Irvine Lake, Dec 23rd, 2003.

It was a dark and stormy day...

...Actually it sprinkled a bit, my idea of a *perfect* day to fish trout.

I ran into quite a few of the guys who read these posts, most lurkers, but it is fun to hear "go get 'em quietman" from some random dudes in a rental boat during the day...

The fishing was great, as usual. The keepers didn't really start going off for me until about 12:00, and it just got better and better. My last three were all over three pounds, in a place I had no idea they hung out!

Different today was that the CD's didn't account for very many fish. Today they liked the Thomas Bouyants and the Roostertails.

In fact the biggest fish I have seen caught so far was hooked up right under my nose in my new favorite spot on a roostertail. I watched the fight and when I realized the guy, Joseph (what a great name at Christ Mass) had No net and No one to help him, I blasted in at full throttle and let my 'yak crash up onto the beach.

I leaped out with my waders and my BIG net with the long handle, and after another five minutes I let that big trout swim right into the net!

It weighed 13 pounds and 0 ounces on my berkely digital electronic scale.


http://www.martialartsacademy.org/irvine%20dec%2023%2013pounds.jpg
WOW!

I, of course, fished the area for a while hoping for the "bomb", but didn't get any over 4 pounds.


http://www.martialartsacademy.org/irvine%20dec%2023rdyak.jpg
I ended up leaving with a decent, but not spectacular, stringer, 12.8 pounds...

Quietman

http://www.kayakfishingpro.com