LAGUNA NIGUEL LAKE OUTING
January 17, 2015
Our first club outing for 2015 is scheduled for Saturday, January 17, at local Laguna Niguel
Lake, a 44 acre lake that is stocked weekly with ~2000 pounds of trout. The lake has a large “flats area
with depth from 5-12 feet ideal for fly fishing, and it has a mud bottom which is conducive for midge
hatches. There are also other food items such as bass fry and blue gill fry.
When fly fishing, the lake is best fished from float tubes or from a boat. that can be rented at the
lake for $15 an hour or $30 for five hours. The cost to fish the lake is $28 with an additional $5 fee for
launching a float tube. There is also a $5 entry fee into the lake. (You can also enter by showing your
OCParks Annual Pass, if you have purchased one.)
There are several methods for fishing the lake. The most common/popular method is “midging”
which consists of suspending two midges below an indicator. Another method is to “strip a streamer”
either by casting and stripping in your line or kicking and trolling your line behind your float tube.
Stillwater fishing, especially the midging technique requires attention to detail and being very attentive
to your line and indicator. The grabs can be easily missed because they are so soft. Other factors that
affect our success as fly fishers at Laguna Niguel are water quality, water temperature, the amount of
midges hatching and of course the planting schedule.
The fishing, at times, can be very good or very slow, but it is winter and the lake is not far from
home and it is better being on the water than sitting around the house. If you have any questions please
contact me: Streamkeeper: Lyman Kennedy, lkennedyjr@earthlink.net or 714 742-5865