Montana Fish Report

Water surface temps.  @ 38.5 degrees.

Water clarity @ 7 ft.

 

Welcome Spring time...Game On!

Lots of action all around Almanor, from the Dam to  Almanor West and all points in between.

Most Anglers launch out of Canyon Dam so that's a good place to start this report.

 

Bank or boat fishing Geritol Cove at Canyon Dam has been really good. How good? 16 fish mornings can, and has happened all week.

Browns and Bows have been going for a varity of baits, that include chartreuse Power Bait, Night Crawler, Roe,and mealworms.

One big Brown that was reported came in at 29 inches long, It was not weighed, and quickly released, This fish was somewhere between 8 and 9 lbs., he took the roe..

Most fish caught here at Geritol Cove were smaller of course, but it just goes to show you that there are some brutes here.

Even fly fishing green midge larva patterns along the weed line has been rocking also.. with a short, 4 inch jerk/rip on the retrieve.

I watched a couple friends work the midge pattern and they caught  and release around 8 fish each in a hour. Several of these Bows and Browns were well over 2 lbs. not too big, but lots of fun!

There alot happening in the cove these days.

 

The trollers are working the east shore from the dam north to The Dorado INN and back, including me.

We started off with a double hook up of Rainbows just around the 2 lbs. trolling red and gold spoons, rigged down no deeper than 15ft.

 All the Rainbow we caught looked good, plump, bright and clean. These fish have fed well over the winter and are looking fine.

Side finding sonar has been showing fish all around the surface the past couple of days so that's where most boats have been suspending their trolled baits and lures.

I case your wondering, I prefer to run 4 rods off two downriggers, using the Seps releases and stacker clip releases.

2 Rods at 15ft., 1 rod at 10 ft., and the last rod at 5ft.

The 15ft. deep rods caught most of the fish this week.

These releases and stacker clip releases are ideal for ultra light trolling, These releases are adjustable by moving the spring back, our forward, so you can increase or decrease pinch pressure based on line diameter. And most important they don't need to be readjusted once they are set. I have tried them all over the years and there's none better.

I run 6 lb. P-line when fishing Almanor and have not broke off a fish in years.

 I say that because I have seen a lot of broken hearts when a big fish breaks off  4 lb. test rig, I have seen it happen many times, and is usually followed by some curse words.

How bout some quick picks!

The Bass bite has picked up over at Goose Bay and over near the Airport flats.

The Snag, Salmon bite has not gone off yet ,I am still working at it and expect some action before the months end..

Hamilton Branch is clearing up, but the rain may brown up the water by Tuesday, the parking area is clear and useable.

Almanor West, from the ramp to the point...Threaded Crawlers! nuff said.

A-Frame, suspended crawlers 48" inches off the bottom.

Big Cove Marina, the smelt are hiding under all the empty docks.. and the fish know it!.. silver Kastmasters and white jigs.

Big Springs, the cove in the back, Salmon eggs worked slowly back to the boat...BA BAM.

Prattville to the Plumas Pines log boom, threaded crawlers..

There's lots of action all over Almanor..and If this report gets your juice's flowing?

Then take 2 Finassassin, and call me in the morning!

 

The bottom line is, winter is done, and Spring time is here, but remeber at 4500 ft. elevation and little more winter type weather is always possible. Check the forcast before heading up.

Have some fun! Good luck.