Irvine Lake catfish bite stays good for night-time anglers

Good numbers of catfish are still showing for Irvine Lake anglers, reported general manager Dave Noyes. "Night-time is best for the catfish", observed Noyes. "The bite actually gets going as early as 6:00 PM, so it's easy to get set up while it's still light out."

Good catches of catfish were made at Santiago Flats, along the west shore, near the dam and near the docks. A variety of baits were successful, including DuMong's, un-cooked shrimp, nightcrawlers and mackerel. A few nicer-size cats are being hooked, but not always landed.

Large numbers of crappie are being caught by night-time anglers who take the time to set up properly. The key is setting up a floating lantern and waiting for a food chain to develop, which may take 45 minutes or more. Once the mass of minnows are under your boat, the crappie will arrive shortly, and limits are easy.
The best lures for slabsides up to 2 pounds are white 2-inch Gulp! Minnows rigged on a leadhead or a white Berkley Atomic Teaser. Use of the bright crappie lights tends to spook catfish however.

Bass fishing is decent for largemouth in the 2 to 4-pound class. Dusk and night-time anglers are hitting them best on topwaters and buzzbaits, along with a few on rubber frogs. Daytime bassers are finding fair numbers of fish at 15 to 20 feet off Rocky Point and the red clay cliffs using dropshot-rigged plastics.
Daytime anglers are finding good numbers of bluegill and redear sunfish, using meal worms or waxworms near the docks. A few anglers skilled at specialty European carp techniques have done well on very nice size bugle-mouth.

A new Thursday night-time fishing opportunity has been added at Irvine Lake. The lake will be open on Thursday evenings until 11:00 PM in addition to the Friday and Saturday night sessions that go until 2:00 AM. The lake is also closed on Tuesdays during the summer months.
Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Jim Wilkes of Santa Ana, two catfish each weighing 30 lbs caught with DuMong' bait, mid-lake.
Steve Smith of Buena Park, 13.6 lb wiper caught with mackerel in the Flats.
Nester Jimenez of Santa Ana, 7.3 lb cat caught with shrimp, mid-lake.
Clay Johnson of Garden Grove, 6.5 lb catfish caught with shrimp in the Flats.
John Chameau of Irvine, 19 lb limit caught with mackerel in the Flats.
Mitz Onizuka of Lake Forrest, 17 lb limit caught with mackerel in the Flats.
Christina Housse of Orange, 14.2 lb limit caught with mackerel, mid lake.