Corona Lake, Trout (the lowdown)

[theangler]

[size 1]Hello All,[/size][size 2]

[/size][size 1]Made it out to Corona Lake and fished the the shoreline from a boat Friday (well not really Friday, I was at work on Friday HAHA). Corona Lake is located off the 15 freeway at the Indian Truck exit. Gates open at 6am and entry is $18.00. Plan on getting there about 5:45am the line moves fast and you'll be in before you know it. The staff is friendly and helpful, and shore fishing is avaiable but for moving around quicker I reccomend a boat, they have motor or row boats and are resonably priced.[/size]

[size 2][size 1]Our goal was TROUT they have cats, bass, and seven species of trout. From our boat I saw people hooking up everywhere. We ended up fishing close to the shoreline across from the dock about 200 yards left of the stick area. The two groups that were fishing from the shore limited out one group had 14 nice keepers and another father and son limited out, The bite from the boat seems to be a little trickier becuase bites are not as easy to read when the boat is drifting and the line is slacking (if fishing from the boat and drifting definetly keep your line tight when it slacks, you will have to retrieve it a little more but you'll notice activity quicker) from the shore just keep your line tight. All of the above is based on fishing inflated night crawlers from the bottom whcih is what we opted to do but we saw plenty of people fishing other techniques that were working (I'll list those below).[/size]

[/size][size 1]The Bait-
We opted for inflated night crawlers (squirted with Crave gravy-natrual scent)and had a steady bite all day, we did go get fresh night crawlers at lunch and reccomend getting plenty of night crawlers the bite is way more active with fresh worms. Also we found that whole night crawlers with a treble hook worked better then small pieces of night crawler (tried it both ways).

Night crawlers on the bobber
Plenty of people catching plenty of trout this way but didn't really try it. They were running about three feet down from the bobber. Note: If fishing this way don't inflate your night crawler.
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[/size][size 2][size 1]Crave [/size]
[/size][size 2][size 1]We saw people catching trout with this and tried it for about an hour in the morning but didn't have any luck.

Powerbait
Wetalked to people catching trout with this and but never tried it.

Lures[/size][/size][size 2][size 1]
[/size][/size][size 2][size 1]Threw blue and white kastmasters, wardens rooster tails, assorted spinners and had no luck on lures

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[/size][size 1]Rigging
We were fishing light action rods with 2# test (one of our poles had been previously rigged with 8# and we only got two fish on that rod all day). They are a little line shy. Talked to plenty of people running 4# and 6# line and they were still catching plenty of fish. For younger anglers I reccomend the 6#
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[/size][size 1]Technique
When I go again I will shore fish from the shoreline across from the dock (I'll still rent the boat, its a long walk) but we did great from the boat casting towards the shoreline as well (they seem to be most active about 25 to 30 yards from the shore) we noticed all our bigger fish seemed to be in a zone out about another 15 to twenty yards. Be careful on the retrieve and retrieve slow, we caught to nice rainbows on the retrieve?[/size][size 2]

[/size][size 1]Company
[/size][size 1]We were handing ou some BFT T-Shirts and met a lot of anglers who love this site! I told them post some fishing reports, so hopefully some of the people I met who love to read these boards but have yet to post, will start posting (you know who you are, join in). They have a great staff and we had a lot of fun talking to them. THE WEB CAM ROCKS! If you catch fish do the web cam, your photos will be on the web by the time you get home, and if you have kids its a must![/size]

[size 2][size 1]Results
All day fish bite! Producing quality trout! I literally can't remeber catching so many quality trout in one day without a real slowing in the bite. There is no bad time to go. We saw a group that arrived at the shore while we went to get lunch and they limited out before they closed at 4pm! They have a BIG FISH (twenty plus pounders) plant next Wendsday, I'm going to try to make it out Thursday, if you see me there (I'll be wearing the Team BigFish wear provided by Booyaa) be sure to ask me for a free shirt!
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[center][/center] [center]My Web Cam Photo

[/center]P.S. Disregard the date on the photo, it coudn't have been Friday, I was working.
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[davetclown]

sounds like fishing in a bucket, [cool] cant beet that action for sure.

nice looking trout, cam takes nice pic's too...
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[davetclown]

I for got to ask,

How did they cook up?

