IRVINE LAKE STILL RISING; CATFISH TO 27-3, BASS TO 10-4, AND TROUT ALL CHEWING WELL

Water from previous storms is still flowing at Irvine Lake, with lots of benefits, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The lake is now up more than 9 feet in the past few weeks", observed Getty. "The catfish bite on big channels to 15 pounds and huge blues to 30 pounds is exceptionally good, either at Jim's Point or anywhere there is water flowing in. The two daily periods of catfish activity were mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and the trout are biting all day long. The water is slightly stained, so trout anglers are doing well using white PowerBait with strong garlic scent added, or trolling lures in very bright colors."

Getty added, "We will be open until 4 PM on New Year's Eve, and from 6 AM-4 PM on New Year's Day, so come on out and catch the first fish of the year with us."

Catfish anglers stuck with mackerel baits flylined near Jim's Point or wherever there was water flowing, with 15 feet being the magic depth. The overall action on big catfish was so good, that a few anglers had multiple catches of double-digit whiskerfish. A huge 28-pound carp was also weighed-in by an angler who wished to remain anonymous.

Trout anglers still needed to use 2-pound test bait leaders to do well, with the favored length being 12-14 inches. Top trolling lures were firetiger Rapala Countdown CD05's, fluorescent red ScatterRap SCRCD07's, and chartreuse/red X-Rap XRCD05's. Very slow trolling at 0.9 to 1.9 mph was also best.

Bass anglers continued to do well on both shallow and deep water patterns. Dropshot-rigged plastics on hard structure, and crankbaits tossed into newly-flooded vegetation were the two most productive methods were best for 2 to 4-pound largemouth with a few bucketmouths to over 10 pounds.

Families with children age 12 and under made decent catches of 1-3 pound trout in the Kids Lagoon on PowerBait and nightcrawlers. Surface temperature on the main lake was 56-57 degrees, with underwater visibility rated at 2-3 feet. The lake level is continually rising depending on storm severity, and the Trout Island launch ramp is being prepared for operation within a few weeks.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Dorian Larseul of Los Alamitos, 6-4 rainbow trout on nightcrawlers at the flats
Travis Hernandez of Pacoima, 4-5 brown trout on a trout worm at the west shore
Ken Smith of Long Beach, 10-4 largemouth bass [released] on a crankbait at Rocky Point
Terry Lairson of Huntington Beach, 27-3 blue catfish [released] on mackerel at Jim's Point
Rob Primm of Huntington Beach, 22-1 and 17-2 blue catfish [released] on mackerel at Jim's Point
Chris Hagopian of Redondo Beach, 15-8 channel catfish on mackerel at Jim's Point
Declined to give name, 28-3 carp, on nightcrawlers at the west shore


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