The commencement of night fishing hours at Irvine Lake on Friday June 7 will be a red-letter day, and some 10,000 pounds of catfish will be planted just prior to the opener. However, Irvine Lake's burgeoning resident catfish population can't read the calendar, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "We had the heaviest stringer of catfish of the season weighed in this week", observed Getty. "The 20-fish string weighed a total of 116 pounds. There were also several good-size blue cats caught and released. We also put a stocking load of 2-pound class catfish in to the Kids Lagoon."

Getty continued, "Our revised summer hours will take effect on Friday June 7. Starting on that night, we will be open until Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, until 11 PM on Thursdays, until 4 PM Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, and CLOSED on Tuesdays. On tournament days, the lake will stay open until 2 AM.

"New fishing policies will allow unlimited catch and release fishing on catfish, although the daily 'keep' limit remains 5 catfish. Anglers catching a blue catfish over 15 pounds will get a free lake admission if they check the fish with the shop and safely release it. Lucky anglers getting a blue catfish over 20 pounds will get 2 free admissions.

"Each month we will have a specially-tagged catfish we call 'The General', which will be worth $100 cash and a King of the Cats drawing ticket. Anyone who breaks the lake record of 89.6 pounds for blue catfish will receive $1,000 cash.

"We will have lots of tournaments running during the summer, including the King of the Cats series with a total prize package of $5,000, and the 'Bite-On Bonanza Bounty' that pays off for the heaviest catfish of the month."

Meanwhile, day to day fishing at Irvine Lake was all about variety. Besides the heavy stringer of channel catfish, notable catches of trout, bass, and even carp were made this week. Trout anglers skilled in deep-water presentations did well with both bait and trolling presentations on 2 to 8-pound rainbows.

Catfish anglers scored in several locations, including Boat Dock Cove, mid-lake, and Santiago Flats. Best bait choice was mackerel with strong scents such as Bite-On added, though the big stringer was caught on fresh mackerel. Bass chasers found numbers of 2 to 7-pound largemouth on hard structure at 15 to 20 feet using dropshot-rigged plastics. Some nice crappie were caught drifting with the afternoon breeze, and carp were again very active, although mostly an incidental catch.

Families with children age 12 and under found good numbers of 2-pound class catfish in the Kids Lagoon on mackerel, shrimp, and the marshmallow/mealworm combo. Surface temperature on the main lake is 72-73 degrees, with the lake level holding steady. Underwater clarity is rated very good, except for some turbid areas at the flats.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Marc Christoph of Palm Springs, 17-1 and 14-1 blue catfish [released] on Bite-On at mid-lake
Diego Gamboa of Orange, 9-9 channel catfish, on fresh mackerel at the flats
Phil Hildebrandt of Anaheim, 7-0 largemouth bass [released] on a Manic Minnow at the flats
Troy Waters of Orange, 8-0 rainbow trout on a spoon at the buoy line
Lyana Couch of Long Beach, 13-1 carp, on nightcrawlers at the Lagoon
Josh Pendrick of Costa Mesa, 9-1 carp, on Bite-On at Boat Dock Cove
Elaine Dickerhoof of Artesia, 2-1 crappie on a Manic Minnow at the flats
Diego Gamboa, Scott Noseworthy, Diana Cortez, and Vicky Sanchez of Orange, 20-catfish stringer totaling 116 pounds, on fresh mackerel at mid-lake