Fish Report for 2-17-2016

Trout are Biting

2-17-2016
Doug Neal

Surface temps 39 to 40 degrees.
Clarity: east basin poor, about 2.5 ft. , west basin 6 ft..
The latest Lake Almanor lake level from Dept. of Water Resources As of 2/5/2016
4480.48 foot elevation. 798,665 acre feet storage.
Currently, light rain, with some snow in the forecast for the next 32 hours. Clearing out by the weekend.

It was blue skies here for the last 10 days, so we hit the water several times last week. Clarity in the north end of the east basin is poor, call it funky.

The Hamilton Branch has cleared a little, but is still flowing in brown runoff, which is the problem.
The Powerhouse is flowing again, after being off since PGE drained Mountain Meadows Reservoir late last year. And that additional flow is brown water as well, adding to the already funky conditions.
It improves as you head south toward the Dorado on to the dam. Canyon Dam ramp is looking good with dock in place.
The west side is much better. Goose Island to the USFS ramp, all the way to Airport Flats, with clarity improving along the way. Fish were getting noticeably active after about 9:30 -10:00.

Fish rings on the surface were easy to spot, as the lake was flat as glass.
Trolling Fast action lures in the top 15 ft. of water brought in Rainbows, all in the 2.2 to 2.6 class. All cookie cutters. No real big fish, but enough to make in worthwhile.

Fishing pressure has been light with a spike of activity from Friday thru Sunday morning. Looks like another round of spring like weather in the forecast. If that’s the case, expect a few bug hatch to “pop off” drawing the attention of hungry Trout.

The Almanor West area is usually one of the places that gets active during these warming trends. The east shore is another. However with clarity better on the west side, I think that would be my first choice.

Best bank fishing reports are coming out of Geritol Cove at Canyon Dam. Several Rainbows to 3.8 lbs. hitting flies on the surface, and Power Bait floated off the bottom.

Rising lake levels have begun to “refloat” logs and big sticks Watch where your going, there a few big logs out there. There's still a chance of ice forming overnight. Watch for that also, but most of it is thin, and melts away by 10:00 am.

Public Canyon Dam ramp, open with dock.
Public USFS ramp is open, but the dock is not in place, probably wont be for awhile.
Private Almanor West ramp, useable, no dock.
Private LACC ramps at Rec. 1&2 are open with docks.

Got to wonder if El Nino is done? will the drought return?



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