Irvine Lake trout opener topped by 8-1 brown; bass also get active

The Irvine Lake trout season opener was tougher than anticipated, but changing weather improved the bite, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop "Very warm weather on Thursday and Friday made the trout bite challenging", observed Getty. "On Saturday, a strong weather front moved in and got the fish moving around a little more. The best catches were made by bank anglers in 5-10 feet of water along the west shore and Trout Island, using 2-pound test leaders shortened to 6-8 inches. Boaters did best beaching the boat near Rocky Point and tossing from the bank. Surprisingly, the brown trout were biting better than the rainbows, and by far the most productive bait was garlic chartreuse PowerBait. We had angler Cole Ritchie bring in an amazing 3-fish stringer of brown trout that totaled over 18 pounds, using Mepps spinners at the west shore."

Getty added, "Although only a handful of anglers went after bass, some excellent catches were made on crankbaits in relatively shallow water, particularly on the far back end of the flats. There are still plenty of the 20,000 pounds of trout we stocked still in the lake, and we will also be restocking every week until springtime."

Irvine Lake Pro-Team leader Marlon Meade tipped, "The fish are cruising close to the shoreline, with very short leaders of around 8-10 inches being ideal, and they should be made with 2-pound test line. Very early AM is going to be the best time, with garlic PowerBait or Mice Tails with Gulp! Alive garlic scent working best."

A smattering of big bluegill and redear sunfish attacked nightcrawlers intended for trout, along with moderate numbers of channel catfish, and even one good-size flathead catfish.

Families with children age 12 and under found decent numbers of 1-3 pound trout in the Kids Lagoon using Johnson Splinters or nightcrawlers under a bobber. The lake is now open 7 days a week on winter hours; 6 AM-4 Pm Sunday-Thursday, and 6 AM-5 Pm Fridays and Saturdays.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Craig Atkinson of Orange, 8-1 brown trout on a Mepps spinner at the west shore
Cole Ritchie of Orange, 7-2 brown trout on a Mepps spinner at the west shore
Tom McMurray of Orange, 4-10 brown trout on PowerBait at the west shore
Michael Garcia of Hawthorne, 4-6 brown trout on nightcrawlers at the west shore
Nicholas Sherall of Garden Grove, 4-4 brown trout on PowerBait at the west shore
Luke VanLiuis of Temecula, 4-13 rainbow trout on a mini-jig at the west shore
Terry Secrist of Covina, 14-1 flathead catfish on nightcrawlers at the west shore
Michael Garcia of Hawthorne, 1-5 bluegill on nightcrawlers at the west shore


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