Irvine Lake crappie perking up

Continuing steady catfish action was supplemented by an excellent crappie bite for Irvine Lake anglers, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The water is cooling down a little", observed Getty. "That has really brought the crappie bite back big time. Put out a floating lantern and wait for the minnows to gather under it. Once you have the minnows around your boat, it won't be long before you have lots of crappie under you. The catfish bite was best on Thursday night, but was still decent over the weekend."

Catfish anglers reported good catches on mackerel, shrimp, Berkley Gulp! and DuMong's. Most productive locations were Santiago Flats, the west shore and near the docks.

Crappie anglers did best with Berkley Atomic Teasers and 2-inch Berkley Gulp! Minnows rigged on a one-sixteenth-ounce jighead. Top colors were glow-in-the-dark and white, with most anglers doing best at the flats.

Bass anglers found excellent numbers of largemouth up to 5 pounds, with the early morning hours rated best. Top producers were shaky head-rigged creature baits and dropshot-rigged plastics fished at Rocky Point and the flats.

Plenty of bluegill and redear are still being caught on mealworms and waxworms near the docks and along the west shore. The Kids Lagoon is producing some catfish, but will be shut down for maintenance after the Labor Day weekend.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Terry "Pontoon" Lairson of Huntington Beach, 12.06 pound catfish on mackerel at Rocky Point
Harry Davenport of Newport Beach, 5-catfish limit totaling 30.1 pounds on mackerel at the flats
Edgar Nunez of Orange, 1.2 pound crappie on shrimp at the flats
Marty Sauceda of Costa Mesa, 1.2 pound crappie on a jig at the flats


Media contacts;
Daniela Gavaldon or Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop [714-649-9111]
Steve Carson [email protected]