​Lake Almanor Fishing Report 3/31/24
Written for the Almanor Fishing Association

Unsettled weather dominated the Almanor basin over the last week with just about every kind of condition you can imagine, in some cases, all in the same day. Light snow fell on and off at the lake with only a limited amount sticking and usually melting off pretty quickly. The fishing pressure on the lake was very light, a few boats going out and a few people scattered on the shoreline. Changing wind directions made finding fishable water a little difficult at times, but on a positive note it allowed us to explore some new water and we found fish everywhere we went.
Seemingly the fish are very well dispersed throughout the lake, and at a variety of depths from the surface down. Fish, mostly Browns, were being caught at many locations starting at the dam and extending several miles up the east shore. The entire west shore from the dam to almost Chester had pockets of fish made up of a mix of Browns and Bows, some days more of one than the other. Both sides of the peninsula have also been producing, giving fisherman a variety of options on where to fish. No word on the bass this week but I suspect they are not entirely happy with these weather swings. The main diet for the trout continues to be the lake’s population of pond smelt making minnow imitating offering your best bet. Pick your poison, plugs, flies, and plastics all scored fish for anglers this week.
The extreme mud plume that was being kicked out of Hamilton Branch into the lake has receded. Cleaner water has been flowing down from Walker for a week now, resulting in dramatically improved water visibility in that lobe of the lake. Reports from our dedicated fish feeding volunteers are that the AFA Pen Program fish are very much enjoying the better water quality and their appetites jumped as the water cleared. Big shout out to all the feeders who are at the pens daily rain, snow, wind or shine feeding and caring for the fish and this fishery. Water temps all over Almanor remain stagnant in the low 40’s without much change throughout the day. The lake level is basically unchanged again this week at 4487.5, 6.5 feet from full maximum pool.
Looking forward we should have a few nice days early week with more unsettled weather due in around Thursday. Details like snow levels and precipitation amounts are just guesses at this point so it is best to keep an eye out for updates and changing details. Access remains good for this time of year with the boat ramps and parking lots at Canyon Dam, Rec1 and Rec 2 all clear and open.

Lake Almanor Fishing Report 3/24/24
​Written for the Almanor Fishing Association

This week saw both spring and winter weather on the lake. Most of the week featured cool mornings with bright sunny afternoons through friday midday and then we got kicked right back into winter with some light snow and moderate winds. This upcoming week looks as if we will be seeing a mixed bag of similar conditions. One of the big questions I have been getting is “what’s going on with Hamilton Branch?” Specifically in regards to the extremely muddy water coming down from Walker Lake into Almanor causing a large sediment plume far out into the lake. I consulted several of our AFA experts and here is what we know. Phil provided data (as he often does) that indicates this is nothing new and generally shows up each year in March or April depending on the winter and runoff. Brett and Bruce took a ride to Walker Lake and found that at the current lake level, water flowing out was picking up silt that had been previously deposited behind the dam and carrying it into the Branch and down stream. On a positive note, our expert water watchers reported a noticeable difference for the better in the water flowing down the branch today. Thanks guys. Fingers crossed we will see the lake visibility improve especially out from the mouth of Hamilton Branch. Also visible this week was some work being done on the intake tower at the dam. The windows were lit in the early mornings and large water releases could be seen flowing below the dam. Despite the increase in the outflow the lake level remained virtually unchanged at 4487.5.  In other news, rumor has it that some dock repair and maintenance may be happening in the near future at the canyon dam boat ramp. Exact dates and details were not yet available but I will pass those along as soon as I get confirmation. Water temps that were beginning at 40 made their way into the mid 40’s on the warm flat days however the cold air and wind that came in late week knocked it back by a few degrees. Catches this week continue to be dominated by Browns with a few Bows showing, aboard my boat we caught and released the first Smallie of the year and it was a jumbo, further indicating that spring is on the way. More areas seemed to open up with bites including both the east and west shores as well as the peninsula. The poor water clarity seemed to slow the fish down in areas adjacent to Hamilton Branch. Boats continue to catch from the surface to 30 feet with minnow imitations being the most popular offerings. A few boats were seen bait fishing as well and reported some action. Shore based anglers were having some success in the coves near the dam, some choosing bait, while others were fly fishing. As I mentioned earlier we will have to keep and eye on the unsettled weather for the upcoming week but all in all the state of the fishing at Lake Almanor is strong.

Solid winter action happening now. It's been mostly a Brown thing with fish running average to jumbo in the size category. We are finding just a few Rainbows on recent outings; these fish have been running 3 to 5 pounds but seem to have "10 pound" attitudes when they smash the baits. Check out the video below to see a few of the recent catches. Want to get in on the action? Hit the Booking Calendar grab an open date and jump onboard!