It's a Wrap on trout season at Irvine lake
I really can't do up to the minute reports on Irvine Lake because it's the most competitive lake you ever seen! They literally open the gate and people on foot race to their spot up to a mile away! A few people even use bicycles to get that edge! If you found a hot spot on Saturday and just killed the fish there, unless you are Lance Armstrong with a bike. You won't get that exact spot the next day! So in my last report titled "Back in the saddle again" I used terms like secret bait and secret spot. While today I'm going to tell you what those terms meant. The secret bait is "Power Worms" wacky rigged dipped in Garlic. The first secret spot was the old washed out Launch ramp on the West shore and then that changed. It then became a bookend effect. Right by the boat docks and the very start of where the water starts on the West shore. I couldn't tell you that in a weekly report because it was already crowded with some of the Best fishermen in Southern Ca! I suspect those spots were so good because that's where they stocked them at and it changed when they mixed it up a little. I'm now going to give a weekly report from the time of my "Back in the Saddle again" till the last trout stocking on March 5.
Back in the Saddle report came on Feb 13, so I'm going to pick it up on Feb 19.
Feb 19 2021. This was a Friday and I just went to Lake Wohlford the day before, so I was a little tired and couldn't make the gate opening. I arrived at the lake at 9 am and found the Best trout fishermen at the lake below the 2 marker sticks in the water. (yes their really is 2 marker sticks with flags on them in the water to mark the spot) He was a little farther south of the marker sticks then he should have been and I took the spot he should have had. It was a slow start for them when I arrived, but I suspect they weren't in the Best spot. Just to make sure I always had the best colors on the Power Worms I bought every color. So on this week I tried many colors but got bit mostly on the pink color. I had easy limit in no time and I even helped other people catch some fish too. The next day of course I couldn't get that spot and fished above the Marker buoy's. I didn't get much but once people left the good area I quickly moved in and caught an easy limit. That was the first day I discovered the Best color for those Power Worms. (it's the natural color that looks like a Night Crawler)
Feb 26, 2021 This was a day I got my hinney handed to me again! I thought for sure I had these things all figured out and I invited 2 friends to join me. (Trixi and Racer X) I was so sure I had this figured out that I brought Trixi's bike with us! It was was her job to peddle her bike like the Wicked Witch of the West and secure us a spot at the Marker buoy's. She did and that spot was Crap! I should have known that has soon as the Best trout fishermen in the lake stopped short at the very start of where the water starts. He came by and talked to us, as we "weren't getting any bites" and they were just killing it down there! He invited us to stop by and fish with him a little, so we wouldn't walk out of there getting Skunked! We did and hooked 4 fish and landed 3 in our last hour we were there. Saturday the 27, I went to Irvine by myself and went right to that spot in the morning. I got an easy limit by 10 am!
March 5, 2021 This was the last trout stocking of the year and I invited my oldest friend in the world I know. He did something that surprised me and brought his own pole and rig. (the rig was so awful, I nicked named it the rubber duck rig) It started a little slow for us as people were catching fish around us. I told my friend to reel in his Rubber ducky rig and use one of my poles because we need to catch some fish! He reluctantly did and then all Heck broke loose for us! I guess the fish didn't find us yet but when they did they couldn't stop biting our baits! We got a double limit of trout so fast everyone kept coming up to us and asking what we were using. Power Worms in that natural color is what they really want!
That's it folks for the conclusion of trout season for me at Irvine Lake. I'm now going to concentrate on the warm water species that swim in the lake. Sorry I can't give more up to date reports on that lake. It's already a Zoo and I don't want to make it any worse then it already is!
