Catfish anglers heading to Irvine Lake this week found excellent results, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "They're catching the heck of 'em", remarked Getty. "It's been a late bite; the fish are just starting at about 8:00 PM, and it keeps getting better as it gets later. The best area has been way back in Santiago Flats in the shallows."

Getty added, "We had a fundraising bass tournament for the Long Beach State Bass Team that raised $1,900, which will help get the team travel to the finals. The bass were biting almost everything; Ikas, Senkos, plastic frogs, American Trash Fish Swimbaits, Splash Tails, and the overall winning team of Donnie Peterson from Anglers Marine and Steve Garcia of Anaheim did it with a BG Dizzle Swimbait."

Best catfish baits were mackerel, shrimp, and bonito, either with or without strong scents added. Good stringers of catfish were caught at Boat Dock Cove, along the west shore, as well as Santiago Flats.

Bass anglers did very well using deep-water techniques during daylight hours, primarily dropshot-rigged plastics and jigs, with evening tactics moving toward shallow presentations. Most largemouth were in the 2 to 4-pound class, with some bucketmouths to 7 pounds tallied. Anglers are reminded that all bass species are catch and release only at Irvine Lake.

Trout anglers skilled in deep water tactics continued to do very well on quality-grade rainbow trout at 40 to 45 feet near the dam. Good strings of rainbows were checked in by anglers using Power Bait or nightcrawlers rolled in Berkley Trout Dust, and also by trollers dragging Luhr Jensen Needlefish behind 6 colors of leadcore line or off downriggers."

Bluegill were available for anglers dunking mealworms in brushy shallows, although few anglers tried for them or for crappie. Some wipers were caught incidentally by catfish anglers using mackerel or shrimp.

Families with children age 12 and under found excellent number so 1 to 3-pound catfish in the Kids Lagoon, using marshmallow/mealworms combos or flylined shrimp. Surface temperature on the main lake is 78-81 degrees, with underwater visibility rated crystal clear. The lake level is dropping approximately 3 inches per week. Night fishing is allowed until 11 PM on Thursdays, and until Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:

Dwight Hwang of Irvine, 7-0 channel catfish on Bite-On at the flats
Chris Mason of South gate, 7-3 largemouth bass [released] on a swimbait at Rocky Point
Johnny Gilbert of Santa Ana, 5-0 wiper [released] on shrimp at the flats
Donnie Peterson and Steve Garcia of Anaheim, 5-bass stringer totaling 13-6, topped by a 5-0 [all released] on BG Dizzle Swimbaits