Laguna Niguel Lake, formerly known as Sulphur Creek Reservoir, is an artificial

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

al lake in

Laguna Niguel, California Laguna Niguel () is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The name Laguna Niguel is derived from the words "Laguna" (Spanish for "lagoon") and "Niguili" (the name of a Native American village once located near Aliso Creek). As of ...

. It is created by the Sulphur Creek Dam, which was completed in 1966. It is located at and is above sea level. It is fed from two sources, one of which is Sulphur Creek itself and the other, a

storm drain A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, United States, U.S. and Canada), surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to Drainage, drain excess rain and ground water ...

. It is accessed from La Paz Road, which runs along its east shore. Surrounding the reservoir is the

Laguna Niguel Regional Park Laguna Niguel Regional Park is a public park in Laguna Niguel, in southern Orange County, California. Its main feature is Laguna Niguel Lake (also known as Sulphur Creek Reservoir), located within the park's boundaries. Laguna Niguel's 4th of J ...

. In addition, within the lake on the large island is a protected bird sanctuary. There is a fee to access the park and lake which costs $3 on weekdays, $5 on weekends, and $7 on holidays.

Recreational uses

Laguna Niguel Lake is used for fishing and has been stocked with

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

blue gill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

, and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

. In addition to fishing it is used by the Laguna Niguel Lightning youth baseball team for conditioning purposes.

Fishing information

Laguna Niguel Lake is a very popular

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

fishing location during the season (November–April). The lake became famous within the fishing community for stocking "wild raised" Utah "Hook-Jaws" exceeding sizes of . As of November 2007 the lake stopped stocking these Utah trout and instead received their stockings from the Mt. Lassen fish hatchery. The lake has recently received new operators who are bringing back these famous Utah raised Rainbow Trout come November 2010. The limit for trout is 5 fish per stringer, and no trout may be released unless caught on barbless artificials or flies only. Additional fish may be kept with another fishing permit purchase. The current lake trout record is caught by Dan Ingouf. The lake is owned by Orange County, and is leased out to Rick Mendozaone of the original operatorsand Darren Colbert who are in charge of the fishing and concession. The concessionaire at Laguna Niguel lake closed in November 2015 and the County of Orange took over the maintenance and management of the lake. A California State fishing license is required for anyone 16 years of age or over and all Department of Fish and Wildlife rules apply. There is no fee to fish, but there is a vehicle entrance fee of $3 per entrance on weekdays and $5 per entrance on weekends. Rentals and bait are no longer available and no watercraft are permitted on the lake. Fishing is from the shoreline and in designated fishing areas only. The County will continue to stock the lake seasonally with fish and a schedule is posted on line at . Park operating hours are 7am-9pm during daylight saving time and 7am-6pm during standard time.

References

External links

Laguna Niguel Lake
oncessionaire {{authority control Reservoirs in Orange County, California Laguna Niguel, California Reservoirs in California Reservoirs in Southern California

Recreational uses

Fishing information

See also

References

External links