Hot weather did not deter the catfish from biting at Irvine Lake this week, although it did put a slight damper on the trout and bass action, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The catfish bite was pretty good this week", observed Getty. "The cats are starting to spread out away from the trees where they have been holding for the past few weeks, and are mostly in 5 to 20 feet of water. Our trout and bass bites have backed off somewhat, probably due to the heat. Good catfish bites are happening first thing in the AM, and then from about 6:00 PM until 11:00 PM."

Good catfish catches were reported from Boat Dock Cove, Trout Island, Santiago Flats, and Sierra Cove. Productive baits included mackerel, shrimp, and nightcrawlers. Most of the whiskerfish on the stringers have been eating-size 2 to 6-pound channel cats.

The bass population received a lot of pressure over the past 10 days, and reacted by slowing down a bit. A few skilled anglers still managed to release as many as 25 to 30 largemouth per day; most were in the 2 to 4-pound range, but a few bucketmouths to as much as 11 pounds were released. A group fishing with Don Spencer Guide Service managed a 5-bass stringer totaling 32-8, topped by an 11-pound whopper. Most bass were caught on either jigs or plastics, at depths ranging from 1 to 35 feet, with the Red Clay Cliffs and the west shore rated top locations.

Crappie anglers did well in the afternoons drifting near the trees at 10-15 feet over 30 feet of water with Atomic Tubes, but few anglers tried for crappie during the night-time due to the possibility of lights spooking the catfish. Loads of bluegill are currently on the spawning beds, hitting on mealworms or Gulp! Waxies. Only a handful of trout, and no wipers were reported this week.