Thursday afternoon saw Irvine Lake receive another stocking of thousands of pounds of prime "eating size" channel catfish in the 2 to 6-pound range; just in time for weekend outings. The whiskerfish usually bite best during the cooler evening hours, and Irvine Lake is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.

Most anglers at Irvine Lake understandably went after catfish this week, but there were a few exceptions, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The catfish bite was best in 5 to 20 feet of water this week", observed Getty. "Best catfish bite was at night, but there were some fish caught during the day. Regulars like Phil Hildebrandt, Marty Sauceda, and Chris Hagopian all had 5-catfish limits totaling over 30 pounds. Surprisingly, fishing deep at 40 to 45 feet near the dam was very good for nice-size rainbow trout."

Getty added, "Bunches of hybrid striped bass have been coming up, boiling and ripping into schools of pond smelt during the day in Boat Dock Cove, but not biting until night time."

All the usual catfish baits produced this week, including mackerel, shrimp, and bonito; some anglers used strong scents, while others went for the natural presentation. Good stringers of mostly eating-size 2 to 6-pound channel catfish were checked in from Boat Dock Cove, the west shoreline, and Santiago Flats.

Anglers skilled at deep water trout techniques did well at 40-feet plus using nightcrawlers rolled in Berkley Trout Dust. A few trout were also caught on Needlefish lures dragged behind 6 colors of leadcore line. Plenty of bluegill were available for anglers soaking mealworms in shallow brushy areas, though only a few anglers fished for crappie.

Bass anglers did well during the day on hard structure at 25 feet using dropshot-rigged plastics, and at night using Senkos and 10-inch Berkley Power Worms. Anglers who are good at working plastic frogs over the heavy grass mats are also doing well.

Families with children age 12 and under did well on 2 and 3-pound catfish in the Kids Lagoon using marshmallow/mealworm combos. Surface temperature on the main lake is 78-81 degrees, with underwater visibility rated very clear. The lake level is dropping slowly.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Phil Hildebrandt of Anaheim, 7-9 channel catfish on Bite-On shrimp/mackerel at the flats
Michael Martinkovisch of Anaheim, 3-5 rainbow trout on PowerDust/nightcrawlers at the dam
Seth Mostero of Huntington Beach, 3-8 largemouth bass [released] on a Power Worm at the west shore
Rob Martinez of Placentia, 4-1 wiper [released] on mackerel at Boat Dock Cove
Samantha Cruz of Orange, 1-8 bluegill on a mealworm at Boat Dock Cove