Lake Almanor Fishing Report 5/11/26

Carmen shows off beautiful Brown prior to release.

​Bugs, bugs, more bugs, beautiful weather and red-hot fishing have been dominating the landscape of Lake Almanor. The lake level continues to slowly rise it currently sits just over 4491 or about 2.5 feet below full pool. Flows on the tributaries have slowed. Hamilton Branch is running mostly green and very fishable. Remember when fishing Hamilton or any other location, pack out what you pack in. Also remember to fish only at the lake’s surface elevation as the Almanor tributaries are closed until the Saturday preceding Memorial Day. Water temperature is now running in the upper 50’s to low 60's depending on time and location. The trout are active all over the lake. The dam, east shore, west shore and the peninsula are all giving up fish. While some fish continue to feed on pond smelt many have switched to the aquatic bug diet, and why not, it is easy pickings for them right now as hatches have erupted all over the lake. The fish can access the bugs at any level and are currently being caught from the bottom all the way to the surface in many locations. Fly anglers are on the fish running nymphs under indicators close to the bottom for a nice mix of quality Bows and Browns and an occasional smallmouth. Trollers are focusing their attention from the surface to 30 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. With the elevated insect activity also comes the hardware bite. Spoons, mostly in the brighter patterns featuring reds and oranges, run fast in the top 20 feet have been providing impressive action. The catch continues to be mixed bag of Browns and Bows in all size classes. The bass are in spring mode with many still being found on their beds. The pleasant weather has brought many of the lake's seasonal residents back for the year bringing an uptick in boat traffic out on the water. The Canyon Dam boat ramp is open and useable, the west shore USFS ramp remains closed for logging operations. Docks are beginning to fill in Big Cove and Plumas Pines is reporting at least a portion of their docks in at the marina along with the courtesy dock at the restaurant. The weather outlook for the next 10 days looks positive, a little wind mid-week but mostly stable conditions pushing through the middle of this month.  

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