The catfish and tilapia bites have just seemed to get better during the full moon this past weekend with some quality fish and big stringers reported at Corona Lake. The top catfish was a nine-pounder that topped off a 25-pound, 10-fish catch posted by Eddie, Dominus, and Jerry Hendrix, all of Riverside, fishing from a boat with mackerel. Javier Gomez in photo above, from Mission Viejo, has one of the best five-fish stringers of the season when he weighed in 23 1/2 pounds of catfish for nearly a five-pound average. His best cat was a 7 1/2-pounder and he was fishing nightcrawlers from a boat.

Lawrence Meiko Taylor, Sierra Madre, landed three cats for 14 1/2 pounds, including one at 6 1/2 pounds, all on chicken liver from a boat. Other top stringers included a stringer by D.J. Berry, Elsinore. He had 10 cats for 26 1/4 pounds, including his best at 5 1/2 pounds, all on nightcrawlers. Mike and Joe Hopkins, Upland, landed 15 catfish for 29 3/4 pounds while float tubing the back trees, and their best fish was a 5 1/2-pounder.. Steve and Shearl Stevens, Riverside, landed 15 cats for 35 pounds on mackerel with Hog Wild.

The tilapia have also been very good for anglers targeting these panfish. Louis and Victor Lopez, Chino, landed 10 tilapia for a 24-pound stringer on nightcrawlers fishing from shore. Their big fish was a slab-sided 2.7-pounder, but all of the fish were close to that size. Berach Calman, Anza, landed a 2  ?-pound tilapia.

The catfish plants are each week on Tuesday and Friday, with trophy cats added each week, also on Fridays. The tilapia are also being stocked each week.

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. The weekly plants of brood stock fish will also become bigger and more plentiful at both waters, with fish from 15 to 30 pounds being planted over the next few weeks as part of the "Big Cats-Big Tuna" event.