Successful line and baits for Corona Lake

[p3pp3r]

Will be hitting Corona lake tomorrow hoping to get there around 530 am. Would appreciate any tips as to what lightest lb test line would be best and strong enough for the medium sized trouts, and what kind of baits everybody else are using. I got me some red and silver lip ripperz, cheese dough baits, and bait oil.

I'm also going to bring a dinghy, what's the catch like if you're fishing off a boat vs the shore.

Thanks. Appreciate feedback.

p3pp3r

[KaliDawgFan]

Use 2 lb test line and loosen your drag. Powerbait, powermouse combo and inflated half a nightcrawler always seems to work for me there.

[p3pp3r]

Use 2 lb test line and loosen your drag. Powerbait, powermouse combo and inflated half a nightcrawler always seems to work for me there.

Thanks for the reply. I think I need to pass by the store to get some Powerbaits too. I have 4 lb and 6 lb test on my rods is it ok to make the leader lines as 2 lbs, about how long would a good leader line be?

[JHDucky]

I have used 2 pound for leaders with 4 pound on the reel. I have had better luck with leaders anywhere from 12" to 24" max.

[the killa fish taco]

3lb Pline works great!!!!

[p3pp3r]

I have used 2 pound for leaders with 4 pound on the reel. I have had better luck with leaders anywhere from 12" to 24" max.

Will make 4 of these leaders tonight, thanks for the tip.

[p3pp3r]

3lb Pline works great!!!!

Seen this one at turner's, only one left. I have a 2 lb Pline I'll make a couple of leaders from them.

[the killa fish taco]

I use straight 3lb floro P line.... Its a perfect line!

[Troutcz swimbait]

Has anyone tried 3lb power pro with a 2lb floro leader,I heard you can cast a jig a mile.

[p3pp3r]

Wish me luck and hope that we make limits. I'm bringing la familia with me.

Did 4 2lb test leaders with number 10 red hooks, got some red, silver lip ripperz, green and pink powerbait worms, trout dip. I know they say K.I.S.S. but Ill bring along some flies and spoons just to play with :).

Any last thoughts which spot we should fish out of, convenient for the kids but with a good chance of landing trout.

Thanks for all the help and feedback, will post trip reports when we come back.

[p3pp3r]

Not a bite nor a nibble.

Got there around 620 am, started fishing right away. It was still a bit dark. Used 2 lb, 4 lb, 6lb tests on 4 different poles with a number 10 red hook+lip ripperz and powerbait worms+trout dip not a soul ever stirred :)

I went to take a walk around the lake to see if anybody was doing better but the trout were not biting today for some reason, spoke to a guy who was fishing a little farther north of the boat dock, who also came in about the same time as we did and pfffttt as well.

Hope to come back and do better.

[Juventino]

Not a bite nor a nibble.

Got there around 620 am, started fishing right away. It was still a bit dark. Used 2 lb, 4 lb, 6lb tests on 4 different poles with a number 10 red hook+lip ripperz and powerbait worms+trout dip not a soul ever stirred :)

I went to take a walk around the lake to see if anybody was doing better but the trout were not biting today for some reason, spoke to a guy who was fishing a little farther north of the boat dock, who also came in about the same time as we did and pfffttt as well.

Hope to come back and do better.

what do you mean not bitting for some reason??? the water needs to be colder. A week of cloudy weather isnt gonna drop the lake temp that much down.

[Fat Tony]

The Eagle claw trout gravy in the black bottle works great.They sell it in the bait shop.Put a small weight inside sos you could shake it up good.

[BigBass777]

The opener started on the 21st so you cam imagine how many fish are left. Either by what died or what was caught. Wait til the water drops considerably. Corona lake isn't all that deep so the water temp should get cold faster.

Made a mistake last year by going on Sunday. 4 of us spent $155.00 (with boat rental) and we caught 3 1/2lb trout. The bite was solid from Thursday - Saturday. Sunday came along and it was dead. Same kind of bite at SARL last year. We had the same result.

