Irvine Lake topped by 25-pound sturgeon and 20.2 pound blue catfish, trophy catfish plants slated

Irvine Lake General Manager Dave Noyes announced that a bonus planting of some 1,000 pounds of trophy channel catfish to 15 pounds was made last week, with another 2,000 pounds of the bigger-grade fish to be spread out during July. Noyes has also acquired rights to 10,000 pounds of broodstock channel catfish in the 15 to 40-pound category, which will be planted starting in mid-August.

Catfish anglers had generally good action at Irvine Lake from Thursday night through Saturday night over the holiday weekend, according to Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "Catfish anglers who know how to look around for fish did well", noted Getty. "The key is to keep mobbing until you locate the fish. Some of the bigger units are also finally starting to bite. We stocked 1,000 pounds of larger-grade blue and channel catfish up to 15 pounds last week, with more to come."

Best location for catfish anglers was Santiago Flats, with some catches also made at the west shore and near the dam. Productive baits included mackerel, bonito, DuMong's, Gulp! shrimp and Catmando. Most catfish are running in the 2 to 6-pound rage, but increasing numbers of bigger fish are being caught.
Legendary crappie expert Marlon Meade of Anaheim took former Orange County Register outdoors writer Dave Strege out for one last hurrah on Irvine Lake prior to Strege's relocation to Reno. "The crappie fishing is really starting to pick up", observed Meade. "We put the crappie lights out at about 9:00 PM, and within 30 minutes we had a large school of shad under the lights. At about 11:30 PM the crappie bite opens up, and really gets going for fish up to 2 pounds. Best lures are the glow-color Atomic Teasers and 2-inch Gulp! Minnows."

Bass anglers are finding excellent evening and night-time action on largemouth in the 2 to 4-pound class. Skilled bassers are reporting the release of up to 30 fish or more per night in the back end of Santiago Flats using shad-color Rapala XR12 X-Raps and Skitter Pops.

Daytime anglers are finding good numbers of bluegill and redear near the docks. Favored offerings are mealworms and waxworms. The Kids Lagoon is back in operation, and has been restocked with catfish. The Lagoon is reserved for families with kids age 12 and under.

Anglers are reminded that Irvine Lake is now open for fishing on Thursday nights until 11:00 PM, in addition to the usual Friday and Saturday late hours until 2:00 AM. The lake is closed on Tuesdays.
Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Farel Byrd of Yorba Linda, 25.0 pound sturgeon [released] on DuMong's at the flats
Sean Mesodaghi of Irvine, 20.2 pound blue catfish [released] on bonito at the flats
Ray Yancey of Compton, 12.2 pound channel catfish on shrimp at the flats
Adrian Pintor of North Hollywood, 15-catfish limit totaling 33.1 pounds on mackerel at the flats
Mitz Onizuka of Irvine, 5-catfish limit totaling 20.1 pounds on shrimp/marshmallow at the flats
Marlon Meade and Dave Strege of Anaheim, 15-crappie limit totaling 21.1 pounds on Atomic Teasers and Gulp! at the flats