Irvine Lake sees good showing of big trout to 12.8, more info on mystery bass sought A special stocking of big trout for last weekend's sport Chalet Trophy Trout tournament paid off big time for Irvine Lake anglers, with lots of trout in the 6 to 12 pound class caught. Some even bigger trout remain at large, and the unsubstantiated catch of a huge largemouth bass had tongues wagging considering the proximity of April Fool's Day.

There was little doubt regarding the capture of numerous big trout, with Tom Baker of LaSalle pocketing $1500 in the Sport Chalet Tournament with a 7.0 pounder, then David Blankenhorn coming in second with a 6.6 pounder and Thomas Joy nailing down third with a 6.0 pounder. Non-competitors did even better, with fish exceeding 12 pounds being caught almost daily. The biggest trout were caught on trolled Rapalas or drifted nightcrawlers, but the ticket to a limit was using the new Gulp! Trout Dough. Hottest color in the Gulp! Was white, and the best leader length was 16 to 18 inches.

A huge 8.12 pound steelhead was landed by 8-year old Donna Ingle of Placentia while using a nightcrawler doused in Garlic Berkley Trout Dip. The big steelie is one of the largest ever taken from Irvine, and is easily the largest ever caught by a member of the younger set. Donna fished the west shore road with her parents, and used a custom-built rod made by her cousin of Bentfishing Rods.

Good catches of trout were made from the west shore, trout Island and along the restriction lines in Sierra Cove, with trollers also scoring at mid-lake. The report of a possible lake-record largemouth bass had the waterfront buzzing. The sole photo available of the fish prior to its' release was taken with a cell phone camera, and does little except confirm the species identification. Another witness is purported to have snapped a better series of photos, but those have yet to surface.

Bass anglers were nailing excellent number of 2 to 5-pounders on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastics and jigs, with the red clay cliffs a major hotspot.

Few anglers were fishing for crappie or catfish, but numerous incidental catches of those species by trout and bass anglers indicate increased activity. Bluegill are starting to bite mealworms and waxworms near the docks, and spawning carp continue to boil around the lake. Due to a malfunctioning water pump, trout stocking at the Kid's lagoon will be suspended until repairs can be completed. The rising water level has nearly overtaken the rushing pipe at Sierra Cove.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Randy Sheets of Huntington Beach, 12.8 pound trout on a Rapala at the west shore
Andre Guras of Fullerton, 11.4 pound trout on nightcrawlers at the west shore
8-year old Donna Ingle of Placentia, 8.12 pound steelhead on nightcrawlers dunked in Garlic Trout dip at the west shore
Tom Baker of LaSalle, 7.0 pound trout on a Rapala at the west shore Stan Conroy of Anaheim, 7.6 pound brown trout on nightcrawlers at Trout Island
David Blankenhorn of Orange, 6.6 pound trout on a Frenzy lure at the west shore
Candida Reyes of Orange, 6.5 pound trout on Power Bait at the west shore

Media contacts:
Dave Noyes or Jimmy Getty at the Irvine Lake Pro Shop [714-649-9111]
Steve Carson at scarson@sunset.net