I'll stick with Lake Mission Viejo for now. Our trout opener is on November 20th where 10,000lbs of trout is guaranteed!! These pay lakes are a joke with all the pressure they get. Plus they are too expensive to fish.

[the killa fish taco]

I'll stick with Lake Mission Viejo for now. Our trout opener is on November 20th where 10,000lbs of trout is guaranteed!! These pay lakes are a joke with all the pressure they get. Plus they are too expensive to fish.

how do us unfortunate angler get to fish LMV????

[BufordT9]

The opener started on the 21st so you cam imagine how many fish are left. Either by what died or what was caught. Wait til the water drops considerably. Corona lake isn't all that deep so the water temp should get cold faster.

Made a mistake last year by going on Sunday. 4 of us spent $155.00 (with boat rental) and we caught 3 1/2lb trout. The bite was solid from Thursday - Saturday. Sunday came along and it was dead. Same kind of bite at SARL last year. We had the same result.

I'll stick with Lake Mission Viejo for now. Our trout opener is on November 20th where 10,000lbs of trout is guaranteed!! These pay lakes are a joke with all the pressure they get. Plus they are too expensive to fish.


Lake Mission Viejo is private right? I just checked their website, wonder how us normal folk can get it. :) It also says they are stocking 10,000lbs of MT LASSEN trout, the same sierra bows that SARL/Corona stocks.

I agree 22 bucks is TOO much, that is half a normal fishing license. Plus, for the most part people that fish at SARL leave their trash everywhere, throw smokes in the lake, etc. I wish they had more security roaming the place, not just a guy doing laps in a truck.

Just my opinion.

Flame me up.

[Perris Bluegill Chaser]

Lake Mission Viejo is private right? I just checked their website, wonder how us normal folk can get it. :) It also says they are stocking 10,000lbs of MT LASSEN trout, the same sierra bows that SARL/Corona stocks.

I agree 22 bucks is TOO much, that is half a normal fishing license. Plus, for the most part people that fish at SARL leave their trash everywhere, throw smokes in the lake, etc. I wish they had more security roaming the place, not just a guy doing laps in a truck.

Just my opinion.

Flame me up.

I went to corona sunday...the guys next to me had lots of fish....green power bait....kastmaster(silver) n a boat next to the tress, where the inlet is

[BigBass777]

When at Corona last year and the ticket was a short 8 inch leader with chartreuse powerbait. We were sorta near a pontoon boat and watching them get fish every 10 minutes. I had glitter charteuse powerbait and a, chartreuse powermouse. They wouldn't touch the glitter powerbait or inflated crawlers either.

Lake Mission Viejo is a private lake and you need to know someone (LIKE ME) to get in. I could use a few more respectful, honest, and easy going fishing friends to fish with. I don't need any kiss are bs from anyone.The Nebraska fish will be stocked the 3rd week in December. These Nebraska fish put the Mt. Lassen fish to shame by all means.

[JAG107]

That's right, everyone stay away from Corona, it sucks very bad. Too expensive, right next to the fwy, too far away, trash everywhere, crowded as hell, fish that don't bite 6 or 8lb line, can't troll there really...I could go on!
Besides, I need a shorter line when I get there at 6 or 7am.

[p3pp3r]

Lake Mission Viejo is a private lake and you need to know someone (LIKE ME) to get in. I could use a few more respectful, honest, and easy going fishing friends to fish with. I don't need any kiss are bs from anyone.The Nebraska fish will be stocked the 3rd week in December. These Nebraska fish put the Mt. Lassen fish to shame by all means.

I wanna be your friend BigBass777, or shall I say BigPapa :) lucky you get to have your own private lake with your home purchase. How many homes are there?

