LAKE ALMANOR FISHOUT - JUNE 22 THRU JUNE 30, 2000
Tom Kilfoil - Fishmaster
Home Phone: 650-342-6434
Work phone: 650-583-5242
Flash report: Friday, June 16th: THE HATCH HAS STARTED!!!!. According to a reliable guide who fishes Butt or Almanor almost every day, they saw hex cases floating around the edges of Butt the last couple of mornings meaning that the hatch has started there. There is a good chance the hatch has also started on Lake Almanor, outside our public boat launch area near camp as well, or at least down at the cove near the dam. Time to check it out is now.
I owe a lot of members an apology. Some how it got written in the bulletin that the Almanor fishout would be from June 26th thru July 1. This is definitely wrong. The correct dates are Thursday, June 22 thru Friday June 30th. I always go up on a Thursday and usually leave on Sunday. This year I'm staying over the whole week through Friday June 30. I will break camp on Saturday July 1st.
For all club members that plan to join the Almanor fishout, the following are my plans. All of you are welcome to follow similar plans. Attached are directions to the campground area where we plan to camp. We plan to leave early Thursday, June 22 in order to get to the lake at least by 3 PM. Last year we left the Millbrae area at 7:05 AM and arrived at 3 PM with a stop over in Chico. Normally by going to Red Bluff and cutting over from Hwy 5 on 36 East should get you there earlier than that. The campgrounds are on a first-come, first served basis. There are camping areas to the left and right of the main road when you first pull in. I have reserved Campsite #53 which is for groups. Look for us near there. I will leave a sign at our area "PFF FISHOUT". What you do is drive around till you find an area you want. Put some gear there or one of your passengers to hold it. Go back to the pay station, fill out an envelope with the proper information and amount for 3 nights. It will be about $10.00 to $14.00 per day. Have cash available. I used to be able to pay with check, but they may have changed camp managers. If you plan to get there Thursday early enough to fish that evening, try to arrive before 4 PM so you can set up camp. Don't leave food out unless you want to share it with the chipmunks. On Saturday afternoon at 3 PM all people fishing with our group are welcome to my campsite for Potluck get-together. People that want to come should bring their own plates and silver-ware if they don't want to eat off of paper plates with plastic utensils. If you want to bring an hors d'oeuvres, chip and dip, salad, French bread ,wine or a dessert feel free to contact me.
If you want to stay at a motel, there are some in Chester but don't wait to get a room until you get there, because they normally are all filled by then. Call ahead of time. Places to call for rooms:
If you want to go into town for a restaurant dinner there's a good
restaurant next to or at Timberhouse Lodge. If you are there when it opens
you can get back to be fishing by 7 to 7:30 PM which normally has been
enough to give you 1 to 2 hours of fishing. Since 1994 however, when we
were getting strikes as early as 5:30 PM with a Hex Emerger, I would
suggest making an early 3 to 4 PM dinner at the camp ground so you can be
ready by 5 PM.
You can launch a boat or your float tube at the public boat launch right
near the campground that you get to by way of the North Campground entrance.
If the Hexagenia are not coming off very well on the big lake Thursday
night, then you will have to do some exploring over at Butt Valley
Reservoir. I will try to get some reports ahead of time to help our odds.
As of June 16th I have a report that Hex cases are starting to float around
in some areas of Butt Lake, just below Lake Almanor. This means that we are
going to be right in the middle of the hatch next week-end , Friday, June
23, Saturday the 24th and Sunday, the 25th. It should hold up during the
week of June 26th as well.
DIRECTIONS TO LAKE ALMANOR, CAMPGROUNDS AND FISHING, June 22-30, 2000
Take Hwy 5 north to Red Bluff. Turn East on Hwy 36 turn off to Chester
area. About 25 miles from Chester Hwy 89 joins 36. 23 miles later take a
right turn to stay on Hwy 89. If you stop over in Chico take Hwy 32 out of
Chico which intersects Hwy 36-89 11 miles from the 89 turn off. Take the
right turn onto 89. Look for a turn off with a Rest Area to the right,
Camp Grounds to the left and you are there. (About 2 to 3 miles from 36 &
89.) Turn left, follow road about 1/4 mile to campground. Turn to the
right into the South Campground. Look for Site #53 which is a large area.
For boat fishing, the launch area is at the North Campground side of the
road. Just as you come into the north campground look for the boat launch
sign to your right. For those wishing to float tube you can launch just off
to the left of the boat dock or right down the boat ramp. Carry a
flashlight with you because you will normally be coming back late when it is
turning very dark.
To fish Butt Valley Reservoir come out of campground to 89. Turn left, go
down to next right. Look for sign indicating Butt Valley Reservoir. You
can start by going all the way to the dam and working back, looking for
cars parked off to the side of the road.
Tight lines,
BIDWELL HOUSE (BED @ BREAKFAST) 916-258-3338
Tom Kilfoil