Excellent trout action continues at Corona Lake

Corona Lake is cranking out the rainbow trout, with an excellent bite on fish up to six pounds. The best action has been for boat anglers fishing mid-lake waters, but shore anglers are also scoring near the dam and along the shorelines below the bait shop.

Marty Stellman, Placentia, landed five-trout that weighed 15 pounds fishing nightcrawlers from a boat, and his best rainbow was a six-pounder. David Cruz, and David Jr., both Montclair, were just one fish shy of a double limit, but their nine-fish stringer weighed in at 17 1/2 pounds and included a five-pounder. Rene and Kyle Viramontes, Gardena, had 15 trout that weighed 25 pounds and their best fish was a four-pounder. Raul Moran and Jesse Frostud, Corona, landed 10 trout that weighed 21 pounds.

Most anglers are fishing rainbow, chartreuse, or orange floating dough baits, nightcrawlers doused with scent, or small trout jigs and plastics. All are taking fish.

Corona Lake's new lake record for rainbow trout, a 24 1/2 pounder caught on Feb. 20 this year, could fall again thanks to two big trophy trout weekends being planned for March and April both at Corona Lake and its sister water in Orange County, Santa Ana River Lakes.

Huge 20 to 30-pound class rainbows from Mt. Lassen Trout Farms will be planted just before big, four-day fishing blowouts set for March 19-22 and April 2-5. There will be two other big events during this same time period. The first event is an earlier-than-normal catfish event set for the weekend of March 13-15, when broodstock blues and channel cats will be planted, and there will be 24-hour fishing the Friday and Saturday nights of that weekend. The second event is a special two-for-one day sponsored by Eagle Claw on Saturday, April 18. This is Angler Appreciation Day and with each purchase of a full-price lake admission, your wife or fishing buddy gets in free.

Until these special events, Corona Lake will continue to be planted each week with either the Nebraska Tailwalkers from Chaulk Mound Trout Ranch or the Mt. Lassen Trout Farms rainbows.

Corona Lake is open seven days a week with fishing allowed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on day passes or from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on an evening pass. Each of these passes is $22.. Seniors only pay $20, with a special $17 pass sold on Wednesdays. All of these passes have a five-fish limit. For kids 4 to 13, a three-fish pass is just $9. The once-monthly 24-hour passes remain just $60. These passes have a 15-fish limit. For This month's 24-hour fishing days will be March 13 and 14. more Corona Lake fishing information, call 951-277-4489 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com