Irvine Lake trouting topped by monster 19-12 rainbow; more water arrives as bass turn on Heavy trout and a continued heavy influx of water were the story at Irvine Lake this week, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "We had one of the largest trout of the past year weighed in this week, a huge 19-12 rainbow", observed Getty. "The earthquake did not seem to slow down the trout bite at all, and the large crowd for the Berkley Cup event on Saturday had 239 entrants scoring a mixed bag. Some anglers did not do that well, while others brought some excellent fish to the scales. Our winner got $1598 for his huge 12-15 trout. The top four fish were all over 8 pounds, and it took a 3-9 to get a check."


Getty added, "We also still have the water rolling in at Sierra Cove, which should be completed this week. The incoming water has come up over 10 vertical feet, and is just below the West Shore Road, with the launch ramp at Trout Island down to two lanes. "


Most of the trout on the stringers were nice rainbows in the 2 to 4-pound class, along with some very big fish causing hearts to flutter. Bait dunkers did best with PowerBait/nightcrawler combos at the Sierra Cove and at Trout Island.


Trollers went with natural-color lures, such as silver Rapala Countdown CD05's, and brook trout color Jointed Rapala J05's. Best trolling lanes were at mid-lake, along the west shore, and near the dam restriction lines.


Bass fishing was excellent on 2 to 4-pound largemouth with all of the newly-flooded vegetation. Some fish are on the beds, with ultra-clear water giving up sight fishing opportunities. A few large catfish were also active, and attacking lures intended for bass.


Families with children age 12 and under saw very good numbers of 1 to 3-pound trout using Mice Tails, PowerBait and Trout Dust. Surface temperature on the main lake is 64-65 degrees, with underwater visibility rated crystal clear. The lake level has risen about 10 feet in the past two weeks.