Montana Fish Report

The trolling bite has been fair to good early in the morning and fades by noon. Browns are finally starting to show. Lake Cove on the east shore to the Dorado Inn has been the best and there is very little fishing pressure in this area, with less skiers and wake boarders. Browns to 3.5 lbs. have been hitting threaded crawlers in the top 15 feet of water early and then dropping down to 35 to 45 feet later in the morning after 9:30 am. Rec.1 to the A-frame has been another popular spot but there's been a lot of fishing boats pressuring that area by mid morning. With water clarity so good, we have downsized our lures. Larger Speedy Shiners, that worked so well in the past have not been producing as well this season. Smaller red and gold Sep's Pro Secrets tipped with a piece of a crawler and jazzed up with Pro-Cure Trophy Trout scent bring very good results. Bailey Springs area has been a great spot this season. Bobbers and crawlers, inflated crawlers off the bottom, even Salmon eggs have been getting Rainbows all over two pounds, and a couple over four pounds from time to time. Bait fishing has been the most productive in the lake afternoon to dark. Cricket and Mealworms, 4 cranks off the bottom behind Goose Island, The Spar Buoy, and Fox Farm, have been good, and some of the biggest fish this season have come later in the day rather than early. Bug hatches continue to go off all around Almanor, usually they are on the decline this time of year. Even the Hex hatch is still going off, but sporadically. The Smelt fry hatch is running late this year as well. There's plenty of them, it's just that they are only about 1 1/4 " long , when usually they are about 1.5" long or bigger by this time.Expect the bug hatches to begin to decline as we move through August, and then fish will turn their attention to the Smelt. We have cleaned several fish that have been feeding on smelt. Silver Prism Needle Fish and other smelt looking colors and patterns will be the ticket later this season. Rec.#2,  just outside the log boom, Browns from 2 to 4 lbs. Crickets and/or mealworms off the bottom.  (530) 258-6732 http://www.almanorfishingadventures.com