Catfish Hot at Irvine Lake

It may be trout season at Irvine Lake, but catfish are stealing the show.

Ralph Orr of Pinon Hills, who has been fishing only since May, brought up a 62.3-pound blue catfish after a 45-minute fight last Thursday.

It’s a state record. But it is not a lake record.

On Oct. 30, Dan Connolly, an employee at the lake, caught a 73.9-pound catfish. He weighed on the lake’s certified scale, then turned it loose.

“It’s not a state record until Fish and Game comes out and takes a look at it,” lake spokeswoman Sheryl Crume said, adding that Connolly didn’t know it might be a record. “Dan’s handling it pretty well, though. He’s out there fishing right now.”