Irvine Lake’s big catfish showed signs of getting ready for their annual autumn feeding spree, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. “The big ones are starting to wake up”, observed Getty. “Some really large catfish were hooked and lost this weekend. Lake regular Chris Hagopian had an estimated 60-pounder get off on the anchor line, and he still managed to land a 14-pounder. Of course the overall bite on the ‘eating size’ 2 to 6 pounders was very good in 5 to 15 feet of water. Bass anglers are also getting a lot of nice fish, including more than a handful of 5’s and 7’s. The ‘Super Moon’ we had on Saturday night did not seem to have a lot of good or bad effect on the fish. The flycasters were out again after carp, and got some nice ones up to 11 pounds.”

Getty added, “We are excited to announce that our big 2015-16 Trout Season Opener will be on Friday, October 30. Over 16,000 pounds of beautiful Nebraska Tailwalker rainbow trout will be planted just prior to the opener. On Thursday, October 29, there will be a special ‘VIP Fishing Day’, with a very limited number of tickets sold. Be sure to contact Daniela in the Pro-Shop [714-649-9111] early if you want to get tickets for the VIP Day, which will include boat rental, breakfast, and a terrific BBQ lunch.”

Good areas for catfish included the west shore, the flats, and mid-lake. This week’s top bait was definitely fresh bonito, and many anglers ventured out to the ocean to catch this primo bait. The whiskerfish also responded to mackerel, shrimp, skipjack, and even freezer-burned yellowfin tuna.

Bass anglers found very good numbers of 2 to 5-pound largemouth, along with some bucketmouths to over 8 pounds. A variety of techniques were working, including jigs and topwaters, and the period from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM the most active times. Best spots included Rocky Point and the Red Clay Cliffs. Bluegill and redear sunfish were biting very well around weeds and rockpiles on mealworms, but at times it was so good that ‘gills were being caught on bare gold hooks.

Families with children age 12 and under found good numbers of 1-3 pound catfish in the Kids Lagoon on marshmallow/mealworm combos. The Lagoon will be re-stocked this week. Surface temperature on the main lake is 78-79 degrees, with underwater visibility rated dingy. The lake level is dropping slowly. Anglers are reminded that privately-owned watercraft are not permitted at Irvine Lake. A full fleet of rental boats are available.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Chris Hagopian of Redondo Beach, 14-9 channel catfish [released] on mackerel at the west shore
Kenny Greene of Orange, 13-4 blue catfish [released] on mackerel at mid-lake
Carl Aguilera of Orange, 8-8 largemouth bass [released] on a Berkley Hawg Dawg at the flats
Whitney Curry of Silverado, 11-2 carp [released] on a schnozzle bug fly at the flats
Mitz Onizuka of Irvine, 1-5 redear sunfish on red worms at the west shore