Raising Catfish in the Desert
43:16
In this special episode of Inside Sport Fishing, host Michael Fawkles visits California’s Irvine Lake to explore their one-of-a-kind Catfish and Trout fishery. Built almost 100 years ago as a water supply for orange county, Irvine Lake quickly became one of California’s most productive and unique fisheries. Against the expectations of the angling community, their mass scale stocking operations of big Catfish and Trout have been a huge success. Michael joins Rick Ketcham to look at the unique tackle and baits that have been developed on the water, before heading to the dam to land some of the bigger cats. Steve Miller and Phil Mackey get into the incredible Trout fishing made possible by the pure mountain spring water and massive fish being breed on site and test their luck with bottom baits.