Corona Lake trout bite sizzling, 18-pounder is week's top rainbow

Corona Lake's trout action seems to keep getting better and better as weekly plants of rainbow trout from Mt. Lassen Trout Farms and Nebraska's Chaulk Mound Trout Ranch stockpile in the small Riverside County water.

Top fish was an 18-pound rainbow landed by Curtis Carver of Palm Springs fishing green Nitro Bait from a boat at mid-lake. Overall, there were over 16 limits of rainbows and a dozen rainbows at seven pounds or better weighed in at the tackle shop -- just a small sampling of the total number of fish caught this past week.

An eight-pound rainbow topped a five-fish stringer weighed in by Dallas McCurry, Menifee, that totaled 18 pounds. Paul Berinson, Temecula, had just four rainbows but they totaled 21 pounds and his catch also had an eight-pound rainbow. Mike Thompson, Riverside, landed a 7 1/2-pound rainbow to top off his seven-fish, 23-pound stringer. Mike Sunderhaft, Lake Elsinore, had a five-fish catch that weighed 18 pounds and included a six-pounder. Mitch Wilson, Riverside, caught a seven-pound Lightning Trout, while a five-pound Lightning topped a 12 1/2-pound, five-fish stringer caught by Ron Carpenter, Simi Valley.

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. Top baits have been floating doughs and nightcrawlers, and it never hurts to add scent.

But anglers might want to refocus this week on catfish. The spates of warm weather have started to turn on the catfish bite, and there will be a special bonus plant of broodstock blues and channel catfish this week (in addition to the regular trout plants). This earlier-than-normal catfish event is timed to coincide with the monthly 24-hour fishing set for Friday and Saturday nights.

This trophy catfish plant is just the first of a series of special events that will be held over the next 30 days. Corona Lake's record for rainbow is a pair of 24 1/2 pounders, one just caught earlier this year on Feb. 20. But thanks to two big trophy trout weekends, 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. That lake record is likely to fall during one or both of those two weekends. In addition, there will be 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.

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. This month's 24-hour fishing days will be March 13 and 14, and don't forget about the bonus plant of trophy catfish for this event. For Corona Lake fishing information, call 951-277-4489 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com