Lots of limits of catfish showing for anglers this week at Santa Ana River Lakes. Plants are now going in every Tuesday and Friday. Anglers can get a $7 discount coupon each time they come to the lake by merely weighing in their catch. Starting this Friday, June 15, there will be weekly drawings for a prize package worth over $250 for having your big catfish or stringer photographed and put up on FishingWebCam at the tackle shop.??
B The catfish action has been very good from all lakes. Top baits have been shrimp, nightcrawlers, and mackerel. Santiago Jesus, La Puente, had the heaviest stringer this week with 10 fish totaling 50 pounds. He was fishing with mackerel at Bubble Hole. Darryl Parrish, Santa Clarita, and Keith Brown, Orlando, Fla., caught six catfish totaling 18.5 pounds, with an 8-0 topping their stringer, on nightcrawlers from the Catfish Lake. David Collins, Gardena, had a stringer of catfish and trout totaling 20 pounds fishing with shrimp at Bubble Hole. Justin Fedden, Orange, caught a 6-8 cat on mackerel, also fishing the Catfish Lake.

Some trout are still showing for anglers fishing deep water. Randy Canakie, Carson, caught an 8-0 rainbow on nightcrawlers at Sandy Beach.

Sturgeon are still being hooked regularly, but few are being landed. Robert Vandevelde, Mojeska, caught a sturgeon weighing over 150 pounds on shrimp from Chris' Pond this week ??? one of the best landed since the big fish were first planted in the lake. Anglers are reminded that if they hook and land one of these bruisers, they are catch-and-release only -- but there is a reward for the catch. The $200-value prize package includes two free gate passes ($40 value), a free pontoon boat rental ($85 value), and a top-quality Eagle Claw fishing combo that includes a graphite catfish rod, multi-ball bearing spinning reel, and spool of Lazer line ($75 value).

Starting this week anglers will have an opportunity to win a $250 prize package each week with the World Wide Web Cam event. Anglers simply need to bring their stringer of fish to the tackle shop, get their picture taken, and for each fish on their stringer they will receive a raffle ticket. Each week a winner will be drawn and the winner will be announced on http://www.fishingwebcam.com/ . The event will begin this Friday, June 15, and will last through July 29.

Santa Ana River Lakes is open seven days a week with fishing allowed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on day passes or from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on an evening pass. Each of these $20 passes has a five-fish limit. The lake's 24-hour passes are available every week on Friday and Saturday nights. These passes have a 15-fish limit and cost $45. For Santa Ana River Lakes fishing information, call (714) 632-7830 or log on to our website.