[Perris Bluegill Chaser]

When at Corona last year and the ticket was a short 8 inch leader with chartreuse powerbait. We were sorta near a pontoon boat and watching them get fish every 10 minutes. I had glitter charteuse powerbait and a, chartreuse powermouse. They wouldn't touch the glitter powerbait or inflated crawlers either.

Lake Mission Viejo is a private lake and you need to know someone (LIKE ME) to get in. I could use a few more respectful, honest, and easy going fishing friends to fish with. I don't need any kiss are bs from anyone.The Nebraska fish will be stocked the 3rd week in December. These Nebraska fish put the Mt. Lassen fish to shame by all means.

green was the ticket! I will be back to slay them.....i will have every color powerbait!!!!!!!!!

[Bebop]

wow you dont like Corona. Okay fish where you want. I have never been skunked there, but that isnt the only lake that has trash everywhere. Good luck in your adventure.

[novel44]

wow you dont like Corona. Okay fish where you want. I have never been skunked there, but that isnt the only lake that has trash everywhere. Good luck in your adventure.

I'm assuming you're replying to JAG107's post. Hard to like a place when you get skunked? (assuming again)...I got skunked at SARL a few weeks back and wasn't a good feeling.... felt like $100 down the drain (was 3 of us + bait and such..). However it wont stop me from going again atleast once more. Infact I'll be at corona tomorw...hope the skunk stays clear.

[Perris Bluegill Chaser]

I'm assuming you're replying to JAG107's post. Hard to like a place when you get skunked? (assuming again)...I got skunked at SARL a few weeks back and wasn't a good feeling.... felt like $100 down the drain (was 3 of us + bait and such..). However it wont stop me from going again atleast once more. Infact I'll be at corona tomorw...hope the skunk stays clear.Man i spent a 100 bucks by myself
lol

[BigBass777]

I wanna be your friend BigBass777, or shall I say BigPapa :) lucky you get to have your own private lake with your home purchase. How many homes are there?

Hhhhhhm! Don't have any idea on how many homes are in the city of Mission Viejo. About 30 years ago the lot to build a house on LMV was $25,000. Now most of the homes sell for $800,000 - over a million. Many people from all over the world move to Mission Viejo (include renting a place) to have a chance at catching a huge largemouth bass. The only problem is it won't count as a record under IGFA (Internatinal Game Fish Association) rules because LMV is not open to the public. I saw a bass this last April about 18lbs. It ate my rainbow trout and swallowed it whole. It left me with a piece of the throat and gillplate on a #18 treble hook. It's a common occurrence here at LMV. The other thing is LMV doesn't get highly pressured during the trout season like all of the OC pay lakes. Our lake dues are $222.00 per year and well worth it.

[5150fishn]

Fished there a couple of times last year with a friend who lives in Mission Viejo and I would say definately worth the $222.00 lake dues. I have never C&R more bass in my life than when fishing there.

[5150fishn]

I realized that I went off on a thread jack tangent with my last post. Sorry about that. At Corona and SARL I do best with the 3#Pline using the power mouse combo. I usually use the garlic pb with a opposing color berkeley trout worm.

[JAG107]

wow you dont like Corona. Okay fish where you want. I have never been skunked there, but that isnt the only lake that has trash everywhere. Good luck in your adventure.

Wow dude, I guess you didn't realize I'm just trying to steer people away from my 2 mile drive-to kill zone. I've been skunked there 2 times in over 20 visits, one right after a monster storm that left the water at 1 inch of visibility, and the other time a hot day in late may.

Back on topic, I've always done best, EVERY TIME, with a 12" or less leader, clear bubble filled with water and chunky chartreuse with garlic smelly jelly. If they won't bite that for me, they won't bite anything.

[p3pp3r]

Found this illustration for a good trout line setup on the web

http://lakecuyamaca.org/images/floating.gif

Share your thoughts and tips on how to make this work well.

