Lake Almanor Watershed Group

The Lake Almanor Watershed Group (LAWG) monitors the water quality of Lake Almanor and its tributaries. This water health data informs the Lake Almanor community, PGE, the Forest Service, and nearby landowners. Water quality monitoring is done by local volunteers and the Sierra Institute. Water samples are collected and analyzed to explore important water quality parameters like dissolved oxygen, water temperature, pH, water clarity, and algal concentration. LAWG contracts ...the analysis of this data and compiles them into a report on the health of Lake Almanor (most recently done by Dr. Gina Johnston from CSU Chico). Annual Water Quality Reports can be viewed and downloaded at the LAWG website. After the Dixie Fire, monitoring the water quality in Lake Almanor is even more important, given the likely influx of fire retardant, ash, and sediment. This critical water quality monitoring effort is completely citizen-led and requires funds to pay for equipment, including probes, plankton nets, replacement batteries, and calibration liquids. We need your support to keep this effort going. Donate Here: https://sierrainstitute.us/pr/lake-almanor-watershed-group/

Great work by our friends at AFA

Almanor Fishing Report 10/3/2021 We continue to see a steady decline in lake level, dropping four tenths of a foot over the past week. We are currently sitting ...at 4476.81’ two and three quarters feet lower than last year on the same date. Based upon past years lake level changes we can expect to see declines in lake level until early November at which time lake levels should begin to stabilize/increase. Clarity and temps remain unchanged from last week; we are not yet seeing the algal blooms that we experienced last year. We have been in a typical fall weather pattern with cooler mornings and daytime temps reaching into the low 80’s. All is about to change with slight chances of showers beginning on Wednesday through the weekend. Thursday and Friday our predicted highs will be in the mid fifties and the lows in the high twenties. Air quality has been good. Fishing has been good as fish continue to gorge on pond smelt. Trollers are catching fish using their preferred methods; slow rolling gulps/crawlers, pulling flies at 1.5-2 mph or fast trolling hardware. Find the bait and you will catch fish. Fish are scattered throughout the lake and water column. The fish are in great shape and fishing pressure is light. Hamilton Branch fished well this past week as well, with bait and fly fishermen catching quality fish. Launching remains a concern with both public ramps closed and most private ramps soon to be unavailable. Check with the local resorts for launching access. Be prepared for delays when traveling into and out of Plumas County; between road construction on the Fredoyner summit on 36 to hazardous tree removal on 36, 89 & 70 drive times could be impacted by hours Monday-Saturday. I had the opportunity to fish Eagle Lake twice this past week, once with fellow guide Matt Goodrich and once with friends in my boat. Fishing was good both days we caught our fish trolling flies and grubs with all the fish caught in the top 15’ of the water column. I launched my 24’ Rogue Coastal without issue, we did back off the concrete ramp into the gravel, we took it slow and easy and winched the boat back on the trailer. Eagle Lake is a special fishery the fish fight hard and are fantastic table faire. Eagle is a fall/winter fishery and should only improve from here. See more

Meet Isabella, our new Watershed Coordinator. Bella Bledsoe joined Sierra Institute as the Watershed Coordinator in May 2021. Bella grew up in the San Juan Islands of Washington state, and as a child, she searched for newts along forest trails and boated in the Salish Sea. Bella graduated with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She recently finished her master's degree in Environmental Justice and Geospatial Data Sciences at the University of Michigan. In her free time, Bella enjoys walking, swimming, and painting. She is excited to explore the local mountains and forests and to get to know the surrounding community.

Sierra Institute’s GrizzlyCorps member Kevin Price and local volunteer Phil Datner got out on the lake today to practice with the water quality equipment recently loaned to us by Scott McReynolds from the Department of Water Resources. Kevin and Phil, along with other community member, will be heading the effort to collect water quality field data this season that will be the basis for the Lake Almanor Watershed Group’s Water Quality Report in 2022. If you’re interested in volunteering contact Kevin at [email protected]

We are so thankful to Scott, Kevin and the rest of the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment for keeping this critical work going. If you love our beautiful Lake Almanor, please consider making a donation to support water quality monitoring: https://secure.sierrainstitute.us//sierrainsti/survey.jsp&

Whoo Hoo - this is sooo exciting!!

