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     Welcome to 2022, have you purchased your new fishing license? You may notice the price increase up $1.34 from 2021, bringing the cost of the annual sportfishing license in 2022 to and even $54.00. New 2022 fishing licenses are valid from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 and are available from any of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's license agents or online directly from CDFW's website.  Anglers now also have the option to sign up for auto renewal of their annual sport fishing licenses, report cards and validations through CDFW's website. If you, like many anglers, were under the impression that new California fishing licenses would be valid for one year from the date of purchase and you could keep a valid copy on your phone read on.
      Much was made of Assembly Bill 817 authored by Assembly member Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) this past legislative session and signed into law by Governor Newsom. AB 817 made it possible for CDFW to provide an electronic display option for sport fishing license items and sell a sport fishing license that will be valid for 365 days from the purchase date rather than the calendar year. In true California fashion, a new law was created that has no way to be enacted. The state announced that implementation of this new law requires "technological infrastructure revisions", so neither provision will be available during the 2022 license year. Given the fact that California's EDD and just about every other department system are also in need of "technological infrastructure revisions" has many wondering if the aspects of this new law will ever be realized.

     While an electronic version of your fishing license may not currently be available in California it is certainly not a bad idea to keep that info on your phone as a backup. One game warden told me that he encourages everyone to take a picture of your new fishing license, making sure all the information on the license is readable, and save it to your phone. A solid idea for sure, but if you are like me and have large quantities of pictures stored in a semi-organized manner on your phone, that one picture of your license could prove hart to find.  To make it easily accessible at all times, create a contact in your phone named "Fishing License" and set the contact image as the picture of your license. ​

     Well, if you have to pick a reason to postpone fishing trips following a couple years of below average precipitation, i guess a "real deal" Sierra storm is a good one. As I write this report the Sierras, including the Lake Almanor basin, continue to be pounded by a substantial winter storm. This storm, having snow levels as low as 2000 feet, continues to dump much needed snow in the mountains with some impressive totals. Overnight the Almanor area saw 9 to 12 additional inches of snow bringing the storm total to well over 40 inches. Even more impressive is the current storm, when added to previous precipitation in October and November, brings our total to right at 50% of the annual average. The lake has been slowly rising for the last couple of weeks and this additional shot of rain and snow will only add to it. So that is all good news on the weather story, now for a few negatives. First off, the roads are a mess. Hwy 70 through the Feather River Canyon, which has been closed since late October due to a massive rockslide, briefly reopened on December 9th but was quickly shut down several days later due to more slide activity. Hwy 32 had a 20+ vehicle accident yesterday involving cars and big rigs that shut the highway down for a time, and once re-opened had drivers subject to 4-hour delays. AFA's own John Crotty, while traveling Hwy 89 yesterday had to stop and assist in pulling a vehicle back onto the roadway following a spin out. Bottom line is, now is not the time to be traveling up to this area. Widespread frequent power outages have also plagued the area during this weather event.  Stand by as we look to be lined up to get a small break in the storms before another round of weather is due in the end of this weekend into next week.
      Fishing wise out on the lake, prior to this series of storms, was fantastic from both a quality and quantity standpoint. Every day out saw double digit and high double-digit numbers come to the net with Rainbows running 2-6 pounds and browns to over 9 pounds, even a few of next year's king salmon made an appearance. This exciting fast paced bite was happening at a number of areas around the lake as the fish were chopping up huge balls of pond smelt suspended out over deeper waters. Areas of the east shore from the dam all the way to Hamilton Branch and multiple areas along the peninsula were all holding bait and fish.  It was a lot of fun getting to introduce a few of my regulars, as well as some new people onboard the boat, to the incredible late fall/ early winter bite here on Almanor.  Once the weather simmers down and things begin to open back up the fishing and bite will resume.
     In other recent news the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp recently reopened to public use on 12/9/21. Use caution as the water is low and the ramp is short. There was a marker placed on the north side to indicate the end of the concrete. While the lot and entrance road is maintained during winter, it is low on the priority list and will likely take a few days following a storm like this to be opened up. If you do travel this way, be prepared with all the necessary items for winter mountain travel.

