The countdown to the June 8 "official" catfish opener at Irvine Lake saw the lake's burgeoning resident whiskerfish population jumping the gun substantially, resulting in some really nice stringers of channel catfish long before the anticipated 10,000 pound catfish stocking slated for just before the opener.

"On June 2 we will have our 'no trout limit' day", observed Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "During our final trout tournament of the season this past weekend, we still had lots of limits. The catfish are already biting really well, so once the night hours kick in, it should be very, very good."

Getty added, "Starting with the June 8 catfish season opening day, we will be open until Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. As a bonus, whenever we have a major catfish tournament like the 'King of the Cats Kickoff' that we will have on Saturday June 9, we will stay open until 2 AM. Thursday evenings will go until 11 PM, and on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays our normal closing time of 4 PM will keep going. Closed on Tuesdays during catfish season."

Targeting catfish is relatively simple, with flylining mackerel, and shrimp the favored presentations. So far the best locations have been the trees in Santiago Flats and Boat Dock Cove.

Trout chasers found their quarry fairly deep in the water column, but still biting pretty well. Deep trolling with leadcore line, or deep-soaked baits both produced trout along the west shoreline, Santiago Flats, and along the dam lines.

Bass anglers did well on 2 to 4-pound largemouth at the west shore, Rocky Point, and the Red Clay Cliffs. Early AM hours saw the bucketmouths hitting topwater baits like Rapala Skitter Pops and jerkbaits like Rapala XR10 and XR12 X-Raps, with mid-day fish going for plastics rigged any number of ways.

Plenty of bluegill were available for anglers dunking mealworms in brush shallow areas. Several visual encounters with boiling hybrid stripers did not result in any actual catches, but its only a matter of time.

Families with children age 12 and under found dent numbers of 2-pound class catfish and carp on nightcrawlers, mackerel, and shrimp. Underwater visibility in the main lake is rated extremely clear.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Marc Barajas of Huntington Beach, 15-2 rainbow trout on a nightcrawler at the buoy line
Mark Mclelland of Long Beach, 6-1 channel catfish on a Thomas Buoyant at mid-lake
Phil Hildebrandt of Anaheim, 3-0 rainbow trout on a Rapala at mid-lake
Mark Tibbets of Villa Park, 3-9 largemouth bass [released] on a darthead at the west shore
Emilio Hernandez of Orange, 1-2 crappie on a nightcrawler at the flats