Lake Almanor Fishing Report 3/22/26

The calendar says spring, but the weather says summer. Beautiful sunrises, warm temperatures, bright sunny skies and light winds and a great bite have dominated the Almanor Basin. The lake level continues to slowly rise it currently sits at 4489 or 5 feet below full pool. Flows on the tributaries are still elevated but lack of recent precipitation has them on the decline. Hamilton Branch has cleared significantly and is running green as PGE has installed boards at the Mountain Meadows dam upstream. Remember when fishing Hamilton or any other location, pack out what you pack in. Water temperature is now running in the low to mid 50’s depending on time and location some days ending up in the high 50’s due to unseasonably warm weather and almost zero wind. The trout are on the grab all over the lake. The dam, east shore, west shore and the peninsula are all giving up fish. The lake’s population of pond smelt continues to be the primary food source, however the warm conditions have kicked off some of the early aquatic bug hatches bringing a second course to the table. Trollers are focusing their attention from the surface to 20 feet with a variety of offerings and techniques to temp fish. Slow trolled (1.5 mph or less) worms, plastics and trolling flies are all solid choices especially in baitfish patterns. Running flies and Rapalas faster also brought fish to the net over the last week. The catch is a mixed bag of Browns than Bows ranging from small to very large. The coves of the west shore are providing shore anglers with some action. The top bait offerings continue to be crawlers and mice tails for a catch made up of mostly Rainbows and an occasional Brown. Recent activity has a slight edge to crawlers with garlic scent. The bass are beginning to get active, and the warmer temps have some moving to the shallows. The Canyon Dam boat ramp is open and useable. The outlook calls for a slight cool down over the next few days, but temperatures will remain above average.

Signups continue for this year's Veteran's Fishing Day event. See the flyer below, Click Here to register.​

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