The weather this week has been pretty bizarre; it started with real cold, windy and rainy days at the beginning of the week. Now we have calm chilly mornings that turn out to be warm breezy days. The warm weather is due back this weekend, prefect for fishing. On Monday the 11th we received a trout plant of 750 lbs of Mt. Lassen. As many of you know Lassen trout are the best, average weight is between 3 to 6 lbs with some large size Trout as well.

The hot bite this week has been Trout. Many anglers are reporting having caught their limits. Anglers are catching Trout from the south end to the dam, up to about 8 lbs. The best bait to use is any colored Powerbait that has a garlic scent to it. You can also try using night crawlers or small jerk baits, Lucky Craft, yo zuri are just some of what you can use. Most trout are being caught on shallow sandy beaches.

Black Bass are still hitting on Senkos, Robo Worms, artificial crawdads and shallow to mid running crankbaits. To catch Bass look for cover, fallen trees, weed beds and tulle patches. The Bass are in their spawn season so we ask all anglers to please carefully release all Bass as she maybe pregnant. Remember taking one pregnant fish out of the Lake could possibly mean you’re taking up to a thousand fish out of the Lake. We are really trying to preserve the fish life for generations to come.

Stripe Bass are starting to show up with more anglers reporting catches. Most we have seen this week are shakers, but we have been seeing them from 5 to 8 lbs as well. You just need to work a little harder for the bigger ones. Most anglers are catching them on anchovies, but you may also try Sardines or Mackerel for bait. You can also try using big swimbaits, Ca rigs, Huddlestons or jig for them with hair raisers or spoons.

Catfish are still being very elusive with no anglers reporting catches.

Cody McGarry.

Al Hurwitz of Saratoga and Abbey Lev of Sunnyvale trolled the lake long and hard, with no fish to show for it. One very good strike in the Narrows is trotting a feathered Panther Martin some 30 feet below the surface in the early afternoon. That fish did not stay pinned. The lake level is up, but there remain some of the algae. The algae problem combined with some stiff winds and changing weather conditions made trolling extremely difficult. The fish were 20-30 feet below the surface. Water temperature on top was 65-67 degrees. We used jointed Rapalas, Rooster Tails, Panther Martins, Kastmasters, and speedy Shiners. In spite of "throwing everything at ’em", no fish in the boat. Once the algae settle and the weather stabilizes, the fishing should be very good, particularly for Stripe Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and Largemouth Bass. We are not giving up on trotting for Trout, however, and hope for some mid and late spring bites.