Despite cold winter weather conditions, Irvine Lake continued to kick out plenty of trout over the weekend and first part of the week, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "Trout fishing has been really good", observed Getty. "The water was pretty murky from the rain and muddy runoff, but is clearing midweek. The lake level has gone down about 10 inches since the intake pipe was shut off, and it is very cold in the mornings."

The most productive spot has been Trout Island, and stringers there have included plenty of 2 to 5-pound rainbows and a decent number of "exotics" like brook trout and brown trout. The action has been spiced up with some beautiful 6 to 12-pound trophy rainbows, with bigger fish reportedly snapping lines like thread.

With water conditions clearing as of Wednesday, trolling re-emerged on par with baitfishing. Dragging CD03 and CD05 Rapalas in firetiger and orange colors produced some nice catches.

Shorter bait leaders in the 12-inch range have still been the ticket, along with slathering baits with strong scents like Berkley Alive!, garlic or other flavorings. Power Bait, nightcrawlers, Gulp! Trout Dough and various constructions of the Power Mouse have all been scoring trout.

Good numbers of 2 to 6-pound catfish are being caught incidentally by trout anglers dunking nightcrawlers. Very few bass anglers have reported in with any significant catches.

Families with children age 12 and under are doing well in the Kids Lagoon. Anglers are advised that the limit in the Kids Lagoon is 3 fish, while the remainder of the 5-fish limit may be caught in the main lake.

High water levels continue to prevent access to the west shore road. A free pontoon boat shuttle service to the west shore hotspots runs on weekends only from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The shuttle will run every hour on the hour, and will be a great way to get over to some of the better west shore spots without a boat or long hike.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Osvaldo Zamara of Visalia, 12.4 pound trout on Power Bait at Trout Island
Art Villa of Orange, 10.8 pound trout on nightcrawlers at the west shore
Dean Martin of Buena Park, 9.8 pound trout on nightcrawlers at the west shore
Brandon Clark of Fountain Valley, 9.14 pound trout on nightcrawlers at Sierra Cove
Brandon Kuramoto of La Mirada, 8.12 pound trout on Power Bait at Trout Island
Shawn Schumacher of Fullerton, 6.0 pound trout on a Rapala at mid-lake