The holidays have been extremely happy for many anglers at Irvine Lake, and downright miraculous for at least a few, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "We will be open regular hours [6 AM-4 PM] on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and we are hoping everyone comes down to join us and catch the first fish of the new year!", said Getty.

"A huge sturgeon was released this week that probably exceeded our official lake record of 49 pounds, 6 ounces. According to the standard length/girth/weight calculations, it would have weighed between 52 and 58 pounds. The big fish was landed after a 45-minute fight on just 3-pound test Trilene XL leader material, and very possibly could have even beaten the current IGFA World Record for sturgeon in the 4-pound line class of 50 pounds, zero ounces!"

Getty added, "We had an awesome holiday story this week that has actually hit the mainstream news. Back in November, one of our longtime Pro Team members Mits 'Magic Man' Onizuka fell in a boat and gashed his arm badly. It was thought that his treasured gold retirement watch that he received upon retirement from Vons back in 1980 was lost in the depths, or during transport in the ambulance.

"Angler Howard Hess of San Luis Obispo had already limited out on trout one day last week, and was slapping some moss off his bare hook. Amazingly, he accidentally snagged the watch, which had Onizuka's name engraved on the back. With help from the Orange County Register, Hess tracked Onizuka down, and presented him with the watch in a surprise ceremony at the lake this week."

Overall trout action was rated very good, with most of the fish being rainbows in the 2 to 4-pound class. Right after the first of the year, the lake will also plant a batch of the amazing "Yosemite Reds", which will be true drag-burners. Trout were caught from a variety of locations, including Boat Dock Cove, the west shore, and Santiago Flats. The lake began pumping in water via the "inlet pipe" in Sierra Cove, which is expected to cause numbers of trout to gather in that general vicinity.

Trollers fooled the fish with several different choices; including clown-color [red/chartreuse] Rapala Ultralight Shad ULS04's and pink X-Rap XR04's and XR06's. Bait dunkers did well with PowerBait, Berkley Mice Tails, and nightcrawlers.

Bass anglers found good numbers of 2 to 4-pound largemouth on hard structure at 20 to 30 feet using dropshot baits, with releasing as many as 15 bass in a 4-hour session possible. A few larger bucketmouths were around, and chasing various swimbaits. Catfish anglers patiently soaking mackerel at the west shore scored a few 3 to 6-pound whiskerfish.

Families with children age 12 and under did well on 1 to 3-pound trout in the freshly-stocked Kids Lagoon. Surface temperature on the main lake is 58 to 60 degrees, with underwater visibility rated extremely clear in Sierra Cove, and mixed in other areas of the lake. The lake level is rising steadily, with the "inlet pipe" in Sierra Cove actively running, and the lake expected to have risen three feet by the end of December.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Kay Fujimara of Cerritos, 54-inch sturgeon [released] on nightcrawlers at the west shore
Chris Robinson of Orange, 8-7 rainbow trout on a Rapala at mid-lake