The catfish bite remained very good with lots of limits reported at Santa Ana River Lakes. Catfish Lake has been the hot spot this past week with the M&M (marshmallow and mealworm) combo, nightcrawlers, and shrimp being the top baits. Anglers fishing from boats in deeper water are having the best success for cats.

Top catfish this week were a pair 10-pounds. One was caught by Sam Taso, La Puente, on a nightcrawler at La Palma Point, while the other was part of a 15-fish stringer landed by Jim Barnett, Palos Verde, that weighed in at 62 pounds total.

Other big fish included a 9-0 caught by Daelean Robinson, San Bernardino, on a nightcrawler, while Tony Truong, Torrance, caught a 7-0 cat on shrimp. Melissa Virgen, Orange County, caught a 5-8 cat on shrimp, while Gene Hudson, Compton, also had a 5 ??-pounder on the M&M combo. Kyle Grein, Chino, caught six catfish totaling 18-8 with fish to 5-0. Kevin Grein, Chino, caught five cats totaling 13-8 with fish to 4-8.

??Some trout are still showing from deep water, but that bite is pretty much over now.

No sturgeon were landed this week, but 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).

Anglers also 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 last through July 29. As a bonus, anglers get a $7 discount coupon each time they weigh in their catch.

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. Catfish are planted on Tuesday and Friday each week. For Santa Ana River Lakes fishing information, call (714) 632-7830 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com.