Lightning Trout planted this
week at Santa Ana River Lakes
Excellent trout action continues at Santa Ana River Lakes with a nice mix of limits and trophy rainbows still showing for anglers. This week, the rainbows will be joined by the year’s first plant of the popular, golden-hued Lightning Trout.
“The Lightning Trout are always popular with our fishermen,” said Craig Elliott at Santa Ana River Lakes. “They fight hard and have rich, pink meat. They are also the most beautiful fish we plant in The Lakes.”
Trophy Sierra Bows from Mt. Lassen Trout Farms continue to be a component of each week’s huge plant. These fish have been running from 10 to nearly 20 pounds, and another batch of giants showed up on anglers stringers again this past week.
The big fish was a 15-pounder caught by Layla Diaz, Long Beach, while she was fishing a yellow Power Mice Tail in Chris Pond. 
Kevin Slape, Upland, topped off his 27-pound, one-ounce, five-fish limit with 14 1/2-pound rainbow a blue Mirror Shad. Another 14 1/2-pounder was caught by Glenn Matsushita, Gardena, on a green crankbait at the Bubble Hole. George Sergeant, La Habra, caught a 14-pounder on a Power Worm off La Palma Point, and Steve Jacobs, Norwalk, caught a 12 1/4-pound rainbow on rainbow PowerBait in the old Three Pipes area of the lake. Melvin Lopez, Long Beach, landed an 11-pound, 15-ounce rainbow orange PowerBait with Hatchery Dust near the boat dock in the big lake, and a 10-pounder was caught by Adam Jen, Santa Monica, on a nightcrawler at the pumphouse.
The best action continues to be on floating baits rolled in the new Hatchery Dust additive. Power Mice Tails or the home-made equivalents with plastic or nightcrawler tails are close seconds, and a lot of rainbows continue to show on small trout plastics and trout jigs. Bright colors continue to be the best bet with any of the baits or lures.
This week’s plant of Lightning Trout coincides with this month’s two 24-hour fishing days on Friday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 23. Anglers can purchase 24-hour passes those two nights for $75. With the family special, an angler can bring his or her spouse and three kids 17 years or younger on that $75 permit, and all can help catch the 15-fish limit. Camping at SARL is thrown in for free.
Santa Ana River Lakes is open seven-days-a-week. Fishing is allowed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on day passes or from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on an evening pass. Each of these passes is $25. Seniors pay only $23 with a $20 special on Wednesdays. All of these passes have a five-fish limit. For kids 4 to 13, a three-fish pass is just $12. There are 24-hour passes offered on Friday and Saturday night on weekends nearest the full moon each month. For Santa Ana River Lakes fishing information, call 714-632-7830 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com.
Hatchery Dust Tournament is
set for March 2 at Corona Lake
Corona Lake will host the huge Lip RipperZ Hatchery Dust Takeover tournament on Saturday, March 2. This is a 50-50 tournament with a 100 percent payback of all entry fee money into two parts of the event. The first part of the event is a traditional big fish competition with payouts to the top four heaviest trout. The second part of the event is a blind bogey event with the 10 anglers catching trout weighing the same or closest to the 10 bling bogey weights will win.
Tournament entry fee is $20, in addition to the usual Corona Lake fishing fee. There is also $250 in added money if the top four trout are caught on any Lip RipperZ product, and the first 150 anglers who enter the event and buy a bottle of the new Hatchery Dust product at the tackle shop or have a receipt from the purchase of Dust at a local retailer will get a free Hatchery Dust t-shirt.
Complete information on the tournament is available at The Lakes web site at www.fishinglakes.com.
The action at Corona Lake has been non-stop since trout season began this past fall. Trophy rainbows and limit-style action are the one-two punch anglers are landing this season thanks to heavy weekly plants of trout.
Vincent Van Aagten, Ontario, had a limit of rainbows fishing PowerBait and B-Line jigs. His was a pretty typical five-fish catch that weighed 7 1/4-pounds and included a two-pounder. Alex Esteban, Moreno Valley, had a three-pounder topping his five-fish catch on green and orange trout plastics.
The big news this week is the season’s first plant of Lightning Trout. These colorful, pink-meated fighters will go this Thursday, in addition to the regular stock of catchable and trophy grade rainbows.
The best shore action hasn’t changed much in recent weeks, with the cove behind bait shop all the way to the dam providing good action. Anglers fishing from boats or float tubes are getting most of their fish from the dam to the upper end of the lake along the main channel. Floating dough baits or Power Mice Tails rolled in the new Hatchery Dust, scent-doused nightcrawlers, small trout jigs and trout plastics have all been good baits for the trout.
Corona Lake is open on a seven-days-a-week schedule. Fishing is allowed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on day passes or from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on an evening pass. Each of these passes is $25. Seniors pay only $23, with a $20 special on Wednesdays. All of these passes have a five-fish limit. For kids 4 to 13, a three-fish pass is just $12. The 24-hour passes are only sold the weekend nearest the full moon, and those two days will be Feb. 22-23 this month. The 24-hour passes cost $75 and have a 15 fish limit. An angler can bring his wife and up to three kids 17 and under and all can help fill the 15-fish limit on one of these passes, and camping is free at Corona with a 24-hour pass. For Corona Lake fishing information, call 951-277-4489 or log on at www.fishinglakes.com.