There has been a very good catfish bite at Santa Ana River Lakes this past week with lots of limits and a good number of quality fish showing. There was also a huge sturgeon landed.

Catfish anglers have been having the most success while fishing from boats, especially in the deeper water. Top baits have been the M&M (marshmallow and mealworm) combo and nightcrawlers with shrimp or garlic gravy. The best spots have been the Bubble Hole, the sandy beach, and Chris' Pond.

Top catfish this week was a 12-0 caught by Randy Canakie, Carson, on chicken dough fishing the Bubble Hole. Terry Meuk, Fullerton, caught an 11-8 catfish on the M&M combo fishing at the sandy beach. Raquel Reynolds, Costa Mesa, caught a 9-0 catfish to top a stringer weighing 19-0 on the M&M combo at Levitz Corner. David White, Covina, caught a 7-8 catfish on mackerel fishing in the trees of the Catfish Lake.

Lake regular Scott Zimnicki, Garden Grove, once again had two nice days of fishing this week. On the first day of fishing he caught a limit of catfish totaling 29-0 with fish to 5-4 on nightcrawlers and the M&M combo. During his second day of fishing he caught ten cats totaling 19-8 with fish to 4-0 on nightcrawlers.

Other good stringers included the catch made by Tony Glaser, Buena Park, who caught six catfish totaling 28-0 with fish to 8-0 on the M&M combo. Mike Graham, Corona, caught nine catfish totaling 19-9 at the sandy beach. Gordon Cook, Anaheim, caught five catfish totaling 14-8 with fish to 5-0 on nightcrawlers fishing Levitz Corner.

Top fish this week was brought in by Theodore Coleman, Los Angeles, who caught a sturgeon weighing over 150 pounds on a mealworm in Bubble Hole. 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 continue through this Sunday, 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. The lake is planted with catfish each week. For Santa Ana River Lakes fishing information, call (714) 632-7830 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com.