The catfish action this week at Irvine Lake was mostly a night-time affair, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The catfish don't get started until just about dark", observed Getty. "Then things really get going from about 10:00 PM on."

Getty added, "Fishing was really good for our Saturday night '4th of July Shootout' tournament. We weighed in over 40 fish, and even 10th place was a 6-3 channel cat. The tagged catfish we call 'The General' is also back in the lake, and is worth $100 instant cash."

Most catfish on the stringers are prime eating-size fish from 2 to 6 pounds, with some bigger specimens mixed in. Productive baits included the usual choices like mackerel, shrimp, and Gulp! but also some exotic baits like pike mackerel [saury] and skipjack tuna have fooled the whiskerfish. Good stringers were checked in from Boat Dock Cove, the west shore, and especially Santiago Flats.

Bass anglers found good numbers of 2 to 4-pound largemouth, with some larger bucketmouths to over 10 pounds making their presence known. Daytime anglers are finding bass on hard structure at 25 feet using dropshot-rigged plastics and jigs. Heavy weed growth makes the most effective shallow-water technique either a weightless Senko or a Texas-rigged weightless Trick Worm.

Anglers skilled in deep water trout techniques found surprisingly good action on 2 to 3-pound rainbows, with some limit stringers checked in. Most trouters are drifting deep in 30 to 40 feet of water near the dam using nightcrawlers rolled in Berkeley PowerDust on 6-foot leaders, or Luhr Jensen Needlefish trolled behind 6 colors of leadcore line.

A ravenous school of wipers boiled up right inside Boat Dock Cove, but none were landed. Ditto that few crappie were checked in this week, although little effort was expended toward the species. Some small bluegill were caught on mealworms and waxworms.

Families with children age 12 and under found good numbers of stocker-size catfish using marshmallow/mealworm combo in the Kids Lagoon. Surface temperature in the main lake is 78 degrees, with underwater visibility rated at 2 to 15 feet depending on the area. The lake level is dropping about 6 inches per week, with the main launch ramp still in operation.

A benefit bass tournament for the high-ranking Long Beach State College Bass Team will take place on July 20; see lake for details. The lake is open for night fishing until 11 PM on Thursdays, and until Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Marty Sauceda of Costa Mesa, 11-6 channel catfish on Bite-On/shrimp at the flats
Michael Pham of Westminster, 10-2 channel catfish on shrimp at the flats
Doug Cherry of Placentia, 9-14 channel catfish on shrimp at the flats
Brian Ray of Silverado, 3-1 rainbow trout on nightcrawler/PowerDust near the dam
John Plymyer of Los Alamitos, 9-6 largemouth bass [released] on a Senko at Rocky Point