"It's [trout fishing] been as wide open as you can get for the last 8 days", commented Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The fish are pretty much biting on everything; Power Bait, Power Worms, Gulp! Trout Dough and Eggs, plain nightcrawlers, either with or without the Gulp! Garlic Spray. We are seeing lots of limits, and the trout are averaging close to 2 pounds."

Irvine Lake Pro-team member Steve Hercht reported, "We've been absolutely knocking the heck out of the fish. There are lots of 4 and 5 pounders being caught. The best combination for me has been a yellow Power Worm with a white Gulp! Egg."

Productive spots have included the west shore, Sierra Cove and near the dam, although access was somewhat restricted at Santiago Flats due to fire suppression helicopters still scooping water until Sunday. The Kids lagoon was also excellent for families with children age 12 and under.

The future looks even brighter for trout fishing prospects at Irvine Lake. This weeks' planting will include some larger-grade trout in the 5 to 8-pound class. The lake will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but the stocking for the holiday weekend will feature a bonus planting of huge 12 to 20-pound trophy rainbows. After that, another allocation of the bigger fish will be put into the lake every week for the rest of the season, said general manager Dave Noyes.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Pablo Guevara of Colton, 7.2 pound rainbow trout on Power Bait at the west shore Omar Banks of Moreno Valley, 5.12 pound rainbow trout on Power Bait/nightcrawler at the west shore
Ryan Aguirre of Corona, 2.2 pound hookjaw brook trout on nightcrawlers at the west shore
Malia Alfonso of Newport Beach, 1.9 pound bluegill on nightcrawlers at the west shore
Alex Brenton, Leo Monica, Frank Duarte, Robert Duarte and Lemarr Mojica, 25-trout limits totaling 72.1 pounds topped by a 5.2 pounder on Atomic Teasers at the west shore Art Villa and Al Rottaof of Orange, 10 trout limits totaling 32.4 pounds on Power Bait at the west shore
Austin Montoya of Silver City, NM, 5-trout limit totaling 17.7 pounds on Power Bait at the west shore
Mitz Onizuka of Irvine, 5-trout limit totaling 16.1 pounds on Power Bait at Sierra Cove