I have tasted sum undisierable planted trout in the past, (Just checkng to see how they cooked up)

how did you cook them? if you dont mind my asking
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[theangler]

[size 2][size 1]Hello Davetclown,[/size]

[size 1]I've cleaned but not yet cooked them, but the fish are planted from Mt. Lassen and were healthy looking trout, I would imagine they'll be pretty tasty. I generally just go with lemon, lots of butter in a frying pan. I have some striper in thee freezer that I am going to fry up with them as well.[/size]

[size 1]As for fishing in a bucket, I guess its easy to say when the fish are on like they were that day, but to the anglers who were shut out, well they may not agree. I always find it amusing to hear the analogy fishing in a bucket, I've fished many natural waterways, lakes and streams, much smaller then Corona Lake but yet this analogy doesn't apply to natural waterways? Also have you ever stopped to consider how many natural waterways (even the huge ones) are planted with fish.[/size]

[size 1]Are planted fish any easier to catch then natural fish?[/size]

[size 1]In many cases harder, I've been hunting in remote area's and camped. During down time from hunting I've fished these remote locations, as many of you know fish that have rarely been fished will hit just about anything (from the stream to the pan in minutes, TASTY!).[/size]

[size 1]On the issue of undesirable tasting fish, that's interesting Dave, I have had undesirable tasting fish many many times from many many locations (undesirable tasting game as well) and have yet to figure that one out. It seems to me fish from the same location aprox. the same age, cooked the same way, sometimes taste different.[/size]

[size 1]I know in game this is largely due to diet and efficiency of kill but have never completely understood this about fish? Kinda always assumed that the same factors applied but don't completely buy that reasoning?[/size]

[size 1]Lastly on the fishing in a bowl statement, In my mind it always raises the other questions I hear asked often that I feel are equally as ridiculous.[/size]

[size 1]Is the artificial bait angler any more of a sportsmen then the angler who fishes live bait?[/size]

[size 1]Is the Fly Fisherman anymore of a sportsmen then the conventional angler?[/size]

[size 1]Is the bow hunter any more of a sportsmen then a rifle hunter?[/size]

[size 1]Is the catch and release angler anymore of a sportsmen then the angler who enjoys the taste of his catch and exercises his own discretion in determining what he will keep and what he will release?[/size]

[size 1]My answer to all of these questions are a flat out NO![/size][/size]
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[davetclown]

Mike, I agree with that statement fully.

But to clarify my “fishing in a bucket” this is my terminology for hitting the honey hole.

But as for actually fishing in a bucket I have done this and have watched for hours others who have fished the same bucket with a couple hundred fish just inches away from where you are standing.

I have watched experienced and armature anglers alike fish in these buckets (small pools) and not have any luck at all hooking in to them trout. (Completely amazes me to see all them fish and not a one will bite. then for about 10 - 15 minutes all of a sudden they start hitting like crazy then the bite goes cold again).

A buddy of mine built a little trout pond out of an artesian well that came out of clif wall on his property (2 ponds 20 feet in length 8 feet wide and about 10 feet deep. he has about 200 trout in each pond. his grand kids fish the pond regularly and on some days they cant even get them to nibble.

“As for the pay to fish thing”. Well the pressure is really on because you have a time limit and no guarantee that you will catch a fish. This is probably the most frustrating type of fishing I have ever done because I can see the fish there and I have thrown every thing in my arsenal at them and they wont even take notice.

But then there are them days when you can use a bare hook and hook in to them till your tired of reeling them in.

I have hunted in the wild and on ranches. The ranch deer may be limited to where they can go on a ranch, however they are a lot smarter than those in the wild, and will give you less of a chance for a good target. Not to mention they are far more dangerous when on the ranch than in the wild. They know that they are captive and can't go anywhere and are 10 times more likely to charge you and do great bodily harm to you than in the wild. (Cornered/caged animals are extremely dangerous and if you hunt them always carry a side arm especially on them boars)

A buddy of mine here in Michigan had one of his legs mauled by a bore on a ranch hunt and nearly died from lack of blood. Needless to say his leg was severally damaged and never fully recovered. Another boar other than the one he was hunting had came up behind him, so he was unprepared to act when he was attacked.

I too was charged by one but was fortunate to be with my buddies and they saw it coming directly at me. at a full charge the boar came with in 50 feet of me when one of my buddies dropped the boar with a clean head shot, ergo saving my hide from them 8 inch tusks. I had been focused on my target when I saw it out of the corner of my eye; by that time I had no time to react.

Any one can say what they will about ranch hunting/fishing verses nature hunting/fishing. But only those who have done both really knows and understands fully the differences and dangers that are involved.

