Is Corona Lake a better destination than the Sierra Nevada for this weekend's trout opener? Here are some facts to help you make a decision: In the past week, there were 11 rainbow trout over the 10-pound mark caught at Corona Lake, and the Riverside County water will be planted with a huge load of regular catchable Mt. Lassen Trout Farms rainbow trout, a bonus plant of its trophy rainbows with some fish over 20 pounds, Donaldson-strain steelhead trout, and the colorful Lightning Trout, fish that rival the Golden Trout for beauty. Your call.

The big rainbow this week was a 15-pounder caught by Roger Clay, Corona, fishing chartreuse Nitro Bait at the dam. Brian Blevens, Riverside, caught a 13-pound rainbow, also on chartreuse Nitro Bait from the back side of the lake, while Bob Carpenter, Hemet, landed a 12-pound rainbow on a nightcrawler from shore. David Neder, Duarte, also caught a 12-pounder from a boat with chartreuse Nitro Bait.

While no one landed a sturgeon this past week, the 50 to 150-pound fish continue to be hooked and lost by anglers on both trout and catfish baits.

The catfish bite is really starting to turn on with the warming weather. The big catfish this week was a 22 1/2-pounder caught by Bud Wolford, Norco, on mackerel in the trees.

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 $20 passes has a five-fish limit. The lake's 24-hour passes are available one weekend a month, usually on the Friday and Saturday night nearest the full moon. That just happens to be this weekend during the big trout opener event. These passes have a 15-fish limit and cost $45.

For more Corona Lake fishing information, call (951) 277-4489 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com