[JAG107]

clear bubble filled in place of the sliding sinker gets me way more bites. Slower drop, a lot of the time I get hit on the drop a few seconds later on PB or worms.
Not bashing the lake, it's the very best lake around for trout for my money hands down.

[The Angler]

Corona is on a love/hate relashionship with me. Some days u go and u kill it. Some days u get skunked. Thankfully the times I have gone it more on the kill it side. Yea it is expensive to fish there. But the chances are in your favor to bring home a good catch. The biggest trout I have ever caught have came out of corona lake. The biggest being a 9 pounder. My goal is to finally get a DD this season i can smell it lol.

As for tips I use the rig in the pic you showed and it works great. the power bait that works best is defintly Chartuse and Orange. I usually have 1 rod doing the bait & wait and my other rod rigged up with Kastmasters silver and gold or Thomas boyants Siver and gold or brass. those colors have been the best for me.

[gavin310]

I fished the shore at Corona on Sunday too and did OK. Me and 2 friends got like 8 trout and lost a few others. There was a group of 4 guys next to us and they got limits by 1pm.

We were using 4 lb line and so were the guys next to us. 2 lb, 3lb, 4lb.... it doesn't matter. Some people swear by 2 lb. I don't. Some people swear by scents. I don't. Some days scents work, other days they don't. Some days 2 lb works better, sometimes it doesn't matter. Some days short leaders work best, some days they dont.

On Sunday super short leaders weren't working. About 20" was the ticket. The water wasn't really muddy, so the fish weren't feeding on the bottom. The water also wasn't super clear so they weren't higher up. It was average so I used an average sized leader. Scents didn't seem to have any effect. I tried scents on some of my baits. The 4 guys next to us who got limits weren't using any scent. Just plain rainbow powerbait and sometimes orange.

Honestly, the fishing on Sunday was as good or better than on lots of days I've fished Corona in cold weather. You just have to stay where the water is cooler. Don't fish towards the south side of the lake where it's more shallow. The water is warmer and the trout don't like it. Stay near the dam where the water is deeper. Once the water cools down the trout will move towards the south end.

You need to wait for the fish. Don't rebait every 15 minutes. They're making their rounds and they'll come back around to your bait.

Also, don't always cast out as far as you can. People from shore think they're at a disadvantage all the time because they can't cast into the middle of the lake. You don't need to. You're allowed 2 poles so cast one real close (10-15 feet from the shore) and cast another far out, then see what's getting bit. Most of our hits were 15 feet from shore. (You gotta be careful at Corona though cause 15 feet from shore are a lot of snags.)

I also got 2 trout on a silver and blue kastmaster, both hit real close to shore (one only about 5 feet from shore). Didn't get bites that day on the gold or plain silver kastmaster. No bites on the panther martins.

Anyway, if there's anything you should gather from this post it's that nothing works 100% of the time. Gimmicks like scents and super light line and bobbers and combos may work, but they may not. Sometimes plain old powerbait and a normal sized leader work the best.

[Bogus14]

What I like to do, if the trout are not biting your power bait, slowly reel in your bait as if jig fishing without the jerks. I can't say how many times I've landed fish that way. Spring Green is usually a PB that lands fish.

[Marley]

Found this illustration for a good trout line setup on the web

http://lakecuyamaca.org/images/floating.gif

Share your thoughts and tips on how to make this work well.
The only time I tie a second knot in my line is when I'm shore fishing and I need to use 4-lb. in order to use a heavier egg sinker to cast farther. In that case I use a swivel to keep the sinker from slipping down onto the hook, which shortens the leadetr to nothing and usually kicks off my nightcrawler.
In the vast majority of cases I slip on a 1/8 oz. egg sinker before tying the hook (an Owner MOsquito in size 10) directly to the main line. The more knots you tie, the better the chance of a failure when that DD is pulling back. I use a size BB spilt shot to stop the egg sinker at 16" above the hook. This has the net effect of realizing the benefits of a Carolina rig without using a relatively expensive Carolina Cutoff, I mean Keeper.
I always pinch off the head end of the nightcrawler right behind the clitellum (yellowish band) and thread it onto the single hook (always single for worms) and fish it bail open while resting on the side of the boat. I hang a bobber on the line in various places if I'm shoring it.
An alternate technique that is deadly on trout wherever they swim is the low-tech and nostalgic plastic bobber. I fish the same half-crawler, or a single jumbo mealworm, 2 or 3 feet under a small bobber and let it drift on the breeze. Very effective because the fish are not always right on the bottom.
Hope this helps. Good luck!

