IRVINE LAKE TO HOST WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS TOURNEY ON SATURDAY; MASSIVE BONUS TROUT STOCKING DUE ON THURSDAY
This coming Saturday April 18 will see Irvine Lake hosting the huge Western Outdoor News Trout Opener event. On April 18, ALL anglers must be registered for the WON event prior to being admitted to the lake.

Registration for the WON event is $45, and can be done on the WON website, or by using the form available at the lake itself. Late signups will still be taken at the lake on Saturday morning. On the 18th only, the lake will open its gates at 5:00 AM, and anglers are asked to enter at the SOUTH entrance gate. On Friday April 17, and Sunday April 19, the lake will operate normal hours.

All rental boats and campsites are already sold out for the WON event, but private boaters and shore anglers are still welcome to enter. A shuttle boat will be operated to transport anglers to inaccessible areas of the shoreline during the WON tournament.

A special bonus stocking of 10,000 pounds of trout will take place on Thursday of this week. This huge planting will include brown trout, brook trout steelhead, and some giant trophy rainbows from 15 to well over 20 pounds. Bring a big net!

A stocking of trophy size catfish in the 20-pound class was also made this week. Anglers are reminded of Irvine Lake's voluntary release program for catfish over 10 pounds, and the mandatory release policy for catfish over 20 pounds. Lucky anglers who release whiskerfish over 20 pounds will receive a free pass to the lake, and those release monsters over 40 pounds will also receive a free boat and motor rental.

As for this week's fishing action, Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop observed, "Trout fishing is still very good, but you need to move around a little to locate the schools of trout. The water is rising fast and is fairly clear, so longer casts are also needed.

Bait dunkers are scoring on Power Bait, Gulp!, nightcrawlers and Power Mouse presentations, usually on an 18-inch leader. Woody's Cove was a particular hotspot due to its expansive new size, and good numbers of fish were also caught at Trout Island, along the west shore and near the dam.

Trollers are finding easy limits of somewhat smaller-grade trout. Top trolling offering was a hot steel-color Rapala Taildancer TD05, with a firetiger-color Rapala CD05 also productive.

Crappie fishing dipped a bit from last week's peak action, but that may be due to the intense trout tournament activity drawing pressure away. Plenty of slabs to 2 pounds are still being caught on white Atomic Tubes fished above flooded trees.

Bass fishing is still going strong, with fish currently available in both spawning and post-spawn condition. Largemouth from 2 to 6 pounds are biting well from the extreme shallows out to about 20 feet of water. Most legitimate bass techniques are working, including dropshot, jerkbait, and spinnerbait presentations. A favorite jerkbait has been a purple-ghost color Rapala X-Rap XR12.

Bluegill have come alive this week, with feisty ???gills up to a pound hitting on mealworms and waxworms fished near the docks. A few catfish were seen near the creek.

The Kids Lagoon will cease operation early next week due to rising water levels, but will be functioning this weekend. The lake is coming up as much as 6 inches per day, and is expected to reach full pool status soon. A shuttle will operate on weekends to transport anglers to inaccessible areas of the shoreline.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

- Scott Noseworthy of Orange, 15-4 rainbow trout on Gulp! Trout Dough at Woody's Cove
- Oscar Cuevas of Santa Ana, 11-2 rainbow trout on Power Bait at Woody's Cove
- Louie Perez of Pacoima, 10-8 rainbow trout on a Tasmanian Devil near the dam.
- Joseph Arballo of Orange, 7-10 steelhead on a Power Worm at the west shore