The hook will set itself and your fish will be on. I use circle hooks, too. All my hooks that I use are "Owner" hooks. I usually get them on sale so I don't always pay the high price. If you go down to "Performance" in Los Al right now you can get pocket packs of "J" and "Circle" hooks for like $3 a pack. They have never let me down. Half the time I have a hard time getting them out because they always pierce right through the mouth.


Chuy



O yeah one other question.

When you use your circle hooks, say the clicker goes off...do u pick it up and just stop it and let the hook set? or..do u let it run until it its a constant runn and assume the hook is set? (not the clikikikikikik.........clikikikkikik....)

thansk for the help!

[Socal-Mike]

I need to find some bigger ones. I have a few 5/0s but they look waaay too small for a nice chunk of mack.
Im in OC and the only stores have 5/0s..any suggestions?

[bluehunter]

With the circles you do not want them to run long, some do not let them run at all. I engage my reel soon as I hear the click and let them load. After that just reel in. Do not swing your rod as well on that. Make sure you have a lot of the hook exposed when using the circles. I like the wider gap circles as it correlates with the size bait that I use.

[bluehunter]

I need to find some bigger ones. I have a few 5/0s but they look waaay too small for a nice chunk of mack.
Im in OC and the only stores have 5/0s..any suggestions?

Try the Longfin off chapman. They normally have the right stuff since they specialize in saltwater gear.

[crazychuy]

Blue,

What brand do you prefer? I usually use Owner 5/0 or 6/0. What do you recommend?

Chuy

[bluehunter]

Blue,

What brand do you prefer? I usually use Owner 5/0 or 6/0. What do you recommend?

Chuy

Owners is cool. Lately I been using Gama's a lot though.

[crazychuy]

I've never used Gama's before. Alot of my friends use them for Bass fishing though. I prefer Owners 'cause I like the fact that they are do darn sharp and have never had a problem hooking fishing with them. Wether it be catfish or trout. I've probably stuck myself more then fish with them hooks. Gots the scars to show it, unfortunetly.

Chuy

[cliffey07]

i think that has been my problem missing fish lately, i have been using more circle hooks lately, and i am so used to setting the hook violently. That could be the problem that or i just suck.

[Socal-Mike]

i think that has been my problem missing fish lately, i have been using more circle hooks lately, and i am so used to setting the hook violently. (a)That could be the problem that or (b)i just suck.

Im gonna go with B :D

Jk man, this should be a good time- Call me thursday or friday- Joe aint bringin that boat?

FYI- for any future irvine reports i say we just start a new thread...starting with our Gathering Report

[bluehunter]

Went to Irvine Fri and Sat. Got their around 730 Friday eve and went to a few spots as they were not were they were last week for me, found them around 10pm, yep late but did find them. Caught at 7.6 pounder and also a 6.8 with a few missed runners. Had a good run and about a 20 pounder on that shook loose after a while and off it went. I did not like that at all, so I switched from my circles to my Kahle hooks afterwards.

Went back out Sat eve to the same spot and as soon as it got dark, it was wide open for as while and slowed down around 10pm but the bite was still on but not as fast. My son and I got double limits of cats plus I ran out of bait. Been a while since I have run out of bait and this was the best bite I had this season at the Vine so far. All fish were caught deep and we ended up with about a 55 pound total stringer. Top 5 stringer was 35 pounds for us. Biggest at 9.7 and also 8.3 pounds. Not too shabby. Lots of bites and a decent hook up ratio with the kahles hooks at 8/0, those hooks are awesome and most of the time caught them in the corner of the mouths while a few swallowed them. Mac chunks and also cured liver worked. Only had one bag of cured liver but it worked. The bigger cats were caught on the mack chunks dipped in koolaid shake which put out a mist from the mac when its in the water. Good thing to use and is one of the tactics that I use for macs that works that I do not mind sharing. Here are some pics taken with my son. He caught a few as well. No doubles or big ones, but good for him to get experience with and learn how to work in with the baitcasters that I have. They worked splendid last night and I am hooked on the baitcaster instead of the spinning. It just seems so pancy to use the spinners now. LOL. Kind of like driving a 5 speed stick and an automatic car. . May make it next Sat it depends on some snaps. Have to see whats up. Other than that, will definitely be there on the 15th. Here are a few pics. My batteries went dead so the last 2 pics had no flash. Bummer

[davesoutfishing]

very nice fish that young man their looks like is haveing the best time congrates

[Socal-Mike]

As always, Great report Brian.
Your the man when it comes to a FAT STRINGER.

I guess im the man with the stockers. :D
Me and pops did the same on Saturday. Got to the lake and on the water by 7.
Hit the first buyo, landed 5 stockers and released 3 more...it was only 9 am at this point.
Headed to the flats for just a nice run, missed hook. Caught a bluegill and had some lunch.
Landed a couple more stockers around 430 pm and took another break.
We had about 7 fish we kept and threw at least 5 back by 8pm.

We headed to the dam around 845 and landed a couple over 3 and 4#s and threw 3 more back around 1#...but it slowed dramatically....so we went back for shallower water.

Hit a spot a ways out fromt he docks with lots of structure, hooked into some nice runners who had some substance but 6 snagged me in some ugly structure...after about 4 re-ties i could tell my pops wanted to leave, bad....so reluctantly we left around 1130....when it was time for the fatties to feed.

Next time he stays til they kick us out or he doesnt come :cursing:


Peeeeeeeeace-

[crazychuy]

Hey Mike,

Nice report. Sounds like a good night of fishing. Ya know if we were there we would stay there until they had to drag us off. I have never been on a bite like the one that we had the night of the gathering. I'm still probably going to head to SARL on Friday night for the 24 hour pass. I might buy a reel from my friend for that night. Don't know yet. I'll PM you and let you know.

CHUY

[Socal-Mike]

Yup, pops really had to work early tho..so i understood. Id say the bite was just as strong if not stronger :cursing:
Il propbably do the sarl thang with ya this weekend because its the last week i heard and a lil cheaper as well...
I do need to get on at least one fat stringer and a 15# plus at Irvine before seasons end.. :cool:

Addition to report:
All fish were caught off flylined mackerell...some most frozen in garlic powder from the gathering.
Caught a "couple" off shrimp.
Used circle hooks mostly, so all fish released were healthy and kicking..no internal bleeding :cool:

[janzaldo]

Now that I tasted crappie, I need to catch some! Any tips on finding them,tackle and bait suggestions would be appreciated.

Jaime