Both the crappie and catfish action at Irvine Lake improved this week, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The catfish are still holding very tight to the brush", observed Getty. "Best bait for daytime catfish anglers has been the marshmallow/mealworm combo; they are only biting on mackerel at night." Most catfish limits this week were made up of prime eating-size whiskerfish in the 2 to 6-pound class. The majority of anglers concentrated their effort on Santiago Flats. Favored baits were mackerel, bonito, shrimp, DuMong's and Gulp!, with daylight fish responding best marshmallow/mealworm combinations. Crappie anglers found excellent numbers of slabsides to about a pound, using white Atomic Tubes or white 2-inch Gulp! Jigging Grubs rigged on 1/16 or 1/32 ball heads. Easy limits are being caught during late afternoon to early evenings by drifting or fishing the jigs around schools of shad. Night-time anglers setting out floating lanterns are scoring some fish, but massive amounts of shad fry are keeping the crappie filled up.

The inaugural Crappie Classic Tournament saw 53 anglers take home some great goodie bags from Berkley, along with numerous raffle prizes handed out by Bob Hoose of Berkley. The field was topped by Brandon Woodward, who had a 5-fish stringer totaling 3-14. Bass anglers continued to do well, but mostly clammed up regarding specifics. Very good numbers of 2 to 4-pound largemouth were reportedly caught on points, from the surface down to 50 feet, on a variety of different lures. Good spots included the Red Clay Cliffs, Rocky Point, and Sierra Cove. Bluegill and redear sunfish are biting well on mealworms and Gulp! Crickets fished at middle-depths of 5 to 10-feet near submerged brush. Moderate numbers of 2 to 3-pound trout were caught incidental to the pursuit of other species. Very good numbers of catfish are being caught in the Kids Lagoon on the marshmallow/mealworm combo by families with children age 12 and under. The main lake water level is receding slowly, and the road to Trout Island is now open to vehicle traffic, and the walking bridge has been removed. Surface water temperature is 76 to 78 degrees.