Fishing Report

From the Almanor Fishing Association

 Road work continues 89/70, 36 & 32 if you are traveling from the valley to Almanor plan on delays and perhaps even multiple delays some lasting 20 to 30 minutes.  
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Lake levels are beginning to drop, while Almanor is currently full, as water level recedes we will begin to see navigational hazards appear. Water clarity remains in the 20 to 23 foot range and water temps continue to rise. I checked the water temp yesterday in 60’ of water and found the following 73 degrees on the surface, 73 at 5 foot, 72.8 at 10 feet, 72.8 at 15, 72.7 at 20, 72 at 25, 71 at 30, 68.6 at 35, 60.6 at 40, 54.3at 45, 52.3 at 50, 51.4 at 55 and 50.2 at 60. Use this information as you see fit, we targeted fish in 35 plus feet of water.

Fishing was tough this past week as fishermen struggled to catch fish after the sun hit the water. Yesterday we started off with three smaller fish (two rainbows and one salmon) had three other grabs lost a nice salmon at the boat and went an hour without a grab before heading to the barn at 9:30. Crawlers and gulps were our baits of choice, we had two dodger’s out and two naked lines all on a size 8 hook trolled at 1 MPH. Hamilton Branch, A-Frame, Rec # 2, East Shore, Rocky Point and Almanor West are all good places to start.

I spoke to a couple of bass fishermen this past week and both said the bite was tough. Fly fishing pressure in the evenings has dissipated with a few float tubers targeting fish keyed in on Hex’s. I did see lots of Hex casings at Hamilton Branch yesterday there is just no consistency to the hatch this late in the season.
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I have attempted to avoid the issue of boating etiquette and I seriously doubt that any comments made here are going to change or influence anyone’s boating habits, but after witnessing a boat at full throttle run through the fishing fleet yesterday I would be remiss for not using this opportunity to address a couple of boating practices that should be common sense. First; minimize time at the boat ramp, be prepared, pull your boat forward or move it back to allow for the next boat to load or unload, remove straps, attach bumpers, load ice chests, chairs, fishing gear and check plugs prior to backing down the ramp. Keep the ramp clear, Bryan Roccucci posted a picture yesterday that shows multiple safety hazards and violations at the USFS Public ramp on the west shore. When boating take a wide berth around fishing boats, most fishing boats are trolling slow, close to shore. Please go around the fishing boats, as mentioned the boat yesterday traveling at full throttle went down the middle of a large group of fishermen (between my boat and Doug Neal’s and within 50’ of both) this is at least the 10th time this year that I have witnessed such behavior. Lastly if you see someone struggling offer a hand (especially at the ramp) we have all had times when things just aren’t going as planned and a helping hand would be appreciated.