Anglers experienced some authentic drizzly trout-fishing weather this week, and the fish co-operated in droves, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "Trout fishing has been really good this week", observed Getty. Fish are being caught on the troll, on bait, you name it. We have sold quite a few 'second limit' tickets this weekend. The mornings have been best, then there is a lull at mid-day, and it starts going again at about 1:00 PM." Getty went on, "This week we will be stocking a truckload of those beautiful 14 to 20-pound trophy grade rainbows, so that on 'Black Friday morning' our Thanksgiving weekend anglers will have a chance at the biggest trout of their lives!"

Local guide Hubert Zimara of KFGS Service tipped, "I am noticing as we move into the third week of trout season, the fish have really spread throughout the lake, and anglers are catching fish everywhere. For us, trolling in the mornings has been best, and lots of different lures have been working."

Most of the trout on the stringers have been nice-quality 2 to 6-pound rainbows, with a smattering of exotic brook trout and brown trout. Anticipation is running high now that the water temperatures have dropped enough for the really big fish to 20 pounds that go in this week.

Good catches have been reported from Boat Dock Cove, the west shore, Santiago Flats, and Trout Island. Trollers have also scored at mid-lake and near the dam, using Rapala ULS04's and Ultralight Crank ULC03's in firetiger and clown colors. Productive PowerBait colors have included rainbow and salmon egg red, and during rainy periods, plain nightcrawlers also score well. Bass anglers are getting plenty of 2-pound average fish on dropshot-rigged plastics at 25 feet on hard structure. Some larger 7-pound class bucketmouths are being found in 10 feet of water over grassy flats. A few 2 to 4-pound channel catfish went after nightcrawlers intended for trout.

Families with children age 12 and under found good numbers of 1 to 3-pound trout in the Kids Lagoon on PowerBait and marshmallow/mealworm combos. The Lagoon will be stocked again with trout for Thanksgiving weekend. The lake will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but will be open as usual at 6 AM on Black Friday, and open regular hours the rest of the holiday week.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Alan Rudd of Anaheim, 7-9 rainbow trout on a Luhr Jensen Needlefish at mid-lake
Tony Glazer of Artesia, 7-7 rainbow trout on PowerBait at the west shore
Glen Tull of Redondo Beach, 7-2 rainbow trout on nightcrawler/Power Grub combo near the dam
Chris Hagopian of Redondo Beach, 6-9 rainbow trout on a Mira Shad at mid-lake
Liam Guerry of Trabuco, 2-1 brook trout on a mini jig at Boat Dock Cove
Kirk Beardsley of Orange, 7-8 largemouth bass [released] on a swimjig in Boat Dock Cove