Trip report for 4/2

[hookerz]

Hey Viners,
I arrived at 5:10 to find 2 cars. At 5:30 I head to the tackle shop to say hi. There I find the legendary Mitz :Not Worthy: waiting for breakfest. He clues me on his secret spot for catfish as only he can. After launching, I head down toward the dam. The water temp. was 63*. Almost as soon as the shrimp thaws in the water, it's getting hammered. The freight train turns out to be a wiper at about 10 pounds. Over the next 5 hours, it's pretty much wipers gone wild! I managed 6 fish between about 8 and 13 pounds. I lost or battled probably about twice that amount.
If you haven't got any of these guys before, they're about like hooking up with a yellowtail. They were all big and strong and pulled real hard. About 11, I got Don to come out and get some pics. for me. They haven't been posted yet but maybe tomorrow.
At about 1, I hook up with nice 2 pound rainbow. The sun was blazing down by now and the water temp. jumped up to 67* Trout season seems to be winding down rather quickly. I metered lots of fish deep but got no surface action on the trout.
Lots of boats on the water today but not too many trout. I did see some one weigh in a 7.7 bow at the end of the day.
tight lines,

[Big Willy]

Great report. Sounds Like fun. I might have to try that tomorrow. Frozen shrimp you say, did you get the shrimp from the lake? What depth were you soaking them at if you don't mind me asking? thanks for the heads up on the wipers.

Will

[esteban1t]

i went like 3 times in the past couple of weeks and it does seem to have been slowing down. you think its time to call it quits on trout ?

[hookerz]

The shrimp were only frozen because it was their 3rd trip out. I've been getting fresh whole shrimp (they don't sell shrimp at the tackle store). Use the entire head and everything. No need to peel them either. The wipers were in about 15-20 ft. of water around bottom structure (trees or weed beds). They seemed to be keying on shad schools which are everywhere now.
There are still tons of trout left but their getting hard to get as they slide down the water column. Anyone fishing the tourneys. would do well to try deeper waters at this point.

[esteban1t]

you think the trout are still accessible by shore?

[hookerz]

I'm thinking the best bet for shore trout would be where there are drop offs to deep water. One area would be back in the flats, about 150 yards before that back gate. There are some nice drop offs in that area that are really close to shore. If you can hike back past the gate, most the area back in there is pretty deep too. The tip of trout island is always a good bet too.
tight lines ; )

[esteban1t]

thank you !

[dixoncider]

Hey Steve what happened to "hooks"

[Big Willy]

Just pm'ed you Hookerz.

[lilfisher3456]

Hi, Im fishing tomorrow at Irvine on Thursday and wondering if you could help me out of what bait to use for the trout?

[dixoncider]

Looks like you might get some grief about the pics.. ok

[hookerz]

:Razz: I'll get back with ya, Big Willy,
lilfisher, JMO, but here ya' go.
If from shore, I'd say float some power bait about 3 ft. off the bottom. Look for a deep spot to fish . The water is super clear and you can tell where this is. The waters getting warm and the fish are going deeper. Don't stay all day in a spot if your not getting bit. Don't be afraid to move if you have too. You can a float night crawler off the bottom. Try a little ball of power bait on the eyelet of the hook too (mouse tail) ;)
Boat fishing? You can still troll but should use a lead core set up for this. Hot pink, fire tiger, gold or silver lures should all get them at about 10 to 20 feet down.
Fish the deep water from a boat with bait. The closest you can get to shore in deep water can be the ticket :Secret:
Move around until you find the fish.
tight lines,

[hookerz]

Looks like you might get some grief about the pics.. ok
?
This ain't my 1st rodeo :Twisted:

Ok, I seen it (facebook). Posters bitching about how the fish were on stringers (not through the gills though, I might be stupid but come on). The fish were all very much alive, and are swimming in the lake at this moment I can assure you all.
My experience is that with these fish, they will soon over take the lake. They are now, some how spawning. If their in the 3rd or 4th spawn (maybe more), there are probably thousands in there now. To be able to hammer them like I did, they aren't just in one location, don't fool yourself. They are everywhere. It wasn't so long ago, that they were trying to get these fish out of the lake. I caught a lake record wiper about 6 years ago but released it because I thought it was catch and release only. It wasn't then. These fish are brutes and will dominate the lake if they don't already. Sorry if I offended anyone (again).

[cijaes]

Hi, Im fishing tomorrow at Irvine on Thursday and wondering if you could help me out of what bait to use for the trout?

Happy to help, Berkley mice tails and power bait in garlic is always a winner at Irvine Lake. Night crawlers are also a sure bet.