IRVINE LAKE CATFISH BITE TAKES OFF; NIGHT FISHING SESSIONS BEGIN JUNE 12 NO-LIMIT TROUT DERBY THIS WEEKEND JUNE 6-7
Catfish anglers are getting great results from Irvine Lake, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The catfish bite has gone bananas", quipped Getty. "Lots and lots of 2 to 8-pound channel cats are biting, and they are spread out more this week. The catfish bite is at anywhere from 0 to 20 feet, with mackerel, shrimp and chicken liver all working. Limits were caught at the flats, boat dock cove and Woody's Cove."

Getty added, "Friday night June 12 will be the first night fishing session for our catfish season opener. We will be open until 2:00 AM on Friday and Saturday nights, and until 11:00 PM on Thursday nights for the rest of the summer after that, and everybody knows how well catfish bite at night. Just before the opener, we will be planting 10,000 pounds of channel cats to go along with the large population of cats that already live in the lake."

Trout anglers will get one more shot at greatness on June 6-7, when the first annual "No Limit Trout Derby" will take place. The usual 5-fish limit on trout will be suspended, and ice chest-filling catches are expected.

Trout fishing this week saw mostly 1 to 5-pound fish responding well to deep soaked baits. Productive locations for trouters have been 20 to 30 foot depths off the west shore and near the dam, and the fish have been biting best during mid-day hours from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Best bet for trout trollers has been 3 to 7 colors of leadcore line and cop-car color Luhr Jensen Needlefish, along with firetiger-color J05 Jointed Rapalas and clown-color XR06 Rapala X-Raps.

Bass fishing is just as good as last week, although the average size of the fish has gone down somewhat. Last week's 4 to 6-pound largemouth have been replaced with a majority catch consisting of 2 and 3-pounders. Very good numbers of fish are still being caught on crankbaits, with Santiago Flats the best location.

Crappie anglers are also looking forward to night fishing hours. Red-hot action on quality slabsides is pretty easy to come by for those anglers who put out a floating crappie lantern and wait for the food chain to develop under the boat. Pretty good numbers of large half-pound to one-pound bluegill were caught by anglers offering mealworms and waxworms.

The Kids Lagoon is kicking out very good numbers of channel catfish for families with children age 12 and under. The surface water temperature on the main lake is 73 degrees, with the water level dropping very slowly.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

- Tommy Nunely of Downey, 9-14 rainbow trout on Power Bait at the west shore
- Earnestine Walter of Carson, 8-2 and 7-12 channel catfish on chicken liver at boat dock cove