Texas Fish Report

Good numbers of eating-size catfish were filling the stringers at Irvine Lake this week, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "The bite has been very good for 2 to 5-pound catfish", observed Getty. "It was a little slower this weekend than last, but that is partially because everybody is fishing deep and trying to go after bigger fish. Not too many of the large fish were caught though."

Plenty of whiskerfish were coming in from Santiago Flats, near the docks and off Trout Island. Best baits were mackerel, shrimp and DuMong's.

Noted crappie expert Marlon Meade found his quarry in abundance. "The crappie bite has been late in the evening, the later the better", said Meade. "It really starts happening at about 11:30 PM, and goes good until about 1:00 AM. Easy limits of crappie to 2 pounds, it's been crazy. Best lures are still Gulp! Minnows and Atomic Teasers in glow-in-the-dark colors."

Bass fishing busted loose for those who chase them, although many of the successful bassers kept their techniques to themselves. The two best methods reported included shaky-head-rigged creature baits as deep as 25 feet off Rocky Point, and a topwater bite on Skitter Pops and Skitter Walks wherever baitfish schools were found. Some excellent strings of largemouth in the 3 to 5-pound class were caught and released.

Offering a mealworm or waxworm under a bobber near the docks was still producing bluegill and redear in abundance. Families with children age 12 and under found good catfish action in the Kids Lagoon on the marshmallow/mealworm combo.

Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included;
Albert Ortega of Whittier, 6.2 pound catfish on mackerel at the flats
James, Kaitlyn and Eric Anna of Trabuco, 15-catfish limit totaling 48.1 pounds on mackerel near the docks
Izaac Gonzales of Whittier, 5-catfish limit totaling 18.1 pounds on mackerel at Trout Island

Media contacts;
Daniela Gavaldon or Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop [714-649-9111]
Steve Carson at scarson@sunset.net