Irvine Is All About The Trout!

[klymons]

Thursday, March 13. Picked up my fishing buddy and coworker Mel and we headed to Irvine Lake. I have fished there before and done well, but it was Mel's first time at the lake. When we arrived, we rented a boat. It was extremely foggy. Trout weather, for sure. The dockworker said the best spot was just a few hundred feet from the dock. Best bait: any Powerbait with green. So we anchored up and started fishing. Less than 15 minutes later, we were both hooked up at the same time, drags screaming and serious rod-bending. We finally netted our catch, nice-looking rainbows--not really big, but amazing fighters for their size. All the boats around us were consistently hooked up. We each landed two more chunky 'bows--mine went airborne twice! After the sun broke through, the "honey hole" shut down, so we headed for my favorite spot off the west shore. After "farming" a few fish, Mel was hooked up to the "jackpot" fish. The drag on his reel was screaming like a banshee, and the fish tried to wrap around the anchor rope. It was touch and go for a while, but he finally eased it to the side of the boat and I netted it. We started high-fiving and screaming--this rainbow had shoulders! 3 1/2 pounds on the handheld scale! We worked our way around the lake and then we saw a chilling sight--jet skiers! I think I hate jet skiers about as much as I hate terrorists. But luckily they are confined to an area where the fishing is sketchy. Jet skiers are the reason I never fish Pyramid Lake in the summer. They come roaring into the coves where you're trying to fish, totally ignoring the five mph speed limit. I am seriously thinking about having a bumpersticker made up--"Honk If You Hate Jet Skiers." But back to Irvine, we worked our way around the lake, figuring out a pattern of constantly changing or mixing together Powerbait combinations. We only had one nightcrawler fish, and I "farmed" a nice one on a Thunderbolt lure. Mel was really surprised at hard the fish fought compared to the ones at Santa Ana River Lakes which he fishes almost exclusively. The 3 1/2 pounder he caught at Irvine, he said, put up more of a battle than his personal best at Santa Ana River Lakes--a 10-pounder. We finally limited out just a little after noon. As we were driving home I asked Mel why he never tried Irvine before today. He said his brother said Irvine sucked, that he had been there a few times and had gotten skunked. Well, I said, Irvine is a tough lake for a first-timer. You really have to talk to other fishermen there to break through, so to speak. Two-pound test leaders, small treble books and the lightest weights possible. And keep changing the color of your Powerbait, or dunk it in some fish scent. When there's a nightcrawler bite, use a small hook, inflate it, and keep changing the bait if you don't get bit. Also, you have to keep changing the distance on your casts--as the sun comes up, chuck it out further. And most of all, don't be afraid to ask questions--at the tackle shop, the boat dock, and fellow shore fisherman who are always hooked up. After all, Irvine Lake doesn't really suck--but not catching fish really sucks!
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