It's already feeling like autumn at Lake Almanor, according to Doug Neal at Almanor Fishing Adventures. "The bite is really happening!" said Neal. "Bailey Springs is producing some great fish early in the morning; including some rainbows over five pounds. Best bet is fly fishing from boat or shore, or floating a crawler off the bottom with a 42-inch leader. Trolling is not advised due to floating grass.

"Trollers should try Rec1, with two fish reported last week over 30 inches. Besides trolling a gold dodger and crawler, drifting crickets, meal worms or crawlers eight to 12 feet off the bottom has yielded several fish over five pounds.

"The Big Springs salmon bite is back. Most of the fish are under 18 inches. Anchovy tails usually get the most attention, but a couple of days it was a half-nightcrawler on a no.8 hook. The springs way back in the cove are a hot spot too. Plenty of big rainbows back there are biting on red salmon eggs. Put as many as you can get on a hook, cast it out and let it sink to the bottom. Then move it slowly back to the boat."

Neal added, "The lake levels are still high, but will be on the decline as we move toward summers end. All ramps around the lake are operational."