[p3pp3r]

The only time I tie a second knot in my line is when I'm shore fishing and I need to use 4-lb. in order to use a heavier egg sinker to cast farther. In that case I use a swivel to keep the sinker from slipping down onto the hook, which shortens the leadetr to nothing and usually kicks off my nightcrawler.
In the vast majority of cases I slip on a 1/8 oz. egg sinker before tying the hook (an Owner MOsquito in size 10) directly to the main line. The more knots you tie, the better the chance of a failure when that DD is pulling back. I use a size BB spilt shot to stop the egg sinker at 16" above the hook. This has the net effect of realizing the benefits of a Carolina rig without using a relatively expensive Carolina Cutoff, I mean Keeper.
I always pinch off the head end of the nightcrawler right behind the clitellum (yellowish band) and thread it onto the single hook (always single for worms) and fish it bail open while resting on the side of the boat. I hang a bobber on the line in various places if I'm shoring it.
An alternate technique that is deadly on trout wherever they swim is the low-tech and nostalgic plastic bobber. I fish the same half-crawler, or a single jumbo mealworm, 2 or 3 feet under a small bobber and let it drift on the breeze. Very effective because the fish are not always right on the bottom.
Hope this helps. Good luck!

I'm curious what is the performance/outcome difference between having just a straight main line say 4 or 3 lb. as opposed to having a leader....

[gavin310]

I'm curious what is the performance/outcome difference between having just a straight main line say 4 or 3 lb. as opposed to having a leader....

difference is your line will always break at the 2nd knot. if you have only main line you risk losing lots of line if there's a break. also you can use a heavier main line and lighter leader.

[Marley]

I'm curious what is the performance/outcome difference between having just a straight main line say 4 or 3 lb. as opposed to having a leader....
Your line will break where it's the weakest and that's likely to be at the knot. Very seldom do I break off a fish while fishing 2-lb. The vast majority of the time I do I get the sinker back, which means the line probably broke on a tooth and because I always retie after each fish, the fish I lost was likely the culprit.
One big advantage to using one main line is that when I pull on the line to test the drag, I know that i'm pulling on the same line my leader is made of. If I'm using 4-lb line, which for all intent and purpose behaves like rope, and I have a 2-lb. leader attached to the swivel, I do not get an accurate feel of my drag when I pull on the main line of 4-lb. and stand a good chance of having my drag set to heavy, thus breaking my light leader. I want my drag set right when that DD grabs my 'crawler!

[jiggaman]

what do you mean not bitting for some reason??? the water needs to be colder. A week of cloudy weather isnt gonna drop the lake temp that much down.the water is cold enough...unless you have been there than you cant really say that. They have been biting since they started stocking lol

[jiggaman]

The opener started on the 21st so you cam imagine how many fish are left. Either by what died or what was caught. Wait til the water drops considerably. Corona lake isn't all that deep so the water temp should get cold faster.

Made a mistake last year by going on Sunday. 4 of us spent $155.00 (with boat rental) and we caught 3 1/2lb trout. The bite was solid from Thursday - Saturday. Sunday came along and it was dead. Same kind of bite at SARL last year. We had the same result.

