Irvine Lake
www.fishinghotpage.com
Size: 725 acres
Location: Irvine City limits
Directions: Newport Freeway to Santiago Canyon Rd.

Species: Rainbow Trout. Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Crappie, Catfish, Blue Catfish, Carp

Boat launch is $8.00
Rentals are $40.00 weekends, $25.00 weekdays, rowboats are also available. Water contact allowed, float tubes welcome. Entrance fee $13.00 per adult $10.00 for seniors and kids are $7.00, camping is available.
This privately owned and operated lake is smack in the middle of some 3 million people. It gets real busy mostly during the huge Trout plants in the winter months. No state fishing license required, however state limits of Trout and Catfish are honored. Limit on pan fish is ten with Bass C&R only. Most of the Trout come from the Mount Lassen hatchery and are very big, robust fish. Most over 5lbs and a lot over 10! The record for these stocked fish is always changing, going up, up and up in size. Since so many people visit this lake, you can only imagine the fishing reports that come out of here. Trolling for Trout is very popular. That and the shore anglers soaking up some bait make for a lot of high catch rates. Float tubers assault this lake and very well. Mostly bait dunkers are found here, and there is a growing number of fly fishers that do well here too. For information on some fly fishing gear go to the back of this listing and look for the stores that cater to that sport, there are some real good ones.
This lake does a lot of advertising getting people to come and visit. Derbies are held with tagged fish representing prizes. You will have a good time at this locale monster fish lake. Get in line early and enjoy yourself. There is a store, marina, bait and tackle shop along with a small deli. For the solo angler you just can’t beat the deal. Most of the newly stocked trout hang out in the shallow areas because this is what they are used to. So find a nice shaded area and cast out a line or two and wait for that big fish to come along and take a bite. You should not have to wait too long, so don’t leave your rod just sitting there as you wander away. It may not be there when you come back, because that big fish just pulled it in the lake.

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Trabuco Canyon
Size: Small stream
Location: Santa Ana Mountains, Orange County side
Directions: Off of Highway 74 turn right onto Trabuco Canyon Rd.

Species: Rainbow Trout.

This stream is managed by the Orange County Parks Department .  The DFG stocks Rainbow Trout in the 8” to 10” class into this little fast moving stream in the late winter early spring. Not a lot of fish get stocked because of the remoteness of the stream. The stocking takes place just above O’Neil Regional Park. The road in is very rough and a high clearance vehicle is required. There are mountain Lions in the Cleveland National Forest and sometimes you will see warnings posted. An Adventure pass is needed to park; hike in camping is available for year round use. So hike in, do some fishing and fix them up for dinner. This is the only stream in Orange County that receives stocks of Rainbow Trout. The fish always hole up in the larger pools along the way in.  Stopping and casting to those pools is a pretty good idea.

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Anaheim Lakes
www.fishinglakes.com
Phone: (714) 996-3508
Size: Various Sizes
Location: City of Anaheim
Directions: The 91 Freeway to Tustin Ave.  Follow the signs.
Boat rentals are available, Float tubes allowed

Species: Rainbow Trout. Largemouth Bass, Catfish, Sturgeon, Bluegill, Crappie, Sunfish

Anaheim Lakes offers the same amenities as Santa Ana River Lakes. The operation is basically the same as well, with only one difference. This lake is closed in the winter for cleaning and maintained. During the summer it is just the opposite, with this lake being open and the other one closed for maintenance. Almost all the fish stocks from S.A.R.L. are brought here while that lake is shut down.  Basically the whole operation just shuts down and moves every six months. Not too many fish are stocked here, many are transferred. The same is true for all the boats, store supplies, everything gets moved.  It’s a very different operation and has been run like this for years. They offer great fishing in the summer for Catfish, some real big ones too.

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Santa Ana River Lakes
www.fishinglakes.com
Phone: (714) 632-7830
Size: Various Sizes
Location: Anaheim Area
Directions: Off of the 91 Freeway and the 22 Freeway to La Palma Ave.
Boat launch is $8.00, Entrance fee is $20.00, Float Tube fee is $25.00,  Week end night time pass $45.00, Boat rentals are $40.00

Species: Rainbow Trout, Largemouth Bass, Catfish, Bluegill, Crappie, Sunfish, Sturgeon

Santa Ana River Lakes is commonly called S.A.R.L. It is made up of three separate lakes. They are 15 acres, 35 acres, 90 acres. The 35 acres size lake is primarily for Catfish. The same owners who operated S.A.R.L. operate Anaheim Lakes and Lake Corona as well. No state fishing license is needed however state limits are enforced. This lake has the reputation of stocking the biggest Trout and Catfish. The current State Hatchery Trout record came from here at a whopping 23.5 lbs. There are many unconfirmed catches as well, some say up to 26 lbs! The way the fish reach this size is done at a private hatchery. They are called Tripliods and it involves having the Trout Fry sterilized. Not too sure how this works but the end results are some huge fish. These lakes are used for water storage for the surrounding Orange County area. Every year they are drained and cleaned, when this happens all operations get transferred to Anaheim lakes.
Water contact is not allowed so chest waders must be worn when float tubing. The added bonus in these lakes is the Sturgeon, not too many people know how to target these strange looking fish. Most are caught while people are fishing for Catfish. The Largemouth Bass are C&R only at all lakes, the Bluegill and Crappie limit is 10 each species. There are some big Bass caught each and every year and that is understandable with all the food swimming around. So if your interest lies in trying to catch one of the Biggies, then this is the place to go. There are a lot of fishing derbies each week or weekend with tagged fish worth prizes and cash. There are also Float Tube Derbies as well with a lot of the advertising being placed in Western Outdoor News Magazines. The place gets crowed with a lot of limits on fish being taken each day they are open. So pay the entrance fee, don’t drive near as far and have a good time. Even though all the Trout and Catfish are from a hatchery, they still put up a fun fight.

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Laguna Niguel
Laguna Niquel Lake Fish Report
Size: 44 acres
Phone: (949) 362-3885
Location: Laguna Nigel Regional Park
Directions: From the 5 Freeway to La Paz Rd. Then just follow the signs.

Species: Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Catfish, Bluegill, Crappie, Carp

If you want solitude in a park like setting complete with everything you could want to do, then you need to go to Laguna Nigel Regional Park. Laguna Niguel Regional Park is tucked into the hills surrounded by millions of people. This park lets you get away from it all without really getting away at all. The way the park is set, laid out and constructed it provides a wonderful backdrop. Now add the fact that there is a world class Bass fishery here and you got it all. The lake record for Largemouth Bass is over 14 pounds. A Catfish record of over 68 pounds and large planted Trout caught each and every year. This and the park surroundings really put this little lake on the map. If you hang out near the marina in the summer you will see schools of nice sized Bluegill and Sunfish. Some of these fish are good sized with the lake record for a Bluegill is over 2 pounds you will run into a lot of big brutes. Rentals are available and float tubes are allowed the mainstay for float tubing in So Cal is full chest waders, 122 inches of bright orange, whistle, safety vest. I have seen some real decked out float tubes complete with multiple rod holders, fish finder, coolers and what not. Check out Bass Pros Shops and you will be sure to find portable fish finders that mount onto a float tube.

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