Plenty of eating-size channel catfish and chunky largemouth bass were the story at Irvine Lake this week, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The catfish bite was pretty good in the evenings", observed Getty. "We did not have that many catfish anglers coming out this weekend, because of the Woodstock Reunion Concert. The bass fishing has stayed red-hot, and rumors of some bigger-grade fish are floating around even though it is hard to get details out of the bass anglers. The bass are at 15 to 20 feet during the day, and move up to 1 to 15 foot depths during the evenings. The hottest lure has been 10-inch plastic worms."

Getty added, "We are happy to announce that our public 2011-12 Trout Season Opener will be on Friday, November 4. Thousands of pounds of trout will be planted just before the opener, and there will also be a special 'VIP limited entry' sneak preview event the day before."

Best catfish baits continue to be mackerel, shrimp, and skipjack, with added scent a definite plus this week. Bite-On and Bowkers were mentioned as productive scent products. The catfish have moved to slightly deeper 15 to 20 foot depths, and top spots were Santiago Flats and Boat Dock Cove. Most whiskerfish this week were prime eating-size 2 to 5-pounders.

Bass chasers are finding very good numbers of 2 to 4-pound largemouth, with a sprinkling of bucketmouth to 7 pounds or larger. Favored areas are the Red Clay Cliffs, Rocky Point, and the west shoreline. Top overall lure has been the 10-inch Berkley Power Worm, but the evening and nighttime bass bites have yielded some fish on topwaters and wakebaits.

Very few crappie anglers ventured out, although plenty of bluegill and redear were caught in the shallows on mealworms, redworms, and Gulp! Waxies. No trout or hybrid striped bass were checked in this week.

Families with children age 12 and under found good numbers of 1 to 3-pound channel catfish in the Kids Lagoon using shrimp or mealworms under a bobber. The main lake level is dropping 2 to 6 inches per week, with surface temperatures in the high 70's. Water clarity is rated "gin clear", with underwater visibility at 10 to 12 feet.

Notable upcoming events include the Labor Day Catfish Tournament on September 3, which is the final qualifier for the King of the Cats contest; the Dana Rae Memorial Tournament on September 24, which will feature 22 straight hours of fishing from 6:00 AM to 4:00 AM; and the grand-daddy of them all, the 2011-12 Trout Season Opener, which will be November 4.