Caption: Omar Banks of Moreno Valley nailed this beautiful 15-10 rainbow trout at Irvine Lake using an orange Power Worm at boat dock cove.

Irvine Lake holiday trout bite topped by 15-10 lunker; Lake open on New Year's Day!

The largest trout of the season to date highlighted good trout action at Irvine Lake, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The overall trout bite has been really good", observed Getty. "Both trolling and bait fishing have been working. The water is clearing and visibility is increasing, so bait leaders need to be around 18 inches. Colors on Power Bait and trolling lures should also be a little more subtle. Sunday results were a little slower due to heavy pressure from large holiday weekend crowds, but the bite on Christmas Eve was absolutely unreal."

Getty added, "We are starting to see a few trout coming in that look completely wild. Since the lake was at almost full capacity all summer for the first time in years, we believe this is because some of our trout are 'holdovers' from last year."

The lake will be open regular hours [6:00 AM to 4:00 PM] on New Year's Eve [Dec. 31] and New Year's Day [Jan. 1], so anglers who want to greet the New Year with a feisty rainbow trout on the end of their line will have the perfect opportunity to do so!

Good catches were reported from the west shore, Trout Island, boat dock cove, and Santiago Flats. Most trout on the stringers were in the 1 to 3 pound range, but a nice sprinkling of 4 to 6-pounders, and some "lunker grade" fish from 8 to 15 pounds were present to spice up the stringers.

Best Power Bait colors were orange, chartreuse, chunky cheese, and white, with 2-pound test leaders a must. Trollers did best with subtle colors like brown trout and brook trout-color Rapala CD05's, and Jointed Rapala J-05's.

Very few bass anglers bucked the trouting trend, but some very good numbers of 2-pound category largemouth were available for hardcore bassers tossing jigs in 25 feet of water at the red clay cliffs and Rocky Point.

The Kids Lagoon was very good for families with children age 12 and under, with mini jigs and Power Worms the best choice. The main lake water temperature is in the mid-50's, and the lake level is holding steady.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Omar Banks of Moreno Valley, 15-10 rainbow trout on a Power Worm at boat dock cove
Art Kahchatorian of North Hollywood, 13-4 rainbow trout on a Lip Ripper at Woody's Cove
7-year old Wally Korbler of Newport Coast, 12-10 rainbow trout on an SC Shiner at mid-lake
Jim Nordberg of Winnetka, 11-8 rainbow trout on a Thomas Buoyant at Trout Island
Scott Keller of Anaheim, 11-4 rainbow trout on a mini jig at the west shore
Scott Noseworthy of Orange, 8-14 rainbow trout on a mini jig at the west shore
Whitney Curry of Silverado, 7-2 carp [released] on Power Bait at Trout Island
Don Spencer of Orange, 3-2 largemouth bass [released] on a jig at the red clay cliffs