The spring like weather was nice while it lasted. The last several days it has been all winter with colder air, chilly winds and several inches of snow that fell Saturday night into Sunday morning in the Almanor basin. The tributaries are flowing into the lake at an increasing rate especially as warmer days mean more snowmelt. Even the super ditch began to flow this week. Hamilton Branch continues to push some dirty water out into the lake and reports of fish caught in the branch are slim. More fisherman are beginning to show, especially on the nicer days. Some bank anglers got in on the action along the east shore casting minnow imitating lures. This week saw a big increase of bass boats as anglers fishing the Mountain Bass tournament hit the water in search of smallies. I spoke to several boats out on the water during the tournament on Saturday and all were reporting some bass in the live wells and plenty of trout chasing their baits. Water temps that were on the rise mid week succumbed to the winter blast the last few days that kicked them back into the lower 40’s. Lake level edged up slightly now sitting just above 4488 feet. Despite the cold conditions the last few days, sporadic bug hatches are happening and trout continue to transition from an all pond smelt diet to the readily available aquatic insects. Browns of all sizes were caught all around the lake this week. More Rainbows continue to show up as we get further into spring, even a few salmon bent some rods this week. Fish were reported at a variety of depths in recent days. Trout fell to top lines as well as rigs worked down to 30 feet on downriggers and just about everywhere in between. Multiple techniques were hooking fishermen up, top lined plugs, fast trolled hardware like Speedy Shiners and slow worked flies and plastics all connected with fish. The weather is forecast to trend to more spring like conditions as we head into this next week. Fish the gear you have confidence in, at the locations you like and you most likely will be rewarded.
Pictured: a hearty angler braves the winter conditions in hopes of enticing a fish to eat his fly.
