Just when you thought the catfish bite at Irvine Lake could not get any better, the whiskerfish cranked it up another notch, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "This week has been the best catfish bite so far this year", observed Getty. "We have tons of people getting limits of mostly stocker-size 2 to 6-pounders, but some bigger ones are definitely being caught. On Thursday night we had catfish experts Ronson 'Catmando' Smothers and Bryan Porter set up on 'the hump' off Trout Island. They got into a wide-open bite of better-grade channel cats, and every time the bait hit bottom they got a bite from an 8 to 10-pounder. After boating a double limit that totaled over 100 pounds, the pair drove off with the fish still biting."

Productive baits for catfish included mackerel, shrimp, Gulp! Catfish Chunks, and even an obscure bait species found in Asian fish markets known as a pike mackerel. Good catches were checked in from Santiago Flats, the west shoreline, and Boat Dock Cove.

Getty added, "Most of the catfish are being caught in 20 feet of water or less. The bite gets started in the late afternoon and just gets better as the evening goes on. There are also some indications that the monster-size blue cats are starting to get active."

Bass anglers found very good numbers of 2 to 5-pound largemouth using a variety of techniques. Daytime anglers hit 20 to 30-foot depths with dropshot-rigged plastic, jigs, and Carolina rigs. Evening sees the fish move up, with 10-inch Texas-rigged Power Worms and topwaters hitting them hard. The frog bite is also still happening, but is sensitive to excess pressure. The key for success when tossing the plastic amphibians is being first on it on Wednesday or Thursday, or doing something different.

Local guide Don Spencer also found the key to unlock the crappie bite, and located the slabs in 40 feet of water suspended over schools of shad. A few hybrid stripers were seen boiling on shad, but none were checked in.

Families with children age 12 and under found good numbers of 1 to 3-pound catfish in the Kids Lagoon on mackerel or the M&M combo. Surface temperature on the main lake was running 78-79 degrees, and underwater visibility was rated very clear. Lake level is dropping 6 to 8 inches per week.

For those anglers planning far ahead, the 2012-13 Trout Season Opener will be Friday, November 2. This coming weekend will feature the Midsummer Night's Dream catfish tournament, and on Saturday night Aug 11, the lake will remain open until 2 AM.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine lake included:
Terry Lairson of Huntington Beach, 13-1 channel catfish on mackerel at the flats
Chris Hagopian of Redondo Beach, 11-0 channel catfish on mackerel at the flats
Bryan Porter of Los Angeles, 10-12 channel catfish on mackerel/shrimp at the hump
Phil Hildebrandt of Anaheim, 9-8 channel catfish on Bite-On Cajun at the flats
Whit Curry of Irvine, 5-5 largemouth bass [released] on a Nezumma Rat at the west shore
John Barry of Texas, 1-8 crappie on a darthead at the west shore
Ronson Smothers and Bryan Porter of Los Angeles, 10-catfish limit totaling 100-plus pounds on mackerel at the hump
Bill Sumida, Bill Oune, and Mitz Onizuka of Anaheim, 15-catfish limit totaling 45-8 on pike mackerel at the flats