Sensational fishing was the name of the game as Irvine Lake kicks off its 2008-09 trout season. "The trout fishing has been absolutely wide-open every day since the opener", reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The fish have just been going bananas- the west shoreline looks like a popcorn machine every morning as the bite indicators shoot up. We have been selling double-limit and triple-limit passes within an hour of opening the gates. Fish are being caught at the west shore, the flats, Sierra Cove, anywhere and everywhere!"

Virtually all of the traditional trout fishing spots on the lake are producing, including Sierra Cove, Santiago Flats, the west shoreline, boat dock cove, Rocky Point and near the dam. The majority of the trout are in the 1 to 5-pound class, but a healthy mix of 6 to 13-pounders keeps anglers on their toes.

Bait fishing has been more successful than trolling. Favored bait is the Power Mouse, constructed using a Gulp! Salmon Egg and Power Trout Worm in color combinations of white, chartreuse, orange and green.

A larger overall grade of trout is being caught by anglers using Berkley Atomic Tubes and Berkley Atomic Teasers with a contrasting color worm in the same colors as the Power Mouse. Traditional Power Bait is also a good choice, with nightcrawlers also scoring a few fish.

Numerous incidental catches of 2 to 6-pound catfish show that the whiskerfish are still very active. A few anglers have managed to catch a "grand slam" of the lakes' species, with rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, channel catfish and bluegill all appearing simultaneously at the cleaning tables.

The Kids Lagoon remains closed, but is currently be re-filled with water. The Lagoon will hopefully re-open for the weekend of November 15, freshly stocked with trout. Irvine Lake is open 7 days a week from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM during the winter season. Thousands of pounds of trout will be stocked weekly.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Tranz Vo of Garden Grove, 13.4 pound trout on a Power Mouse at Trout Island

Dave Brewer of Anaheim, 13.1 pound trout on a mini jig at the west shore

Frank Duarte of Huntington Beach, 12.2 pound trout on a mini jig at Sierra Cove

Fernando Diaz of Orange, 12.1 pound trout on nightcrawlers at the west shore

Matthew Pham of Huntington Beach, 11.02 pound trout on Power Bait at Trout Island

David Schrante, of Chino Hills, 9.10 pound rainbow and 3.9 pound brook trout on Power Worms

Armando Gonzales of Anaheim, 3.1 pound book trout on Power Bait at the west shore