It is a beautiful December afternoon lookjng over Geritol Cove here at Lake Almanor. I thought I would take you in and show you what has been going on at the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp. It has been about a month and a half since I have brought you a progress report on the operations to remove hazard trees and get the facility back open.  So lets take a look.....

At the entrance to the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp, you can see obviously the sign says it is closed, the gates are open, and off in the distance you can see a few of the log decks that reamin from the hazard trees that were removed.

On the road into the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp parking lot, to the left of the road you will notice the bulletin board and a couple small cedar trees that look like thew have survived. There are now log "guard rails" that line both sides of the entrance road coming in. 

The entrance to the side or "overflow" parking lot at the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp. Here again you can see the log "guard rails" that have been constructed and pretty much ring the parking lot and roads inside the facitilty now.

The boat ramp and dock at the Canyon Dam facility. The dock itself is pulled up just a little bit out of the water, im sure there is some pretty good sand build up around the rollers. Fingers crossed that oncoming storms will bring some additional water to the lake.

While much of the surrounding area was ravaged by the Dixie Fire earlier this year, the resource that IS Lake Almanor continues to draw people both locally as well as out of the area to fish the lake. The Canyon Dam Boat Ramp, being the only year-round, maintained public access point for people to launch boats therefore becomes a vital piece in the economic recovery puzzle for Lake Almanor and the surrounding communities.  Rumors have been swirling as to when the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp will again be open to the public. Three weeks ago, I heard it expressed as "any day now" then a series of unconfirmed "excuses" as to why it hasn't been opened yet. No matter if you are a local area business, a fisherman looking to access Lake Almanor to fish, and or launch a boat, or just someone who cares about the area and wants to see things return to some sense of normalcy in the wake of the Dixie Fire, I encourage you to reach out and let the US Forest Service know how important it is for the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp to be re-opened. You may do so by contacting the Lassen National Forest Supervisor's Office in Susanville at (530) 257-2151 and the Lassen National Forest Almanor Ranger District Office at (530) 258-2141 and tell them to open the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp.

It was announced today by the Lassen National Forest that the Canyon Dam Boat Ramp is once again open to the public. The announcement warned or low water levels on the ramp and advised a brown marker had been placed at the end of the concrete. Officials also advised that future closures may happen for additional tree work and dock repairs.

Well that is a wrap on the Fall 2021 Eagle Lake season. Thank you to everyone that came on board and did battle with world famous Eagle Lake Rainbows. This years fall season featured mostly mild weather with only a couple of stormy days, lots of flat glass water, foggy mornings along with some beautiful afternoons. For us, all of the action took place in the south basin of the lake with many days spent on the south end of the lake in areas like Pikes, McDonalds, Christie and Wildcat. At various times there we also good bites around Shrimp, Youth Camp and the last fish of the season were landed in and around Eagles Nest. The shore based fly fishing was really up and down this year, some of the trips were fantastic, while others had us working for grabs as the fish would push offshore just out of reach of our casts.  This year it was my pleasure to assist a number of people in checking the Eagle Lake Rainbow off their list for both the California Heritage Trout Challenge as well as the Western States Native Trout Challenge, both very cool programs. The lower lake level didn't pose a problem for launching and retrieving the boat, while most boats, mine included, did have to drop off the concrete ramp, Scott did a great job of placing ballast rock at the edge to ease the transition from ramp to lakebed. The fish were looking good and healthy, which is no surprise, considering the amount of available food in the lake. Most of the catches were gorging heavily on shrimp, daphnia, and snails. I did see some leaches but probably slightly less than in years past. It is always tough to shut down the Eagle Lake Fish Camp while the bite is still happening but it was nice to get the boat and trailer back over the hill on road conditions that were still pretty good. Going forward there was a change in the fishing regulations this year the extends the Eagle Lake fishing season until the last day of February instead of its usual December 31 closure date. Not sure how or why the change was made, but if you are willing to brave the conditions in January and February you could now fish it. My understanding is the dock will be pulled around its regular time of early December and that A-1 road will close as usual. That said, I will be focusing my efforts back over on Lake Almanor taking advantage of the good weather and the fantastic winter bite. So to Eagle Lake, is bye for now see you next Fall.  Did you miss out on the fall action at Eagle Lake this year? It is never to early to start planning your trip for October and November of 2022. Contact us today and reserve your dates.

