Nice-grade catfish and lots of crappie were the story this week at Irvine Lake, and to nobody's surprise, legendary big catfish expert Ronson "Catman" Smothers nailed the biggest whiskerfish of the week.

Night-time is still the best time to get the opportunity to catch the larger blue cats, and plenty of 10 to 16 pounders were filling stringers for anglers using mackerel and just about any flavor of Catmando or DuMong's catfish attractants in the back end of Santiago Flats.

Daytime catfish chasers have mostly had to settle for eating-size 2 to 8-pound channel cats on fresh mackerel. "The stocker channel catfish are still biting very well in the daytime" observed Tony Martinez at the Pro Shop. "They are up very shallow right now, in the weedy areas at the south end."

Martinez tipped, "The crappie are all over the place at night, especially near the fenceline. The trick is to use a lantern and drift until you get over a school of minnows, then anchor up and use mini jigs."

Evening bass anglers are finding excellent action on 2 to 4-pound largemouth on topwaters like Skitter Pops and X-Rap Walks in just 2 to 3 feet of water near the red clay cliffs. During the day, the same general area will kick out a few fish on dropshot baits at 15 to 22 feet.

Plenty of bluegill are still available near the docks on mealworms or waxworms. Some very nice carp and a few incidental catfish are being caught by anglers using specialty European carp baits and techniques. Some trout are still being caught by deep trollers using Rapalas or Needlefish.

For the duration of the summer season, there will be no limit on trout. The Kid's Lagoon is back in operation and stocked with channel catfish. The bite is excellent there, but anglers are reminded that the Lagoon is reserved for families with children age 12 or younger. The limit in the Lagoon is 3 catfish, and the remainder of the 5-fish limit can be caught in the main lake.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Ronson "Catman" Smothers of Los Angeles, 17.2 and 16.6 pound catfish on Catmando Bait at the flats
Alan Rudd of Orange, catfish weighing 14.2, 14.12 and 12.12 pounds on DuMong's at the flats
Gilbert Andrews and Dee Bartlett of Anaheim, 14.2, 9.8, 8.14 and 7.1 pound catfish on DuMong's at the west shore
Daniel and Matthew Jones of Cypress, 13.4 pound catfish on shrimp/nightcrawler in the Lagoon
Sue Burns of Huntington Beach, 13.2, 9.8 and 7.4 pound catfish on DuMong's at the flats
Mike Bradshaw of Riverside, 11.6 pound catfish on mackerel at the flats
Frank Solorio of Murrieta, 6.0 pound rainbow trout on a Rico at the flats