I'll stick with Lake Mission Viejo for now. Our trout opener is on November 20th where 10,000lbs of trout is guaranteed!! These pay lakes are a joke with all the pressure they get. Plus they are too expensive to fish.actually corona is a great place regardless of the day monday thru sunday you can ALWAYS catch a limit just my opinion

[jiggaman]

When at Corona last year and the ticket was a short 8 inch leader with chartreuse powerbait. We were sorta near a pontoon boat and watching them get fish every 10 minutes. I had glitter charteuse powerbait and a, chartreuse powermouse. They wouldn't touch the glitter powerbait or inflated crawlers either.

Lake Mission Viejo is a private lake and you need to know someone (LIKE ME) to get in. I could use a few more respectful, honest, and easy going fishing friends to fish with. I don't need any kiss are bs from anyone.The Nebraska fish will be stocked the 3rd week in December. These Nebraska fish put the Mt. Lassen fish to shame by all means.corona stocks better quality and more tailwalkers actually

[Marley]

... i remember you old school allcoastsportfishing reports....

Thank you. Those were some fun posts!
Good luck on that DD. She's waiting for you this year!

[BigBass777]

corona stocks better quality and more tailwalkers actually
"
So you have 2 different types of fish being stocked. Nebraska vs Mt. Lassen? How do you tell the difference? The Nebraska have a red gillplate and a dark red lateral line running down the side to the tail. They also have bottom pink fins as the Mt. Lassen fish have white fins. The meat in the Nebraska is an orangish salmon color. Mt. Lassen has pinkish/white meat that is nowhere near the great taste of the Nebraska trout. The Nebraska trout have full fins as the Mt. Lassen fish don't have much of a tail at all.

Corona and Santa Ana River lakes uses the name "Tailwalkers" strickly for advertisment purposes. The original name of these fish are called The Nebraska Husky Trout. Maybe Corona stockes bigger Nebraska fish than Santa Ana River Lakes because they are the first to receive the fish. The truck comes up and over the Cajon Pass.

All I can say is LMV stocked a lot of 5-7lb Nebraska fish last season. No in heck way will I use 2# line on these fish. They are too strong for the line. I caught at least 5 of them big ones last season. The Mt. Lassen fish even don't compare.

The San Diego lakes were stocking the Nebraska trout way before Santa River Lakes/Corona had caught on about the fish. Whitewater went out of business so Lake Mission Viejo was looking for a new hatchery and found the Nebraska hatchery in Bridgeport Nebraska.

Can you imagine Chaulk Mound Hatchery raising 10lb-20lb fish and delivering them to these lakes? Man! Fish that size would be very fun to bring in!

[troutdog]

. no crappy palomars or dropper loops in trout fishing!!! trilene !!!!!! san diego jam!!!!!

I honestly have never had a palomar fail me, from tuna all the way on down the line. I was at the Fred Hall Show and watched them test the various knots(you have prolly seen that demo before) and although the san diego jam was deemed the strongest, it just barely beat out the palomar. Maybe I should learn the sd jam, but I hardly think it deserves the description of "crappy". If anyone is busting palomar knots on trout they aren't trying them correctly.

A friend of mine has worked on a local 3/4 day boat for quite awhile now and swears by the dropper loop for all his drop shot rigs, seems to work just fine for him come weigh in time at the Vine tourneys....I'd like to think he knows what he's doing. To each his own I guess.


TD

[Marley]

I honestly have never had a palomar fail me, from tuna all the way on down the line. I was at the Fred Hall Show and watched them test the various knots(you have prolly seen that demo before) and although the san diego jam was deemed the strongest, it just barely beat out the palomar. Maybe I should learn the sd jam, but I hardly think it deserves the description of "crappy". If anyone is busting palomar knots on trout they aren't trying them correctly.

A friend of mine has worked on a local 3/4 day boat for quite awhile now and swears by the dropper loop for all his drop shot rigs, seems to work just fine for him come weigh in time at the Vine tourneys....I'd like to think he knows what he's doing. To each his own I guess.


