Irvine Lake trouting still excellent, 11-14 rainbow tops catches

Excellent numbers of trout were encountered by Irvine Lake anglers this week, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "It's been so good, that some anglers have been limiting out in less than 2 hours", remarked Getty. "So many people needed to buy second-limit tickets; our ranger Patrick is now carrying them with him on a cash-only basis. That way, anglers don't have to pick up and return to the Pro Shop to buy an additional limit pass."

Getty added, "It was pretty windy all day on Tuesday, but today [Wednesday] it's absolutely beautiful!"

Slightly murky water conditions meant that bait was more productive than trolling. Color choices moved to mostly chartreuse, with a Power Mouse or Gulp! Trout Dough being the favored offerings.

Most trout were ranging from 1 to 5 pounds, with some better 6 to 11-pounders keeping things interesting. Top locations were the west shore and Sierra Cove, with good catches also reported from Trout Island, Santiago Flats, near the docks and near the dam.

Bass anglers found fair numbers of 2-pound class largemouth on Carolina-rigged plastics. Some 2 to 6-pound catfish were also caught incidentally in the pursuit of trout.

Very good numbers of fish were also coming out of the Kids Lagoon. A special "Grand Slam" event for children runs in December in the Kids Lagoon. The first 25 young anglers who score all 3 species of trout [rainbow, brook, Brown] during December will qualify for a Fish-Off and receive a special commendation from the DFG's "Fishing Passport" program. Another stocking of mixed species will go into the Lagoon this week.

The water level continues to rise several inches a day. The lake is expected to rise by at least another 6 vertical feet before the end of the month. The west shore road is open only as far as Woody's Cove, and the inlet pipe in Sierra Cove is now submerged, with a buoy line restricting anglers from coming within 50 feet. The main boat ramp is in full operation.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

- Phil Sarbert of Huntington Beach, 11-14 rainbow trout on a Kastmaster at Sierra Cove
- John Duffy of Huntington Beach, 8-2 rainbow trout on Power Bait at the flats
- Shawn Mesdaghi of Laguna Niguel, 4-2 brook trout on a mini jig at Sierra Cove
- Aaron Titleman of Tustin, 5-trout limit totaling 18-1 on Power Worms at Sierra Cove
- 10-year old Jacob Drake and 7-year old Lucas Drake of La Habra nailed their 10-fish limit of trout totaling 16-1 on Power Bait at Sierra Cove