Irvine Lake catfish bite topped by 17-pounder; crappie go wide-open
Overall good catfish action was the story at Irvine Lake, although heavy holiday weekend boat traffic on Friday night put the fish off to a degree. "Thursday night's fishing was very good", reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "Friday night there were a lot of boats on the water, and things were fairly slow. Saturday night many people must have gone to fireworks shows with their families, so the bite got better again."

Several baits produced catfish this week, including mackerel, shrimp, Gulp! and DuMong's. Good locations included boat dock cove and Santiago Flats. Most catfish were perfect "eating-size" 2 to 6-pounders, but some nicer fish into the double-digits were also being caught.

Few bass anglers ventured out during the holiday weekend, but crappie anglers who set out a floating lantern were handsomely rewarded. Wide-open action on crappie to over a pound was available on white or glow-color Atomic Tubes or 2-inch Gulp! Minnows. Daytime anglers found good numbers of bluegill and redear on meal worms or waxworms.

Action in the Kids Lagoon was fair on stocker-size catfish for families with children age 12 and under. The water level in the main lake is dropping slowly, and the surface water temperature is 80 degrees.

The lake is open until 11:00 PM on Thursday nights, with a $5 discount if entering after 5:00 PM on Thursdays. Night fishing is permitted until 2:00 AM on Fridays and Saturdays, and the lake is closed on Tuesdays during the summer months. A 10-minute inspection for zebra mussels is required for all private boats being launched.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

- Everado Alvaria of Santa Ana, 17-0 catfish on shrimp at the flats
- Donovan "Catfish Slim" Swann of Fontana, 12-4 catfish on mackerel at the flats
- Reginald Walker, Jr. of Los Angeles, 10-14 catfish on shrimp at the east shore
- Marty Saucedo of Costa Mesa, 10-9 catfish on mackerel at the flats