All of Irvine Lake's major fish species are on the menu right now, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "Almost anything you want to go after can be caught in good numbers right now", observed Getty. "The bass fishing is just off the hook, limits of channel catfish are common, the crappie fishing is just getting revved up, and there are still lots of trout biting. We will keep on planting trout for several more weeks."

Bass anglers can do well with virtually any of their favorite techniques, including jigs, dropshot-rigged plastics, Senkos, and even jerkbaits like Rapala X-Rap XR10's and XR12's in shad-replicating colors. Largemouth in the 2 to 4-pound class are biting very well, with some larger fish to 9 pounds evident for the lucky or skilled bassers. Fish are spread out in depths ranging from 1 to 20 feet. The combination of warming temperatures and ultra-clear water conditions is moving the trout steadily deeper in the water column. Trollers are scoring best at 4 or 5 colors of leadcore line, with black/silver Rapala Countdown CD05's, cop-car color Luhr Jensen Needlefish, and brown trout-color Jointed Rapala J05's. Bait dunkers are doing best along the west shore going with 24 to 36-inch leaders and PowerBait/nightcrawler combos. Anglers targeting channel catfish are finding many limit stringers, mostly filled with 3 to 6-pounders. The action on double-digit blue catfish backed off somewhat due to heavy angler pressure. Mackerel soaked at 15 to 25-feet in Santiago Flats is the top offering for catfish. Crappie are staging up to spawn near the trees in the back of Santiago Flats, and are hitting on white Atomic Tubes tipped with a mealworm. Plenty of bluegill and redear are available for anglers offering red worms or mealworms.

Families with children age 12 and under found slow action in the Kids Lagoon. The main lake surface temperature is hovering around 65 degrees, with the lake level holding steady. Underwater visibility is rated extremely clear.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Angel Dominguez of Placentia, 11-2 rainbow trout on PowerBait at Sierra Cove
Don Spencer of Garden Grove, 9-0 largemouth bass [released] on a darthead at the cliffs
Mark Tibbets of Orange, 7-8 largemouth bass [released] on a Senko at the west shore
Ronson Smothers of Los Angeles, 8-2 channel catfish on mackerel at the flats
Manas Malikian of Orange, 1-7 crappie on a Cali-Bama rig at the flats