| Irvine Lake Whopper Rainbow Goes 16-8 |
| By: Steve Carson | 1/29/2009 12:00 AM |
| Last updated: 2/12/2009 12:21 PM |
Another monster trout was landed at Irvine Lake, but fewer fish than normal were caught this week, according to Daniela Gavaldon at the Pro Shop. “With the combination of rain and fewer anglers turning out, we had only fair totals this week. We did have an absolutely beautiful 16 pound, 8-ounce rainbow brought in, and several people reported losing very large fish”, Gavaldon said.
 | | | Photo by: Steve Carson | | Catching a Rainbow -- Bud May of Huntington Beach reeled in a 16-pound 8-ounce whopper. | | |
Bait anglers did best this week, with 12 to 18 inch leaders being the ticket. Power Mouse combinations and Power Bait in white, chartreuse and orange colors were best.
Trollers caught fewer fish than bait dunkers, but found the larger specimens on average. Hottest trolling lures were Rapala Countdown CD03’s and CD05s in firetiger and black/gold colors or Rapala X-Rap XR06s in chartreuse/red or orange/gold colors.
Some information has leaked out from the normally secretive bass anglers at Irvine, and bassers have been releasing up to 20 largemouth per day, most in the 2-pound class. Best bets for the deep-holding bass have been dropshot and Carolina-rigged plastics and Rapala Ice Jigs.
Some anglers stumbled across concentrations of very large bluegill, with a few catching up to five bluegill in the 1.5 pound range. The Kids Lagoon was re-stocked this week, with excellent results for families with children age 12 and younger.
Although it rained frequently in the past week, all roads remain open, and the water level is holding steady.
Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Bud May of Huntington Beach, 16-8 rainbow trout on a trolled Joes Fly at the west shore.
Steve Burridge of Alta Loma, 9-14 rainbow trout on a Rapala at the west shore.
Greg Lyznicki of Laguna Niguel, 8-10 rainbow trout on a Rapala at the flats.
Dick Ableser of Garden Grove, 8-10 rainbow trout on Power Bait at Woody’s Cove.
This article first appeared in the January 2009 issue of FishRap. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
