This coming Friday night June 8 will mark the "official" opening night for catfish anglers at Irvine Lake, although daytime anglers have been experiencing a strong daytime whiskerfish bite for the better part of a month.

Some 10,000 pounds of prime eating-size 2 to 8-pound channel cats will be planted this week to go along with the substantial population of blue catfish and channel catfish Irvine Lake is famous for. Additionally, thousands of pounds of channel cats will be stocked every week for the duration of the season.

Pro-Shop assistant manager Jimmy Getty offered some timely tips for hopeful catfish-getters: "Best bet to get a limit of channel cats is to flyline [no weight] a 1-inch by 3-inch piece of mackerel on a 1/0 hook with 8, 10, or 12 pound line. If you want to try for the big blues, go with 15 to 30-pound line, a big chunk of bait, and 4/0 or larger hooks. Adding shrimp or scents like Gulp! Alive! Or Bite-On Cajun Mackerel can really help. Another good trick to try is Carolina-rigging the marshmallow/mealworm combo, or just a nightcrawler with a small split-shot." Getty added, "During catfish season, the lake will remain open until Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and whenever there is a major tournament, we will stay open until 2 AM. We will also stay open until 11 PM on Thursdays, and until 4 PM on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. We will also be closed on Tuesdays until the trout opener next fall."

In 2011, "In-Fisherman" magazine selected Irvine Lake as one of the 50 best catfish lakes in the entire United States! The lake record for channel catfish is an impressive 50 pounds even, with the top mark for blue catfish standing at 89-6, with at least two other monster blues coming out of the lake that also topped the 89-pound mark. A potential record-busting 90-100 pound blue was seen just last week in the lake's clear water, actively grubbing under a large rock trying to catch a tasty crawdad.

Trouters skilled in deep water techniques still managed to find plenty of nice-looking rainbows in the 2 to 3-pound class this week, along with a 15-pound whopper that proves they are still around. Top method was trolling with 4 to 6 colors of leadcore line, and dragging either a firetiger-color Rapala Jointed J05, or a cop-car color Luhr Jensen Needlefish.

Bass anglers were a bit secretive again this week, indicative of continuing good action on mostly 2 to 4-pound largemouth. Early AM's have been best to date for topwater baits, and the commencement of evening hours should yield excellent topwater action at dusk. Most of this week's bass action was had on dropshot-rigged plastics and jigs fished at 10 to 20 feet, along with a few late spawners holding tight to the brush.

Crappie anglers saw improved action as the slabsides came out of their post-spawn lull. Evening hours will also help crappie anglers, who are best served by setting out a floating lantern and allowing about an hour for the food chain of insects and minnows to build up underneath the boat; the crappie will soon follow. White Atomic Tubes with a meal worm trailer are the standard fare for crappie chasers.

The Kids Lagoon will also receive a stocking load of channel catfish for the opener, and this area is reserved for families with children age 12 and under.

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
Nick Vega, Garden Grove, 5 lb & 8 lb cats on Mackerel at Santiago Flats
Reginald Walter, Sr., Carson, 5-fish limit, 12.6 lb catfish on Liver and Shrimp, Boat Dock Cove
Wylie Ishi, Irvine, 6 lb bass (released), with drop-shot, South Shore