The final weekend of late-night catfish action will take place on Friday October 12 and Saturday October 13, with anticipation running high among catfish specialists for that last shot at a 50-plus pound monster blue cat. Regular 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM hours will prevail on Sunday October 14.

The lake will then be closed Monday through Thursday October 15, 16, 17 and 18 to allow the stocking of some 20,000 pounds of trout in preparation for the grand opening of trout season at 6:00 AM on Friday October 19.

Meanwhile, excellent number of 2 to 8-pound channel catfish are filling the stringers; with some anglers limiting out in less than 2 hours. The occasional blue cat over 10 pounds is still keeping things interesting. "We are seeing lots of the stocker-size channels" observed Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The channel cats are biting on all the usual things, including Catmando, Gulp! Catfish Dough, Bowker's, shrimp, plain mackerel and the marshmallow/mealworm combo."

Good numbers of whiskerfish were taken along the west shore, at Santiago Flats, near the docks and near the dam.

Bass fishing held steady on 2 to 4-pound largemouth hitting along the red clay cliffs, Rocky Point and on rockpiles at the back of Santiago Flats. Best bass lures were topwaters early and late, or dropshot baits at 15 to 22 feet at mid-day.

Crappie fishing rebounded somewhat to a fair pace for patient anglers who put out floating lanterns and used Atomic Tubes tipped with a mealworm. Bluegill and redear were still wide-open on mealworms and waxworms.

The water level is slowly rising at the current rate of about 6 inches per week.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included;
Eduardo Becerra of Santa Ana, 12.9 pound catfish on mackerel at the flats
Mitzi Onizuka of Irvine, 5-catfish limit totaling 19 pounds near the docks