IRVINE LAKE REPORT By Steve Carson 8/11/13 Irvine Lake’s big catfish sizzle for Midsummer Night’s Dream A big crowd on Saturday night was not disappointed with the “Midsummer Night’s Dream” catfish derby, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. “If you were on a school, you really whacked ‘em”, observed Getty. “If you were not, it was a steady pick on nice 3 to 5-pounders plus some bigger ones. The tournament field weighed in 13 channel cats that were over 9 pounds, and it took a 9-3 to break into the top 10. “The heaviest overall stringer was the 15-fish brought in on Friday night by lake regulars Phil Hildebrant and Bradley Sampson, which weighed a bit over 90 pounds. Not surprisingly, Ronson ‘Catmando’ Smothers and family dominated the tournament; even his 10-year old daughter ‘Kitten’ was in the Top 10.” Getty added, “The hot bite on Saturday night went from about 9 PM to 11 PM, but the other days it started a little before sundown and went until closing. Best depth for quantity catches was 5 to 15 feet, but the Smothers family and others who got the bigger fish were down around 30 to 40 feet. The biggest fish were holding tight to structure, and the fish are not line shy; Ronson was using 50-pound test leader because he had been broken off by some very big catfish earlier in the week.” Good stringers of catfish were checked in from Boat Dock Cove, Rocky Point, and Santiago Flats. Productive baits included mackerel, shrimp, skipjack, and pike mackerel, either fresh or with strong scents like Gulp! Alive! or Bite-On. Bass and crappie anglers were absent this week due to the intense catfish action, but some plump bluegill were caught by anglers soaking mealworms or waxworms near submerged brush. A handful of wipers and carp were also caught incidentally in the pursuit of catfish. A few nice trout were also caught by anglers skilled at deep-water techniques. Families with children age 12 and under found good numbers of 1 to 3-pound catfish and small carp in the Kids Lagoon, using marshmallow/mealworm combos. Surface temperature on the main lake was 78-79 degrees, with underwater visibility rated crystal clear. The lake level is dropping slowly. Outstanding catches of the week at Irvine Lake included: Brandi Smothers of Los Angeles, 17-7 channel catfish on mackerel at mid-lake Ronson Smothers of Los Angeles, 13-4 channel catfish on mackerel at mid-lake Jesus Rios of Santa Ana, 11-9 channel catfish on Bite-On at the west shore Amy Nguyen of Irvine, 11-8 channel catfish on Bite-On at the flats Brain Ray of Anaheim, 10-9 channel catfish on Gulp! Alive! at the west shore Charles Lane of Los Angeles, 10-8 channel catfish on shrimp at Rocky Point Elaine Dickerhoof of Artesia, 10-5 channel catfish on Bite-On at the flats 10-year old Nyla “Kitten” Smothers of Los Angeles, 9-3 channel catfish on mackerel at mid-lake Bradley Sampson of Corona, 9-2 channel catfish on Bite-On at the flats Phil Hildebrant and Bradley Sampson, 15-catfish stringer totaling 90-3, on Bite-On at the flats Brian Ray and Marlon Meade, 5-catfish stringer totaling 50-12, on Gulp! Alive! at the west shore Follow Irvine Lake on Facebook, on the web at IrvineLake.net or call 714-649-9111
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 22:42:33 +0000
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