Fall is always the best season for big catfish at Corona Lake, and that action is being helped along this week with a full truck-load of trophy cats in addition to the regular twice-weekly plants.

The bite has been good to excellent this past week, and the top catfish reported was a 7 1/2-pounder landed by Sabrina Kessler, Moreno Valley, fishing from shore with shrimp behind the bait shop. Top stringer was a 14-fish, 27 1/2-pound catch reported by Jonathan Aldana and Carlos Carranza, both Rialto, fishing with mackerel and shrimp from a boat on a 24-hour permit. Other top stringers included a 12-fish, 24-pound catch made by Bernard Lopez, Wildomar, fishing the nightcrawlers-marshmallow combo off J.D.'s Point, while Victor Valdez, Corona, landed five cats for 13 pounds total on mackerel from a boat. Thanks to weekly plants, the tilapia have also been very good for anglers targeting these panfish, and a few sturgeon are still being landed each week. The top sturgeon this past week was a 12 1/2-pounder caught by Alfred Perez, Fontana, on a nightcrawlers in the south end of the lake.

The catfish plants are each week on Tuesday and Friday, and this week's bonus plant of trophy cats comes right in the middle of the "Big Cats-Big Tuna" event. From now through Oct. 2, all anglers at Corona Lake and sister water Santa Ana River Lakes are competing to win a 12-day long-range fishing trip aboard the Royal Polaris out of San Diego. Whoever catches the biggest catfish by Oct. 2 wins the trip and the chance to catch giant yellowfin tuna to 200 pounds and more. The biggest cat wins.

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 pay only $20. All of these passes have a five-fish limit. For kids 4 to 13, a three-fish pass is just $9. The 24-hour passes are available every Friday and Saturday night. These passes cost $60 and anglers can bring a spouse and up to three kids to help fill the 24-hour pass 15-fish limit. Camping at Corona Lake is also free with a 24-hour pass. For Corona Lake fishing information, call 951-277-4489 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com.