Anglers heading for Irvine Lake this week focused mainly on catfish or bass, and mostly caught plenty of both, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. Most of the catfish on the stringers are prime eating-size channels in the 2 to 6-pound class, with a few larger-grade channels and blues to 13 pounds keeping things exciting. Favored baits are mackerel, shrimp, bonito, barracuda, DuMong's and Gulp! Good whiskerfish catches were reported from Boat Dock Cove, Santiago Flats, and Trout Island. Bass anglers are finding their quarry in a variety of depths, anywhere from 1 to 30 feet. The average grade of bass is very good, mostly between 3 and 6 pounds, and diligent bass anglers can release anything from 5 to 30 fish per day. Several lunkers in the 8 to 10 pound range were reported this week, along with numerous monster blowups on topwater lures. Productive spots included Rocky Point, the Red Clay Cliffs, and the backside of Trout Island. A handful of hybrid striped bass [AKA whiterock, wipers, or sunshine bass] from 3 to 12 pounds were caught incidentally to the pursuit of catfish by anglers soaking shrimp or chicken livers.

Crappie anglers were not to be found this week, as the floating lanterns used to attract the slabs around the boat are thought to spook catfish, with most anglers opting to go after the larger whiskerfish. Plenty of bluegill and redear are being caught in the shallows on mealworms or Gulp! Crickets under a bobber. Skilled deep trollers are still nailing a few 2 to 3-pound rainbow trout using 6 colors of leadcore line and cop-car color Luhr Jensen Needlefish lures. Families with children age 12 and under are catching plenty of 1 to 3-pound catfish in the Kids Lagoon, along with a surprising number of half-pound juvenile carp on the marshmallow/mealworm combo. The main lake water level is receding slowly, and the surface water temperature is 78 degrees. For anglers planning ahead, Irvine Lake's 2010-11 Trout Season Opener will be on Friday, November 5, and a special limited-entry VIP Day on Thursday, November 4.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Chuck Mostero of Villa Park, 13-0 channel catfish on a swimbait at Trout Island
Elaine Dickerhoof of Artesia, 10-2 blue catfish [released] and 9-8 channel catfish, on mackerel/shrimp at the flats
Octavio Rivas of Orange, 12-0 hybrid striped bass [released], on shrimp at Trout Island
Jimmy Getty of Silverado, 10-6 largemouth bass [released] on a Varmint Lures OD Rat at Trout Island
Randy Aamont of Newport Beach, 8-6 largemouth bass [released] on a Dug-E-Bug at the flats