      Well here we are, what a wild ride the last few months have been. Just thinking back, we couldn't wait to get out of 2020, then 2021 said "here hold my beer". A lot has changed here in Plumas County near Lake Almanor in the last few months, I will spare you the gory details as most of you know of, and have heard about the devastation brought on by the Dixie Fire. One thing that hasn't changed is that Lake Almanor is one of, if not the finest, trout fishing and trophy trout destinations in the Sierras. Following my 8 week "vacation" courtesy of fire evacuations and road closures, I was finally able to resume operations on Almanor. A huge thanks goes out to the good people at Plumas Pines Resort, Todd, Jacob, Stephanie and Dave for working to get me a place for the "Mobile Command" and boat and helping me get settled. They also were fantastic in shuffling things to ensure customers of mine could get accommodations at the resort. So upon returning to the water what did I find? Well simply put, the trout of Lake Almanor really didn't seem to be affected by all the goings on. The fish were pretty much in their typical patterns transitioning from the aquatic insects to pond smelt as their primary food source moving into the fall season. The Fall bite has been un-phased by all the unusual circumstances the lake has endured such as low, warm water, and a certain amount of ash and other fire fallout in the lake. Currently the area, as well as most of northern California, is experiencing some much needed record precipitation which will boost water levels and continue to cool the water temps which have been falling over the last several weeks. Recent trips have been producing pretty solid results for a catch made up of mostly Rainbows with a few Browns in the mix and an occasional King Salmon. The fish have been running 2- 8 pounds in size and are spread throughout the water column hammering our gear from the surface all the way down to just over 30 feet in some cases while they chase the schools of pond smelt and feed up for winter. Locations all over the lake are producing fish, top spots include the east shore, both sides of the peninsula, and even up north. The fish are moving around working the bait so it can take a minute to find them. A wide array of gear is currently working, crawlers to spoons to trolling flies and soft plastics are all hooking up. I will continue running trips here the rest of this week before moving the boat to Eagle Lake full time for the month of November. Following Thanksgiving I would resume trips on Almanor, conditions and weather depending, so stay tuned.
     Finally to answer a couple questions on conditions at the lake and the status of certain facilities. Canyon Dam boat launch as well as the Forest Service west shore boat ramp are closed. There was a large amount of timber work happening at Canyon Dam this week as there are many hazard trees that need to be removed.  As it stands now Canyon Dam would be closed through November 30th on current forest orders following the fire. That could be modified or extended but at this point it is anybody's guess. Launching is available at Plumas Pines for a $10 fee, envelopes and pay box are at the top of the ramp. Please park across the street from the marina with the other trailers. The water is low so if you are out use caution as there are some new hazards showing due to the water level.
     As always for the most up to date info follow the social media Facebook and   Instagram 
Tight Lines and I hope to see you on the water.

Well this will be about the least fishy report you may ever see on this page. Due to the ongoing Dixie Fire burning in Plumas County , all charters have been postponed through Monday August 9th.. I always hate to have to cancel or postpone trips, and this decision was not made lightly, but given the rapidly changing conditions i feel it would be completely irresponsible to bring out of town people into the area at this time for a multitude of reasons. Most, if not all vacation rentals have been canceled, local lodging is currently shut down or filled with fire fighters and support staff. Dealing with smokey skies is one thing, but the current situation is a completely different animal all together. Large areas and communities are under evacuation orders which have been very fluid. .Road and highway closures have blocked many of the routes in and out of our area and are filled with emergency vehicle traffic. The health and safety of my friends and clients is paramount, that combined with the previous mentioned conditions, have obligated me to temporarily shut down fishing operations. I have reached out to all the parties affected by this decision and anyone with a postponed trip will receive priority on future open dates once fishing resumes. I assure you, I am monitoring the situation closely and will be back at it once it is safe to do so. In the mean time I will continue to post fire, road and evacuation updates on my social media feeds so check those out for the most current info. Facebook and Instagram @bigdaddysguideservice and Twitter @bigtroutguide A huge shout out and thank you to all of the personnel from all over the world here to help our area. Be safe out there.

