IRVINE LAKE BIG TROUT GO ON THE CHEW; 14-1 NEBRASKA TAILWALKER LEADS PARADE OF 6-10 POUNDERS

The large-grade trout broke loose art Irvine Lake this week, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "We had a beautiful 14-1 Nebraska Tailwalker checked in as our whopper of the week", observed Getty. "After that, we had a very good number of 8-10 pounders, and more 5 and 6 pounders than I could even keep track of. The Berkley Cup event was topped by a 10-0 rainbow caught by Danius Westfield."

Good stringers of trout were checked in form the west shore, Trout Island, and mid-lake, but both trollers and bait dunkers noticed the fish beginning to slide deeper in the water column. PowerBait and nightcrawlers were the best reported choice in baits, while Rapalas and Needlefish were favored choices for trolling.

Bass anglers were keeping mum again this week about any truly oversize bucketmouths, but the reports were sizzling about the numerous 2-4 pound largemouth biting just about everywhere there were submerged grass beds in 5 to 10 feet of water. Topwaters, Berkley Jerk Shads, and a variety of plastics and reaction baits were all garnering strikes. Some 3-6 pound channel catfish were caught near Rocky Point on mackerel and shrimp baits, but few if any anglers put forth effort for panfish.

Families with children age 12 and under found fair numbers of 1-3 pound trout on PowerBait in the Kids Lagoon. Surface temperature on the main lake is 66 degrees, with underwater visibility rated at an average of 6-8 feet. The lake level is rising slowly. The lake will be stocked with rainbow and brown trout this week. The big "Sierra in the City" tournament event will take place on April 18,


Irvine Lake included:
Rich Varela of Downey, 14-1 Nebraska Tailwalker on a nightcrawler at the west shore
Eric Rangel of Orange, 9-5 Nebraska Tailwalker on Power Bait at Trout Island
James Martinez of Whittier, 8-8 Nebraska Tailwalker on a mini jig at the west shore
Gabriel Martinez of Whittier, 8-4 Nebraska Tailwalker on an SC Shiner at the west shore
Danius Westfield of Anaheim, 10-0 rainbow trout on PowerBait at Trout Island
Bill Wright of Orange, 9-10 rainbow trout on a Johnson Splinter at the west shore
Ken Yu of Anaheim, 8-5 rainbow trout on PowerBait at Trout Island
Wes Wright of Orange, 4-7 steelhead on a Rapala at mid-lake
Don Spencer of Silverado, 4-8 largemouth bass [released] on plastics at the flats

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