Drawn by the Lure of Trout : Irvine Lake Attracts Big Crowd as Season Opens

By dawn Friday, cars, trucks and recreational vehicles were lined up as far as the eye could see at the approach to Irvine Lake, all loaded with anglers hoping to get a prime spot for the opening of trout season.

They were too late. Joe VanCleave of Long Beach beat them there--by a day and a half.

Along with four buddies, plenty of warm clothing and lots of fishing gear, VanCleave pulled his recreational vehicle into the lake’s parking lot at 5 p.m. Wednesday, securing the first-in-line spot for a chance at hooking trout said to go up to 17 pounds.

“We had to pay for it, that’s for sure,” VanCleave said. “But once I see that bobber start bobbing up, all that seems to go away.”

The opening of trout season is always the busiest time of the year at Irvine Lake, a 700-acre artificial body of water built six decades ago in the hills east of Orange. But this year’s season is expected to draw record crowds, baited by an unusually high water level, a delayed opening date and a lake newly stocked with 16,000 pounds of trout.

“That’s an incredible amount of fish, for any lake,” said Steve Miller, the lake’s general manager. “And the way the economy is, people don’t want to go to the Sierra. We’re right here in central Orange County, 20 minutes away from almost anybody.”

Miller estimated that more than 500 people camped out Thursday night to make early boat launches or to stake out prime shoreline fishing spots. By noon, the head count had reached 1,300. Each angler is allowed to work up to two poles simultaneously and catch five fish per day. No license is required.

Miller predicted that today, the lake may break its single-day record of 1,500 anglers, which was set on the first Saturday of trout season a year ago.

Local anglers have “been chomping at the bit for trout” this year because they have had to wait three weeks longer than originally planned for the beginning of the season, Miller said. Unseasonably warm weather in October--which makes trout lethargic, he says--forced him to postpone the scheduled Oct. 24 opening.

Another weather factor--ironically, the continuing drought--has also contributed to the increase in fishermen. In preparation for another dry year, water agencies serving the lake were allowed to buy larger quantities of water than usual. “Plus, we had the heavy March rains, which left us with a surplus,” Miller said.

The combination increased the lake’s level, enabling it to accommodate more fish--and attract more first-day fishermen, Miller said.

That was good news for Danny Henderson, an employee at the lake’s bait-and-tackle store. At 4:45 a.m., the store was bustling with activity, with scores of fishermen queued up outside.

While anglers at one end of the store were making last-minute grabs for lures, hooks and bait--along with plenty of coffee to fend off an overnight chill that dipped into the low 40s--Henderson manned a window at the other end, renting boats almost as fast as he could hand out rental slips.

In less than two hours after rentals began at 3:30 a.m., Henderson had leased out all 90 motorboats and was briskly peddling the remaining row boats.

Outside, two rows of vehicles were lined up at the park’s front gates, with hundreds of others jammed into two parking lots waiting to join the lines. All of them had camped in the lots overnight, some, like VanCleave, for two nights.

When dawn cracked over the hills, park workers swung back the metal gates and the crush of trucks, vans, RVs and cars commenced. An hour later, traffic had backed up for 2 miles along Santiago Canyon Road.

Among those arriving earliest to chase after the trout, many said they have made an annual tradition of opening-day pilgrimages at Irvine Lake.

Doug Betz of San Clemente said that members of his family have been fishing for trout at the lake for 25 years, “since I was a little shaver.”

He was among the first through the gates Friday, having arrived at midnight with Meryl Durst, his fiancee. Durst, who had never fished before meeting Betz, said that Friday was her first experience camping out for the opening of trout season.

“He’s a fanatic, and I’ll follow him anywhere,” she said. “And, crazy as it may seem, I like it. I took the day off work to do it.”

Tanya Gallagher, a Huntington Beach resident, was another fishing fanatic who spent the night in the parking lot and was out on the lake the moment that trout season officially opened at 5:30 a.m. By 10 a.m., she had reeled in her prize catch--a 5-pounder.

“It is the biggest one I ever saw in my life, and I caught it,” she said. “I named him ‘Jaws.’ ”

Aside from trout, the cold weather was a topic among other dedicated anglers early Friday.

Asked why he and his two friends had driven in from Pico Rivera to camp out, an angler who identified himself only as Tony G. joked, “Because we’re a little brain-dead. Your brain gets so cold that it doesn’t function.”

Tony’s group had arrived at 9 p.m. Thursday, spending the night drinking beer and braving the weather, he said. “We’re here to catch some fish--with our rods or our hands,” he said. “We’re jumping in if we have to. We’ve been here too long.”

While jumping in may have seemed a bit drastic to some, many anglers mused that it may be just about the only sure method of grabbing a trout.

“There is no science,” said Dean Summerfelt of Cypress. “Just get the bait out there.”

The bait of preference seemed to be Powerbait, a powdery ball that emits a smell that matches the scent of food fed to the fish at the hatchery, Summerfelt said.

But he and the shore fisherman beside him were baffled about being shut out while around them, people were having a field day.

“I think the fish are boycotting me,” he said. “It makes you feel weird. I’m using the same bait, fishing in the same place, and the fish swim up and pick theirs.”

For Bill Smith of South Gate, who arrived with his brother, Robert, and his 10-year-old daughter, Emily, the early fishing excursion was an exercise in “stress relief.”

“You just come out here and forget about everything,” he said.

While Irvine Lake lacks the challenge and scenic beauty of angling in the High Sierra, Smith said, “it’s so close, we can do this every weekend. We can come up here for one day, and then go home and sleep in our own beds. And the fishing’s always great.”

Emily Smith, who has been fishing since she was 6, agreed. She said she didn’t mind fighting cold and sleeplessness in exchange for early-morning trout fishing.

“When you catch ‘em, it’s kind of exciting,” she said.

Times staff writer Bob Elston contributed to this report.