Fish Report for 9-28-2012

Wide open action on catfish and crappie at Corona Lake

9-28-2012
Jim Matthews

Corona Lake's catfish bite just won't slow down. While the mid-day action has been tough, there has continued to be a good to excellent bite on the cats morning, evening, and at night over the past week. And with a full moon this Saturday evening, that action is just expected to get better.

While still getting relatively little fishing pressure, the crappie bite is also still very good with most of the fish in deeper water around structure on small jigs, with or without a little bait, bounced off the bottom. Most of the crappie are in the half-pound range, but quite a few are topping a pound and running up to two pounds.

For the catfish, nightcrawlers, shrimp, mackerel, and the marshmallow-meal worm (M&M) combo with Eagle Claw Gravy or Lip Ripperz Love Sauce scents continue to be the best baits. Hot spots have been the deeper water off the dam and the back end for boat anglers. Shore fishing has been best off J.D.'s Point, the dock shoreline, and the dam area.

Top catfish reported was an 8 3/4-pounder caught by Dave Berry, Lakeland Village, as part of a five-fish, 25-pound stringer landed on mackerel and nightcrawlers while fishing from a boat. Josh Stark, Murrieta, landed five catfish for 19 pounds total, and his best fish was a 5 1/2-pounder, all on chicken liver. Jeff Chadkowski, Pomona, caught at 13 1/4-pound stringer topped off by a four pounder on shrimp with Love sauce fishing from a float tube mid-lake during on a mid-day special permit. Mike Hurst, Elsinore, had five catfish topped by a 3 1/2-pounder and his stringer weighed in at 15 1/4 pounds, all on shrimp from a boat. Robert Santos, Murrieta, landed 11 catfish for 15 3/4-pounds using nightcrawlers and mackerel and his top fish was a three-pounder.

The tilapia action is also pretty good in the shallow, shady areas on nightcrawler pieces, and there continue to be a few bass caught by anglers targeting the lake's resident population of fish.

Catfish and tilapia plants go in at least twice a week, including both blue and channel catfish.

Corona Lake is still having its five "Biggest Catfish" derbies every weekend. Entry fee is $5 for any of the five permit time frames -- from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday evening, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, and from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday evening. (There will be no derbies for the mid-day special at noon or the 24-hour fishing pass holders.) All of the derbies feature a 100 percent payout of the whole pot to the angler catching the biggest catfish. If 20 anglers enter at $5 each, the biggest catfish caught among those 20 anglers wins that angler the whole $100 pot.


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