Despite the calendar saying January, the catfish bite was still on at Irvine Lake, observed Daniela Gavaldon at the Pro Shop. “Even on the days when it was pouring rain, the catfish were biting in the main lake and the Kids Lagoon”, observed Gavaldon. She added, “The rains did not affect our lakeside roads very much, all of them are open and there are no problems driving on them”

Veteran catfish angler Chris Hagopian along with several members of Team 57 scored several nice whiskerfish at the far end of the west shore road, casting near the buoy line using mackerel. Bass anglers did well on 2-4 pound largemouth using a variety of different plastic presentations. Walking to more isolated spots produced better numbers of bass. A few plump bluegill and redear sunfish were hitting on nightcrawlers.

Families with children age 12 and under found very good numbers of 1-3 pound catfish in the Kids Lagoon using nightcrawlers or mackerel. Little Sarah Spoolstra and her father David went out bravely on a blustery day, and hammered easy limits of catfish in the Kids Lagoon using Bite-On Macbites. Anglers are reminded that no watercraft are allowed on Irvine Lake. The main lake currently offers “no limit” fishing for catfish and trout, but a 3-fish limit applies in the Kids Lagoon. Fishing hours are Wednesdays-Sundays 6 AM-4 PM, Mondays-Tuesdays closed.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Armando Renteria of Orange, 7-0 channel catfish on mackerel at the west shore
9-year old Sarah Spoolstra of Orange, 3-1 channel catfish on Bite-On Macbites at the Kids Lagoon