Trout action at Irvine Lake held up despite mixed weather conditions, according to Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "It's been really good" observed Getty. "Both trolling and bait fishing are working well. We can't catch a break with the weather though. We've had rain, bluebird skies, Santa Ana winds and Arctic winds just since Saturday."

Trollers dragged firetiger-color Rapalas in the CD05, CD03 and CD01 sizes, with best results seen mid-lake. Bait anglers used white or yellow Gulp! eggs or chartreuse/white Power Bait off the west shore for the best stringers. Good numbers of fish were also caught near the running pipe in Sierra Cove during the early morning hours. Leader lengths in the 14 to 16-inch range were the most productive for shorecasters.

Most trout ranged from 1 to 4 pounds, with scattered numbers of larger fish seen. Families with children under 12 also scored in the Kid's Lagoon, and a slightly smaller grade of trout will be stocked in the Lagoon this week to increase the total number of fish.

Bass anglers found that species was picking up a little, and some crappie were seen at Santiago Flats for anglers offering mini-jigs.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Vincent Virgen of Orange, 8.1 pound trout on a Rapala at mid-lake
David Lopez of Covina, 5.7 pound trout on Power Bait at Trout Island
Kevin Schwappach of Orange, 5.5 pound trout on a mini jig at Sierra Cove
Ken Lewis of Orange, 5.2 pound trout on a Taildancer at mid-lake
Martin Enriquez of Orange, 5.0 pound trout on a Rapala at the west shore
Ian Campbell of Orange, 4.7 pound trout on marshmallow/nightcrawler at the west shore

Media contacts:
Jimmy Getty at the Irvine lake Pro Shop [714-649-9111]
Steve Carson at [email protected]