Trout Fishing at Laguna Niguel Lake
By Dave Braun
In southern California our busy lifestyles often keep us from enjoying
a relaxing day fishing with our friends and family. There is a hidden
Gem of a lake in the heart of Orange County. The lake gets
stocked weekly, starting in November with nice quality trout and a few
trophy grade fish mixed in. There are some nice size bass in the lake
and are catch and release only.
You can fish from shore, rent a boat or launch you own float tube
(Launch Fee additional). Boats can be rented by the hour, half day or
full day. The boats have electric motors. The boat pictured is one of
their premium boats. You can not launch you own boat in this lake.
Tackle Tips for Trout
If you have never fished this lake before I advise renting a boat
for half a day to get aquainted with the lake. You are allowed to fish
with two fishing poles per angler.
If you are fishing with bait you should keep all the trout you catch.
You can purchase an additional Day Use Permit if you want to catch 5
more trout. So if you manage to catch a quick limit you can buy another
permit and keep filling your cooler.
You should have two light weight spinning outfits filled with 2# or 4#
premium fishing line. PowerBait, inflated worms, salmon eggs and
trout roe strips work very well. I dip the powerbait and worms in our
secret sauce. Other commercial trout dips work too, I prefer the Garlic
flavor to catch trout. Use premium Owner or Gamakatsu #12 salmon
egg hooks with 8 - 10 inch 2# leader and a 1/4 oz sliding sinker.
If you are fortunate enough to catch a large female trout be sure to
carefully remove the eggs sac and freeze it. The next time you fish
there, cut the roe sac into small chunks and the trout love it. Bait
fishing is probably best suited for the novice anglers.
When trolling from a boat make sure you use #4 line and I like the shad
rap rapala's that dive 10 - 15 feethey work very well. If you are
fishing from a boat you don't have to go far from the dock to get into
some productive areas. Just make sure you don't crowd the shore anglers
too much. They don't have as much flexability as boaters. The Float
tubers do well fishing the flats with flys and finger jigs.
At this lake the trout seem to bite better around 10:00 AM. So don't
get discouraged if you have to pick and scratch to get your first few
trout. You can have a fun time with your kids if you only have a
few hours. Since you can rent the boats by the hour we have had some
great times fishing in the late morning. Many anglers
limit out around 11:00AM and boats can some times be available. So if
you have a hard time getting the family out of bed, you can plan a nice
picnic in the park and do some fishing at the same time.
More Information
The lake is located at 28241 La Paz rd, Laguna Niguel , Ca inside the
regional park. There is an entry fee to get into the park and a fishing
concession fee that will allow you to fish. The "Day Use Permit"
allows you to keep 5 Trout, Catfish or bluegill. There is
no CA state fishing license required. So it's a great adventure for
your out of state visitors.
More information on Laguna Niguel Lake
is available at their web site. So we will see ya at the lake. Don't
forget to bring a net and a big cooler.
TOP