Almanor Fishing Report 4/18/21 Lake level (4482’) and water temps (50-55degrees) continue to rise. Our spring weather pattern continues with overnight lows di...pping into the high twenties and daytime highs reaching the high sixties. There was some wind yesterday that made trolling tough and we are expecting some unsettled weather next weekend otherwise it’s time to get on the water. Canyon Dam continues to be the only usable public boat ramp on Almanor, yesterday trucks/trailers filled both parking lots and were parked along the roadway coming into the parking lots. Most of the local businesses are taking advantage of the weather, if they are not currently open they will be soon, most of the resorts have private ramps with a few open to the public for a fee. Please check in advance with resort owners to make sure their ramps are open and/or usable. The bass bite improves daily, I have heard reports of smallies topping the five pound mark, as water temps continue to rise they should begin bedding soon. Trollers are picking up rainbows and browns with an occasional salmon thrown in the mix. The bite has been inconsistent at best and the fish are tough to find. You can choose your favorite trolling method and cover water, Arctic Fox trolling flies at 1.7mph, hardware at 2.5-3 mph and as always slow trolling crawlers and gulps are your best shot. The insect hatches are off the charts and fish are beginning to migrate to the northwest side of the lake. Hamilton Branch and the causeway are your best shot at catching fish from shore. Still no reports of road construction projects on roadways leading to Almanor. I will preface the following by stating these are my opinions and my opinions only, I will be making a formal presentation to the AFA board and request our board to take a firm and decisive stance on any proposed cold water diversions from Lake Almanor and Butt Lake. On Friday afternoon AFA Vice President Brett Hurff and I attended a small, limited seating meeting held at the Collins Pine Museum in Chester regarding PG&E’s sixteen plus year effort to have the State Water Recourses Control Board (SWRCB) approve their application for relicensing as they conduct business on Lake Almanor and Butt Lake. The disastrous consequences to the Lake Almanor & Butt Lake fisheries and the entire Lake Almanor community if the SWRCB requires PG&E to remove cold water from Lake Almanor and Butt Lake via a thermal curtain or the Canyon Dam Intake Tower are well documented and all but guaranteed! This is not a political statement just the facts as I understand them, the Plumas County Board of Supervisors was either ill or misinformed when on June 9th and July 7th 2020 they submitted a letter to the SWRCB offering unequivocal support for withdrawing 250 cubic feet per second of cold water from the Canyon Dam Intake Tower between June 16th and September 15th. The Board of Supervisors must take immediate action to retract their unequivocal support of any cold water releases from Lake Almanor and Butt Lake with the intentions of lowering water temps thirty miles downstream! The process of issuing PG&E a license to operate on Lake Almanor and Butt Lake is long overdue and disruptive to all parties involved including the residents of Lake Almanor and Plumas County. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the SWRCB must consider the science and the devastating impacts removing cold water from Lake Almanor and Butt Lake will have on our fishery, businesses and quality of lives. This community must unify and take whatever measures necessary to finally put this issue to rest. See more

A big Thank-You to the Almanor Fishing Association!

Reposting in case anybody missed it - thank you to our Partners at Sierra Institute and our Steering Committee for their hard work.

Almanor Fishing Report 3/21/21 We have had unsettled weather for the past week here on Almanor with a mixture of snow/rain/wind. Lake level continues to rise a...nd water temps remain in the high 30’s to low 40’s. Clarity is unchanged at 5-8’. There is a slight chance of precipitation today (Sunday) before we see spring like conditions here on Almanor for at least the next seven days. While fishing is far from red hot the grade of fish remains spectacular with reports of browns over ten pounds, rainbows remain elusive. We caught and released a brown today that was all of nine pounds, wall mount worthy for sure. We started at the dam this morning fast trolling rapalas and picked up a couple of quality fish prior to moving up the west shore to flag island where we picked up one good fish, we moved to the Peninsula and picked up a couple of more slow trolling. The moral of the story remains, be patient stick to your referred method and put your time in; you just might be rewarded with that once in a lifetime fish. We had the most success in 20-30’ of water and 20-30’ deep on the wire, conditions changed throughout the day. Bank fishermen are targeting fish at Hamilton Branch, on both sides f the causeway and the coves around Canyon Dam with Hamilton Branch your best shot at catching mature fish. Today I saw my first Osprey of the season and also saw a few insects hatching, both good signs of spring. Canyon Dam remains the only open public boat ramp. See more

This is so exciting! Thank you to John Crotty.

