The fish are peeling off line, making the reels sing at Almanor
Lake Conditions:
Surface temp @ 46.7 degrees and rising hourly. Clarity improved to 9.5 to 10 ft.. 4489.48 Ft. Elevation = full, with the runoff just starting. 1022,657 acre feet storage.

"Prime Time at Almanor" It's on Boys and girls! If you've been waiting for things to improve, that time has passed. Gas up the boat and head for Canyon Dam ramp. Pack a sandwich and a bottle of barley pop.

Trolling has been the ticket, fish are in close, and well off shore...there everywhere. I haven't left the east shore in days, why would I? There's a old saying up here "You don't leave fish to go look for fish." Browns to 2.13 lbs., Rainbows running close to 3 lb.. Even the Salmon are in the mix... some Keepers and lots of shaker plants from last fall. Watch your lines, you could be dragging one of these little guys, wasting trolling time and scaring off other bites. Fast action smelt patterns rigged, or lead core, at 5 to 7 ft. down, has been getting slammed more than another depth. Even though we marked loads of fish deeper, and running a couple lines below 30 ft., the action kept coming off the shallow rods. Steady action too. These fish are just full of energy, peeling off line. My reels have been singing the happy song...just smokin.

East shore, Lake Cove and the Dorado areas have been hot for me. Insect hatch's that have been trying to erupt, finally have. Fish are moving into these areas in bigger numbers and staying there. Why would they leave... there's plenty to eat there.

Insect hatches have taken some pressure off the smelt, that have moved closer to structure and should be into the spawn cycle now. Fish we have checked are now holding more insect larva than smelt, a complete reversal from last week. Swallows from Canyon Dam cruise the top water picking off the airborne ones as early as 8:30 am.

Conditions continue to improve with buku sunshine in the 5 day forecast with a slight chance of a spring shower. But, be prepared for spring like conditions at 4500 ft..yea never know. Fishing pressure has been light, expect a spike in activity this weekend. Aggressive stocking last year, about 300K Trout and Salmon, combined with the healthy existing populations of BIG FISH we already have.

Doug Neal sez:
"Your Best Bets": Dorado, Lake Cove, East shore to Canyon Dam. Almanor West is probably hot too, I just haven't hit that yet! One more thing...Pro-Cure, Trophy Trout...don't leave home without it.

Safety first.
Lake levels continue to rise, watch for floating hazards. Always check the weather before trucking up here.

Canyon Dam ramp is open with dock.
USFS ramp open,with dock.
Almanor West, private, with dock.
REC. 1 and 2, open with docks.

Other fishing related news:
2 Lake Almanor Fishing Contests scheduled for 2012. Kokanee Power has announced their first, Lake Almanor "Team Trout and Salmon Derby" set for Saturday July 7th. Details @ www.kokaneepower.org

Followed by The Big "Make a Wish Tournament" set for August 4th at the beautiful Big Cove Marina. Mark your calendar. Details @ www.fishforawish.com