TROUT, CATFISH, AND BASS ALL BITING WELL
Thousands of pounds of additional trout went into Irvine Lake today [Thursday], to make sure the weekend action stays good. The lake's trout, catfish and bass population continued to bite at an excellent pace this week, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "We've seen the trout fishing stay consistently good, with the bass fishing starting to ramp up", observed Getty. "Of course it was the legendary Ronson "Catmando" Smothers who showed that the catfish are also biting extremely well, by catching a 5-catfish limit that totaled 53.15 pounds!"

Getty added, "This Saturday, March 16, will be the Sport Chalet Tournament, with thousands of dollars in prizes."

Ronson Smothers himself related his catfish exploits; "I went out on Monday and hit my old honey hole; and managed a 10 and 19-pounder before I had to leave for work. On Friday I went back again, and found the channel cats wide open in 37 feet of water near mid-lake. I caught a number of fish, but my top 5 totaled almost 54 pounds, including an 18 pounder."

Smothers tipped, "All of the fish were caught on mackerel and 20 to 30-pound test. The fish are congregated in certain areas with heavy structure, and are sitting there all day. They aren't wide open all over the lake, so it takes some searching around, but once you find them, the bite is good all day!"

Local trout guide Hubert Zimara of KFGS Guide Service noted, "We limited out easily on all nice 2 to 4-pound rainbows while topline trolling pink or firetiger Flickershads along the west shore in the mornings."

Good trout catches were reported from Boat Dock Cove, the west shore, Trout Island, and Santiago Flats. Most trout on the stringers are nice 2 to 5-pounders, with a few larger specimens mixed in. Bait dunkers used chartreuse PowerBait or nightcrawlers to good effect. Trollers got their fish dragging a variety of offerings, including the new Rapala ScatterRap SCRCD07 in firetiger or brown trout colors.

Bass anglers found good numbers of 2 to 6-pound largemouth on hard structure at 20 to 30 feet using dropshot baits, or going for swimbait techniques for much larger-average weights in shallower areas. Families with children age 12 and under did well on 1 to 3-pound trout in the Kids Lagoon using marshmallow/mealworm combos.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Derrin Ervin of Chino, 9-3 rainbow trout on a Berkley Mice Tail at the flats
Kevin Conred of Irvine, 5-7 rainbow trout on a Rapala at the flats
Sierra Van Meter of Yorba Linda, 5-0 rainbow trout on a Trout King jig at Boat Dock Cove
James Getty of Silverado, 6-1 largemouth bass [released] on Triple Trout at the west shore
Ronson Smothers of Los Angeles, 19-0 channel catfish on mackerel at mid-lake
Ronson Smothers of Los Angeles, 18-0 channel catfish on mackerel at mid-lake
Whitney Curry and James Getty of Silverado, 5-bass limit totaling 27.9 pounds [all released], on Triple trout at the west shore.
Ronson Smothers of Los Angeles, 5-catfish limit totaling 53.15 pounds