Almanor Fishing Report 3/14/21 Water temps remain unchanged since last week, hovering around the 40 degree mark. We are predicted to receive another 4-8 inches... of snow tonight through Monday morning. We will see additional rain and snow Friday through Sunday. Lake level continues to rise ever so slowly and visibility remains unchanged at 5-8’. The bite on Almanor has been ok while the grade of fish remains exceptional, with browns out numbering rainbows ten to one. There were lots of boats on the water this weekend with most of the fishermen targeting fish between Big Cove and the Peninsula. Most boats are slow trolling and fish are scattered throughout the water column. Gulps and or crawlers remain your best shot at catching fish. Bank fishermen are targeting their efforts in the coves around the dam, on both sides of the causeway and at Hamilton Branch with Hamilton Branch the top producer. The bass bite was slow yesterday it will take a rise in water temps to get the bass feeding aggressively. Canyon dam is the only available public boat ramp and it has been slick on the cooler mornings. See more

What the heck is Project 2105? If you don't know, and live or recreate in or around Lake Almanor, get yourself on over to their website: http://www.project2105.org/index.php# It has vital information about the future of our lake and PG&E's responsibilities in managing it.

Aaron spent over 22 years taking care of our watershed. Will you give $22 to honor him? We won't say no to $220 either :) Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our Watershed Groups in honor of Aaron Seandel's retirement from LAWG. We'll miss this amazing man at our bimonthly meetings but you can help us keep the good work going by making a contribution. https://secure.sierrainstitute.us//sierrains/donation.jsp

Help us decide on the best time to host a virtual town hall about the future of the Almanor Basin.

Our very own Aaron Seandel has retired from LAWG. Please join us in honoring his many years of service to our beloved lake and surrounding communities by making a tax-deductible gift to support local projects. THANK YOU, AARON. WE MISS YOU! https://sierrainstitute.us/aaron-seandel-retirement-tribut/ Don't Wait for #GivingTuesday Give Today

Aaron spent over 22 years taking care of our watershed. Will you give $22 to honor him? We won't say no to $220 either :) Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our Watershed Groups in honor of Aaron Seandel's retirement from LAWG. We'll miss this amazing man at our bimonthly meetings but you can help us keep the good work going by making a contribution. https://secure.sierrainstitute.us//sierrains/donation.jsp

Today is #GivingTuesday and LAWG is asking you to join us in honoring one of our founding members, Aaron Seandel who has retired from the group. Please join us by making a tribute to his many years (more than 22!) of service to our beloved lake and surrounding communities by making a tax-deductible gift to support local projects. THANK YOU, AARON. WE MISS YOU! https://sierrainstitute.us/aaron-seandel-retirement.../

Our very own Aaron Seandel has retired from LAWG. Please join us in honoring his many years of service to our beloved lake and surrounding communities by making a tax-deductible gift to support local projects. THANK YOU, AARON. WE MISS YOU! https://sierrainstitute.us/aaron-seandel-retirement-tribut/ Don't Wait for #GivingTuesday Give Today

Today at 1pm will be the monthly outdoor evacuation siren test. The sirens will sound for one minute. In addition - Peninsula Fire District will be sounding the... Emergency Siren located at 801 Golf Club Road on Wednesday November 4, 2020 at 10:00am for the LACC Practice Evacuation Drill. The Siren will sound for one (1) minute, this will be considered an additional test and is not a true emergency. In the event of a true emergency the siren will sound for 3 minutes.

Warm and dry weather is going to continue into the middle part of the week but we are in for some changes late week. We will see cooler temperatures along with the chance for light showers mainly in the higher elevations and far northern Sacramento Valley.

Such a neat image!