TD
I always buy a couple of knots in that contest. Fun stuff!
People should tie knots that they're comfortable with. Always be on the lookout for something new and practice in until comfortable with it, and only then fish with it.
I think a big problem with people breaking off a knot is that they don't lubricate it. You HAVE to wet it somehow, either lick it, dip it or whiz on it. Okay, prolly don't want to do the third, but it needs to be wet. You can burn a line so fast and when you're starting off with a hair it's easy to smoke it.
BTW, Surgeon's/Roy Rose for droppers. I tie it in everything from 2-lb. all the way to 150-lb for grouper. Fast and easy, even in the dark, 100% or better breaking strength.

[jiggaman]

"
So you have 2 different types of fish being stocked. Nebraska vs Mt. Lassen? How do you tell the difference? The Nebraska have a red gillplate and a dark red lateral line running down the side to the tail. They also have bottom pink fins as the Mt. Lassen fish have white fins. The meat in the Nebraska is an orangish salmon color. Mt. Lassen has pinkish/white meat that is nowhere near the great taste of the Nebraska trout. The Nebraska trout have full fins as the Mt. Lassen fish don't have much of a tail at all.

Corona and Santa Ana River lakes uses the name "Tailwalkers" strickly for advertisment purposes. The original name of these fish are called The Nebraska Husky Trout. Maybe Corona stockes bigger Nebraska fish than Santa Ana River Lakes because they are the first to receive the fish. The truck comes up and over the Cajon Pass.

All I can say is LMV stocked a lot of 5-7lb Nebraska fish last season. No in heck way will I use 2# line on these fish. They are too strong for the line. I caught at least 5 of them big ones last season. The Mt. Lassen fish even don't compare.

The San Diego lakes were stocking the Nebraska trout way before Santa River Lakes/Corona had caught on about the fish. Whitewater went out of business so Lake Mission Viejo was looking for a new hatchery and found the Nebraska hatchery in Bridgeport Nebraska.

Can you imagine Chaulk Mound Hatchery raising 10lb-20lb fish and delivering them to these lakes? Man! Fish that size would be very fun to bring in!btw i have caught a lot of tailwalkers that dont have any fins at all lol but they still fight...corona is the best stocked pay lake hands down in my opinion

[BigBass777]

The Fred Hall Show has a booth with test your knot strength. I forget the name of the knot but it was the best one overall and it did better than the SD knot. The only thing is the booth charges $10.00 per try. If you get within the correct knot strength (by each number) they have a selection of prizes to choose from. The trolling tuna feathers were descent but all of the other prizes sucked. The knot breaking strength of most knots broke between 60-70. They set it up (SCAM) so most prizes were in that number system. It was disgusting just looking at the junk they were passing out. Just unusable junk! They had a spin wheel where your chances were better at winning a shirt.

For saltwater trips I tie a triple palomar knot. Haven't busted a fish off yet and it's not illustrated in any knot book. Started to tie knots one day and came up with it on my own.

[Marley]

I always hit the Friends of Rollo booth. $5 a knot, and the only prize is an entry into the finals contest if your break lands in the top three for each day. Nice prize packages if you make it to the finals (I did one year, nice usable stuff as prizes.) That booth that charges $10 a knot is questionable if you're looking for more than knowing what your knot broke at, or that you donated to a great cause.
The knot that won the year I made it was called a "Micah" knot. Funny looking thing, much like a Hare's Ear fly, until it cinched down under load. The know held to 100% of the breaking point of the line, with the break coming about 4 inches below the knot. Took forever to tie. I can't imagine its usefulness in a normal fishing applications, certainly not tuna or trout fishing.

[old pudd fisher]

Found this illustration for a good trout line setup on the web

http://lakecuyamaca.org/images/floating.gif

Share your thoughts and tips on how to make this work well.

That setup is my favorite for trout, works good.