Irvine Has Big Trout for Anglers

Trout fishing will switch focus from Inyo and Mono counties to Orange County this weekend when the Eastern Sierra season closes Saturday night, a day after Irvine Lake’s fall rainbow “grand opening” at 6 a.m. Friday.

At Irvine, the trout anglers will have to elbow their way past the catfishermen, who have been logging some particularly large catches recently--topped by a 45-pound 8-ounce prize taken Sunday by Mike Matuck of Huntington Beach. It was the largest fish caught at Irvine this year. The lake record is 59-4.

For the trout opener, Irvine has planted eight tons of fish, including many from six to 16 pounds.