The fish just kept on biting, even as Irvine Lake begins preparations for its biggest event of the year, the public Trout Season Opener. “Our 2015-16 public Trout Season Opener will be on Friday, November 6”, observed General Manager Dave Noyes. “Thousands of pounds of beautiful Nebraska Tailwalker rainbow trout will be stocked just prior to opening day. The lake will be closed from Monday, November 2, through Thursday, November 5, to allow preparations for trout season.”

Good catches of eating-size 3-6 pound channel catfish were still being made at the west shore and Boat Dock Cove using skipjack, shrimp, and bonito baits cast out on Carolina rigs. Some larger whiskerfish have been caught lately by shore anglers, including a 57 pounder last week, and a 34 pounder this week.

Bass anglers also did very well on 2-4 pound largemouth using plastics and crankbaits, with some larger bucketmouths possible on swimbaits. Bluegill and redear sunfish were hitting on mealworms. Carp specialist Luis Montes scored another whopper with a 31-14 weighed and then released at the west shore.

Prospective trout anglers should keep a few basic rules in mind to maximize their catch at Irvine Lake. First and foremost is to use ultra-light line. In most instances, nothing heavier than 4-pound test line, and when fish are acting finicky, success is greatly enhanced by using 2-pound test bait leaders.

Carolina rigs [sliding sinker] are the standard approach for bait fishing. Leader length varies with water clarity; stained water usually means 6-12 inch leaders, while ultra-clear water means 16-18 inch leaders. Hook size for PowerBait is normally a #16 or #18 Owner treble hook. Large nightcrawlers should be cut in half, but mediums should be used whole. In either case they should be injected with air so that the float off the bottom, and pinned on a #10 Owner Mosquito hook. Slip-bobbers are an under-utilized technique, and allow baits like nightcrawlers or salmon eggs to be suspended at any specific depth below the surface or above the bottom.

Lure casters are split into metal/hard bait and soft bait camps. Small metal lures like 1/6 ounce Krocodiles can be cast a long distance to reach breaking fish. Soft plastics like Berkley Power Trout worms or mini-jigs allow a more subtle presentation, and of course allow a virtually limitless number of color combinations. The Berkley Power Trout Worms are most versatile, and can be rigged splitshot-style, dropshot-style, or on ultralight leadheads. The popular variant called a Mice Tail can be rigged using all of those same styles, or simply soaked like PowerBait. Bright colors are usually best with both PowerBait and soft plastics. Chartreuse is usually the default choice, with fluorescent red, pink, orange, rainbow, and white all having their moments.

Anglers are reminded that boats and other watercraft are not permitted at Irvine Lake. The Kids Lagoon is being drained so that it can be made deeper and wider for trout season.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Chris Hagopian of Redondo Beach, 34-8 blue catfish [released] on Bite-On at the west shore
Luis Montes of Orange, 31-14 carp [released] on boilies at the west shore
Hideto Shibata of Fullerton, 6-1 largemouth bass [released] on a brush hog at the west shore