Irvine Lake 15-12 whopper rainbow biggest in several years, "Grand Slams" coming from Kids Lagoon.

Very good trout fishing continues to make Irvine Lake anglers very happy, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "We had the biggest trout in a couple of years landed by a bass angler", remarked Getty. "Some really nice trout over 10 pounds are starting to show for both boat and shore anglers. There were also numerous ???second limit' and even a few ???third limit' tickets sold to show just how good it was."

The largest rainbow trout out of Irvine Lake in several years was landed by 16-year old Panos Nikolau of Anaheim, who was actually in pursuit of largemouth bass at the time. "I was dropshotting with 4-pound test and a margarita mutilator-color 4.5 inch Robo-Worm at 8-feet in Sierra Cove", related Nikolau. "When I hooked him, he took off and fought for almost 10 minutes. I got him up several times and he kept going down. At one point I thought he was snagged up, but got free."

Nikolau added, "We did not have a net onboard, so my partner bear-hugged him into the boat. I've been fishing for about 2 years, and this is my biggest fish ever!"

Best bet for bait dunkers was chartreuse Gulp! Trout Dough or a chartreuse Power Mouse, with either choice spritzed liberally with Gulp Alive! garlic spray. Sierra Cove held the most fish, but good catches were also seen at trout island and the west shore. Most trout on the stringers were in the 1 to 5-pound range.

Trollers are scoring good number of fish using the reliable CD03 and CD05 Countdown Rapalas in firetiger color, and also on the newer Rapala X-Raps in the new XR06 size in hot-head, clown and hot pink colors.

Stringing up several 2 to 8-pound catfish incidentally while pursuing trout was still relatively common. Few confirmed catches of largemouth bass were reported.

Excellent numbers of trout were also caught in the Kids Lagoon by families with children age 12 and under. More than a few "Grand Slams" consisting of the exotic brown trout and brook trout were also caught by kids in the Lagoon during the holiday weekend.

One of the nicest browns was caught in the Lagoon by 12-year old Brandon Doran of Anaheim Hills on Gulp! Trout Dough. An experienced angler, Brandon's advice for kids was: "Be patient!"

Youthful angling expert Dino Simington of Huntington Beach also limited easily in the Lagoon, and advised the other kids, "Use a Carolina-keeper rig and chartreuse Gulp! because of the murky water."

A beautiful brook trout and a nice-size rainbow were part of the trout limit landed in the Lagoon by 7-year old Braunz Burr of Encino, using the old reliable nightcrawler and bobber method.

A special "Grand Slam" event for children starts as of December 1 in the Kids Lagoon. The first 25 young anglers who score all 3 trout species [rainbow, brook, brown] will qualify or a Fish-Off and receive a special commendation from the DFG's "Fishing Passport" program.

The water level continues to rise by several inches a day. The lake is expected to reach nearly full pool capacity by January 1. The main boat ramp is in full operation.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

- 16 year old Panos Nikolau of Anaheim 15-12 rainbow trout on dropshot worm at Sierra Cove.
- Adam Taylor of Anaheim Hills, 12-4 rainbow trout on nightcrawlers near the docks.
- Joseph Lopez of Santa Ana, 10-14 rainbow trout on a mini jig at Sierra Cove.
- David Price of Bell Gardens, 9-8 rainbow trout on nightcrawlers at Trout Island.
- Jose Luis of Santa Ana, 8-8 catfish on shrimp near the docks.
- 7 year old Braunz Burr of Encino, 2-8 rainbow and 1-8 brookie in the Lagoon on nightcrawlers.
- 12 year old Brandon Duran of Anaheim, 1-8 brown trout in the Lagoon on Gulp! Trout Dough .