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View Full Version : Quality, if not Quantity, on tap at Corona 2-26



AnglerBob
02-27-2009, 11:47 PM
With the So Cal winter trout season in full swing, it was tough deciding where to fish today. Hadn’t seen too many good reports out of Irvine lately. My angling buddy, Bassmaster Jack, was all hot to try Laguna Niguel, which admittedly has great fishing, but there’s just something wrong about pulling giant trout out of a tiny pond in a suburban park so meticulously well-groomed you expect a tuxedoed attendant to hand you a towel in the porta-john.

We settled on Corona, which has had some good reports and treated me well several weeks ago. Met up around 6:30 am, after grabbing a sandwich at the Von’s across the freeway. Store staff this time was jovial and helpful, offering tips and advice as well as vivid descriptions of the various promotional boutique fish stocked in the last several weeks. As typical anglers with the common sense of plywood, we were easily taken in by this, eagerly reaching for our wallets to buy gear. “What if they don’t hit the Nitro bait in Chartreuse or Salmon Egg? Shouldn’t we get it in Peach, Chipotle and Pina Colada, just to be on the safe side?” Bassmaster Jack was especially taken with the intriguing Nitro Crawlers, which failed to catch fish like the real thing, but certainly smelled as bad.

On the water by 7am or so, we decided to troll for a bit in dense morning fog, dragging small Rapalas around for nada. Even throttled completely down, we couldn’t get the boat speed into the no-wake zone, and the fish weren’t up for the chase. We set up camp at the Southeast end of the lake in about 20 feet of water and tried to drift bait. On the portable meter, I could see suspended fish around 6 feet down and what appeared to be a thermocline layer at 10 feet, so I tried drifting nightcrawlers under a float. Got hit once but missed the strike.

Having drifted out into deeper water, we decided to anchor closer to shore. It was a slow pick. Jack was the first to hook up, bringing in a smaller fish (a little over a pound) on a bottom-fished NC.

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/picture.php?albumid=191&pictureid=1506

The action died after that, although boats around us were hooking up. We made a short move uplake and tried again. Finally I connected with a nice fish, again on a bottom-fished worm. This would turn out to be the coveted wily “Nebraska Tailwalker,” which did indeed perform some of its promised aerial acrobatics much like the Canadian Kamloops rainbows I’ve fished for up in BC with limited success. It weighed 3lbs 4oz on Jack’s digi scale (whose calibration is highly suspect, but that’s another story) and came festooned with an impressive collection of free terminal tackle.

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/picture.php?albumid=191&pictureid=1504

Shortly thereafter, the bite died again. Jack tried fishing a minijig and bobber combo and was getting repeated hits and misses in shallow water near the trees. Finally one impaled himself and was brought to net, another nice small fish slightly over a pound. Continuing to pound the area did not result in any more fish, though, so we took a break to clean fish, grab lunch and head for the dam area.

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/picture.php?albumid=191&pictureid=1505

Near the dam, we anchored in deeper water (33’) and cast towards the sunken tree. I got hit a few minutes later on rainbow PB dipped in Berkley Corn Dip. Another nice quality fish, not a “Tailwalker” but 2 lbs 6 oz of line-pullin', head-shakin’ scaly love. I’d smugly considered myself in the lead at this point, but shortly thereafter, Jack tied in to a 4lb, 6oz brute (again, not a “Tailwalker”) and expertly played him in after a lengthy battle on 2lb test line. Then, the bite died for the last time, and it was time to face the freeway back to the real world.

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/picture.php?albumid=191&pictureid=1503

Final stats: Jack 3, Bob 2. Promotional Boutique Fish: 1. Water: 59-61F and stained. Baits: rapalas, NC, PB in various colors, Nitro bait, Nitro worms, Atomic Trout Teaser minijigs. All fish and strikes on NC, minijigs and PB.

Fish appeared to be widely scattered all over the lake, and with the stained water, scents are a useful tool to help fish find your bait faster. We inflated, bathed, infused, dipped and presented worms Gordon Ramsay would have been proud to serve. Knowing the fishes’ preferred scent du jour might have brought us more action, as we saw a few guys really hammering them out there. Most fish came from the bottom on short leaders, but in the cold mornings, they’re near the top and suspended in the water column, so float fishing may be in order.

trashetanush
02-28-2009, 12:14 AM
Nice job out there man.

CASTAWAY
02-28-2009, 07:08 AM
Nice.... Thanks for the post.....

flopps1
02-28-2009, 07:03 PM
Enjoyed the report and pics! Good going out there!

FISH_HUNTER
02-28-2009, 10:38 PM
Very detailed!! Read like a story!! Thanks for sharing :Thumbs Up:

Santa Fe Eric
03-01-2009, 12:09 PM
well written, suspenseful, captivating . . a great overall read!

Nice fishing. Definitely some quality fish!

AnglerBob
03-01-2009, 02:15 PM
Thanks guys. Looking forward to a Tailwalker VS. Regular Trout Taste Test shortly. I don't usually keep/eat trout, but Corona doesn't permit catch and release so I think I might do the alder-plank thing on the BBQ. The Tailwalkers are pink-meated as advertised (actually, it's sort of a day-glo orange hue) and as I recall, the Lightning Trout were pretty good eatin'.