Marley
10-16-2011, 05:11 PM
It was 3:30 am and all I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep but I knew that if I did, I would never make it out fishing. I knew that there would be several possible posts for today :Wink: and the options ran through my mind as I listened to Pink Floyd’s The Wall (a staple and just about the perfect length for the drive and wait in line.) But as I drove and listened I also watched the outside temperature on the instrument panel and as the temperature actually dropped the farther east and south I went, I knew there would be only one post needed...
I started my day from my rental boat at the dam, anchored in 66-degree water and tossing my beloved half-crawler, this day fished 3 feet under a bobber. It did not take long for the first takedown and 20 minutes after that fish went into the basket I was cranking the cranker on my second Mt. Lassen rainbow of the morning. A short move into the War Zone and I quickly tagged the rest of my limit. Bought a second pass and returned to the area to find some friendly faces in float tubes (fun morning, boys!) I very quickly filled the second pass and was off the water by 10:45.
What worked for me today was nightcrawlers. Nine of my ten fish, and the one takedown I missed, came on ye olde garden hackle, the herbed wigglers (sans herb this day.) The other, and part of a double hookup, came on garlic Power Bait. I started the day fishing half crawlers three feet under a bobber and then switched to the Carolina-rigged blown half fished 18” up (the perfect presentation for trout, IMO.) The tubers were having a bit of difficulty today with the artificial, which hints that the water is still a bit warm for an all-out plastics bite. But with fish so willing to bite, it won’t take long for that to change.
The lake looks fantastic! Clean, greenish-white water in the wake behind the boat and a little duckweed at the dam speak of a lake that is happy. The water was 66 degrees at the dam at sunrise and you know it rose under the 93-degree noon sun but the fish did not seem to mind and were very willing to bite.
While a boat was nice to have today, people from shore caught a lot of fish. If you aren’t in the first ten or so cars to go through the gates and have a tried-and-true spot in mind, my guess is that you would not have done well today. I saw fish caught from the dam to the lower stairs but the best spot did not offer a lot of shoreline space to share. If you go, try and get a boat or float tube.
There has been some discussion about the lake’s “No Catch and Release” rule. Please, honor this rule and don’t do it. There were some guys releasing fish that would have put them way over their limits (they did not have second passes) and chose to release the extra fish. They left a dozen fish floating when they pulled off their spot. There are plenty of fish to catch, but not a single one to waste. What a shame those two maroons killed all those fish and left them floating.
Corona Lake is off to a great start that bodes well for a phenomenal season. Get out there, go early and go often!
edit: I did not tke my camera so no pics from me. However, I have it on good authority that there is video documentation somewhere out there...
I started my day from my rental boat at the dam, anchored in 66-degree water and tossing my beloved half-crawler, this day fished 3 feet under a bobber. It did not take long for the first takedown and 20 minutes after that fish went into the basket I was cranking the cranker on my second Mt. Lassen rainbow of the morning. A short move into the War Zone and I quickly tagged the rest of my limit. Bought a second pass and returned to the area to find some friendly faces in float tubes (fun morning, boys!) I very quickly filled the second pass and was off the water by 10:45.
What worked for me today was nightcrawlers. Nine of my ten fish, and the one takedown I missed, came on ye olde garden hackle, the herbed wigglers (sans herb this day.) The other, and part of a double hookup, came on garlic Power Bait. I started the day fishing half crawlers three feet under a bobber and then switched to the Carolina-rigged blown half fished 18” up (the perfect presentation for trout, IMO.) The tubers were having a bit of difficulty today with the artificial, which hints that the water is still a bit warm for an all-out plastics bite. But with fish so willing to bite, it won’t take long for that to change.
The lake looks fantastic! Clean, greenish-white water in the wake behind the boat and a little duckweed at the dam speak of a lake that is happy. The water was 66 degrees at the dam at sunrise and you know it rose under the 93-degree noon sun but the fish did not seem to mind and were very willing to bite.
While a boat was nice to have today, people from shore caught a lot of fish. If you aren’t in the first ten or so cars to go through the gates and have a tried-and-true spot in mind, my guess is that you would not have done well today. I saw fish caught from the dam to the lower stairs but the best spot did not offer a lot of shoreline space to share. If you go, try and get a boat or float tube.
There has been some discussion about the lake’s “No Catch and Release” rule. Please, honor this rule and don’t do it. There were some guys releasing fish that would have put them way over their limits (they did not have second passes) and chose to release the extra fish. They left a dozen fish floating when they pulled off their spot. There are plenty of fish to catch, but not a single one to waste. What a shame those two maroons killed all those fish and left them floating.
Corona Lake is off to a great start that bodes well for a phenomenal season. Get out there, go early and go often!
edit: I did not tke my camera so no pics from me. However, I have it on good authority that there is video documentation somewhere out there...