Phenomenal action on big blue catfish highlighted a good week at Irvine Lake, reported Jimmy get at the Pro Shop. "The bite on big blue cats was basically insane on Friday Night", exclaimed Getty. "Some really heavy stringers were brought in, some people were limiting out in less than 45 minutes."
Not surprisingly, the biggest 5-fish limit of the season was brought in by Ronson "Catman" Smothers of Los Angeles. Smothers related, "I went out on Friday afternoon at 4:00 PM, and set up in 33 feet of water using big chunks of mackerel soaked in Catmando garlic. By 5:30 PM I had caught 6 fish from 12 to 23 pounds."
Saturday night's action slowed down considerably on the bigger fish. Good numbers of stocker-size channel catfish from 2 to 8 pounds are available for daytime anglers near the docks and along the west shore on nightcrawlers and fresh mackerel. Both the channel cats and the blue cats have been suspended off the bottom somewhat this week.
Crappie anglers still found decent action on Friday and Saturday nights by drifting with a floating lantern. Best action has been on yellow/white mini jigs on slabsides to just under 2 pounds. Bluegill are still hot on mealworms and waxworms near the docks.
A few 2 to 6-pound trout are still being caught by trollers dragging 5 to 7 colors of leadcore line with a Needlefish or Rapala. There is now a "no limit" policy on trout for the remainder of the summer season.
Bass fishing is somewhat inconsistent, due to a short-term influx of water at the pipe in Sierra Cove. The shad population gravitated towards the inflow, pulling the bass off the shoreline structure that had been holding them. Some 2 to 4 pound largemouth are still being caught off points with plastic worms.
Good scores of channel catfish are being made in the Kid's Lagoon by families with children age 12 and under. Anglers are reminded that release is mandatory on all catfish and sturgeon in excess of 20 pounds. Lucky anglers who release a trophy will receive a free admission pass to the lake. Anglers who release a monster in excess of 50 pounds will also receive a certificate for a free motor boat rental. Catches must be brought to the dock for verification by Lake Staff.
Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included:
Ronson "Catman" Smothers of Los Angeles, 5-catfish limit totaling 83.6 pounds including 23.2, 17.6, 16.9, 13.9 and 12-pounders [released] on Catmando baits at the flats
Mike Tucker, James Smelt and Tony Tucker of Huntington Beach, 18.25, 17.75, 15.2, 14.5, 11.5, 11.1, 10.5 and 9.9 pound catfish [108.7 pounds total] on mackerel at the flats
Leo Fifer and Erin
Valentin Vazquez of Santa Paula, 14.12 pound blue catfish on bonito at the west shore
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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......
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Increased flow in the Feather River got the salmon bite heated up, reported Rick Thompson at McGrath's in Oroville. "The river went up to 7,000 cfs, and its' supposed to max out at 8,000 cfs on Thursday afternoon", said Thompson. "The salmon fishing has been better for the last four days than the rest of the season put together. Some people are reporting 20 hookups a day at the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet. There are fish everywhere. I went down on......