I will say this about ranch hunting; it gives you a better understanding and a greater respect for the animal you are hunting. Whether it be a trout a boar or a goat even a white tail deer, getting up close and personal with a animal that can and will inflict great bodily harm, demands your respect of them in the wild, because if you don’t you will get hurt and may not be as fortunate as me and my other buddy, (living to tell about it)

The same goes with charter fishing as well, I have herd folks say "that’s not really fishing” if that’s not fishing I don’t know what fishing is!!! I have yet to have the privilege of fishing on a charter but hope to one day. They have the experience of down rigging that I want to see first hand before I set up one on my rowboat. I'll gladly pay to learn (fish on a charter) and if I catch a fish while taking the course, well that’s all the better [cool]
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[davetclown]

I almost for got

that nasty taisting fish thing only happened to me once. I had thaought that I had did some thing wrong when I cooked it on the grill at the park when I cought it.

that was untill I came across another angler that was there last year and was there the same year I caught the nasty one (5 trout) we were yacking untill he had cought one 10 minutes after the season opened he packed uop and headed for home.

I thought that was funny that he was doing that so I asked him why he was leaving so early and he told me about the nasty taisting fish he had cought so he was going home to cook it up right away. H said if it were any good He would be right back, if not he wouldnt be back. (didnt want any nasty taisting fish lol) I compared my notes with him and found that we there on the river at the same time and same year of the nasty fish.

this has only happened to me once so I was puzeled but not now, we had came to the conclusion that it had to be a change of fisheries or some thing different that the fishery had fed the fish that made them taist that way.

any way he came back caught hs limit and went back home before I had my second trout lol.

I was just checking notes, thinking that I could trace back the nasty fish to a comercial food source.
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[theangler]

Hello Davetclown,[size 2]

[size 1]I'll give you a heads up when I get them in the pan. [/size]

[size 1]Out of curiosity the foul fish you had, did you notice any funny smells or odors when you cleaned them?[/size][/size]
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[davetclown]

Since I filet and skin them I do not see or smell any thing fowl or out of the ordinary. The flesh seemed to be of normal color as well.

A simple pre cook test will work (taking just a small sliver throw it in the skillet till done and taste) this will save any embarrassment if you are expecting guest.

The taste was so strong I had to spit it back out. First time I ever let a fish go to waist.

This may have been an isolated case but I will keep it in mind incase of future events. I don’t plan on leaving any thing to chance. To many corporations have used live stock feed to rid them selves of toxic waist.

This happened here in Michigan back in the early 70 with PPB in cattle feed. When the rest of the world was refusing to perches Michigan cattle our state government still clamed there was nothing wrong with the cattle. When cattle began having birth defects and dieing governor Millican denied there being any connection between the feed and defects. It wasn’t till the farmers started dieing before there was any acknowledgement at all. Now it is history, the farmers are dead from eating their own beef and thousands of Michigan’s children have acquired birth defects and other health problems from eating the beef on the shelves of the stores and drinking the milk. (But this history is on that should not be forgotten, it can happen again, and just maybe has already with the deer herds)

This will always be a problem so long as the US government allows chemical companies to make and store food and non-food chemicals in the same manufactories and warehouses.

As for me I found it strange that the contaminated feed only found its way to Michigan cattle farms across the entire state of Michigan. Almost as it were made just for delivery to Michigan only.

Some of the naturalist here in Michigan have been talking about the CWD in deer in Wisconsin and out west was similar to that of the mad cow disease in Europe. Caused by cattle and deer eating feed that was processed with animal stock (blood and bone meal) a cheep method of increasing proteins and calcium and getting rid of waist at the same time.

It will be another 5 - 10 years before this will be singled out as the cause, but if you look at the pigmies where cannibalism is still practiced these people are facing the same health problems as the deer and cattle. (No cures available and the disease is hereditary)

In the case of the pigmies this is a proven fact, to make the same correlations with bovines (deer cattle elk moose antelope) committing cannibalism (feeding them bovine waist) is merely a step in the right direction. They are herbivores and not carnivores so it is no wonder that the symptoms showed up so fast.

This may sound like I am looking for a conspiracy theory; let me assure you that I am not. I am just pointing out the obvious connections that are of common sense. It is unfortunate that the government is not as restrictive about the chemicals being feed to our food source as they are about protecting the patens of chemical companies.
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[theangler]

[size 2][size 1]Hello Dave,[/size]

[size 1]Great idea on the skillet test. I'll give it a go as I was thinking about frying up my latest catches at my next Fight Nite (Perhaps the Tapia fight).[/size]

[size 1]By the way I don't know whether to be impressed or concerned about your vast knowledge of pigmy cannibals (HAHA). I'd hate to go toe to toe with you in trivial pursuit but I am looking forward to taking all your chips at the poker game![/size][/size]
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