     Not typically how I would start out a fishing report but until further notice all fishing charters have been postponed due to the Dixie Fire burning west of Lake Almanor. I have been reaching out to customers who have trips booked about a week in advance to let them know the circumstances. Things are currently in a holding pattern here as the entire west shore of the lake is under mandatory evacuation, with Chester, the peninsula and east shore being under and evacuation warning. I ran my last charter on Monday July 19th and had a fantastic day that included some great fish and only moderately smoky skies. What followed, that afternoon, once I was off the water was a pretty good indicator it was time to pull the plug. The fire intensity really picked up sending waves of ash falling down on us on the west shore. About 3 pm a combination of dense smoke with thunder clouds above it blacked out the sun to the point that outdoor activities required flashlights to see. Then the rain started, while nice to dampen things down, it turned the ash to mud and also had a massive amount of lightning with it. Nothing I hate more than having to cancel trips, but faced with all these conditions the responsible thing to do for the health and safety of my customers was to begin to notify them and shut down for a while. Hopefully this fire will be stopped and put to bed sooner than later and we can get back to fishing. Stay tuned for updated information. For regular updates check out the social media outlets Facebook and Instagram @bigdaddysguideservice and Twitter @BigTroutGuide I have been posting regular fire info and updates to keep customers, fishermen and lake lovers informed.

Now for the fishing portion of this report. Prior to shutting down the fish at Lake Almanor were getting into a pretty solid summer time pattern. Typical for this time of year, many of the fish that had been focusing on bugs as their main food supply start to turn their attention to pond smelt. The aquatic bug hatches, while still happening, tend to slow down this time of year, the famed Hex Fly hatch is all but over and the idea of fresh meat in the form of pond smelt is am easy transition for the trout. On recent trips my customers have been battling mostly Bows from 2 to 8 pounds, some big Browns to just short of the double digit mark and a few Kings, most in the 2-3 pound range with some topping the 5 pound mark. The bite was a little up and down, some of the days were spectacular numbers, and for those that were keeping fish, quick limits. Other days the bite would start good but die off quickly leaving us to scratch up what we could for the rest of the morning. Fortunately Lake Almanor has a way of providing some pretty awesome results and on most of the slower days I was able to get some folks on some pretty epic Browns. Im looking forward to getting back on the water and back on the fish. Stay tuned.

Hard to believe it is already May this year is flying by. Despite a mild winter and lower lake levels Almanor this spring has not disappointed, fishing overall has been great. That said there have been a few tough days on the water and some where we have had to grind them out but for those that endure the rewards have been sweet. Quality, quality, quality is what Lake Almanor is all about and this year has been no exception, i have been lucky enough to slide the net under several double digit weight fish for customers, a good number of 7, 8 and 9 pounders and more 5 and 6 pound fish than I can count. We had to do a little pivot due to lower than usual water levels to stay on the fish in February and March where most of the catch is made up of Browns feeding on pond smelt. The train kept rolling through "Brown Town" in early April with only a few bows and even fewer salmon showing. As we moved into mid April the Bows re-emerged from their spawning mode and began to show up on the lines with regularity and feasting on the aquatic bug hatches going on all over the lake. Right now it is bug hatches from one end of the lake to the other all of them potentially attracting fish, this could explain the fact that we have been fishing a wide variety of areas around the lake. Last few days out the bite has not been easy with strong winds also playing into the equation. Look for more spring time action as we move through May and into June. Been a while since I had time to update the web site report but as usual check us out on the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram @bigdaddysguideservice for the latest updates and see what is going on.
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