There were a pair of catfish plants this past week at Santa Ana River Lakes to kick off the warmwater fishing season, and tilapia were also added to the mix with a stocking last Friday. This has really jump-started the action with some very good stringers of cats over the weekend.

The trout action has also been pretty fair and anglers are reminded that there is currently no limit on the rainbows so as many trout as possible can be caught and utilized before the water becomes too warm for them to survive.

The best catfish action has been on the marshmallow-meal worm (M&M) or shrimp-marshmallow (S&M) combo, but nightcrawlers are close behind the combo baits. The nightcrawlers are also getting quite a few trout and tilapia, so fly-lining a crawler is a good way to get a nice mixed stringer right now.

Anglers are reminded there is 24-hour fishing every Friday and Saturday night each week. The "family special" applies to the 24-hour passes, when mom and dad and up to three kids under 12 can all fish on the same permit and help fill up the 15-fish, 24-hour permit limit.

The annual Catfish Grand Opening is set for this coming weekend, and there will be a bonus plant of trophy catfish, and tilapia plants will also be weekly from now through the summer.