The heat of summer got Irvine Lakes' catfish population into a serious biting mood, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The heat really made the catfish bite take off", observed Getty. "We are seeing a lot of nice limits, including 3 fish over 10 pounds, and we even had our first 20-pounder of the season."

Good catfish catches were checked in from Woody's Cove, Boat Dock Cove, Trout Island, and Santiago Flats. Top producing baits were mackerel and shrimp. Most of the whiskerfish were prime eating-size 2 to 5- pounders, with a few larger specimens in the 6 to 10-pound class.

Last week's bass attack backed off somewhat, but boiling schools of largemouth mixed with a few hybrid stripers are still popping up periodically chasing schools of shad. In between surface frenzies, bass anglers are finding 2 to 5-pound largemouth the old-fashioned way, by working structure with 10-inch Berkley Power Worms and jig-n-pig combos.

Crappie anglers did well in the afternoons by drifting Atomic Tubes with the breeze at 15 to 20 feet, or by using setting out a floating lantern after dark, and waiting for the crappie to be attracted to the insect and baitfish food chain.

Trouters are using deep-drifted baits at depths of over 50 feet, and are finding fair numbers of 2 to 3-pound holdover rainbows. Plenty of bluegill and redear are hitting on waxworms or mealworms in brushy shallow areas.

Families with children age 12 and under are doing well on stocker-size channel catfish in the Kids Lagoon while using the basic nightcrawler/bobber or marshmallow/mealworm setups. The main lake water level is dropping slowly, with surface temperatures in the high 70's to low 80's. Underwater visibility is rated at 10 feet.