The fishing continues to be spotty.  Wind has been an issue as well as soft, short striking fish.  It's all added up to days of just a handful of fish.  Still not bad considering one is generally plenty if you're looking to enjoy a day on the lake and take a fish home to barbecue.  I've been fishing slow in the morning and speeding it up in the afternoons.  It's not uncommon to get 5 or 6 takedowns off the downrigger in the morning and lose them before they get to the net.  The fish are just nibbling.  I've been fishing predominately on the west side still, working my way along the banks south of Bailey Creek pulling mini crawlers.  Once the sun comes up I'm mostly moving to the south west side to target the boat launches with Speedy Shiners, Arctic Fox trolling flies, or Needlefish.  The fish are scattered and it's just time in the field to be successful.  Don't expect anything lights out and you won't be disappointed.  

The big news here, and the real reason for the article is to let you know that the Hex Hatch is starting.  Hexagenia Mayflies are maturing and surfacing in the southern section of the lake.  You know what this means.  If you don't, you should.  The mayfly hatch is possibly Almanor's most talked about and looked forward to event on the water.  Certainly every fisherman who spends any time up here starts predicting and talking about it.  If you don't fish, then perhaps you're more interested in the July fireworks, but that's for another page.  You're going to start seeing float tubes and fly fisherman from across the state converging on this beautiful lake to spend their evenings nymphing for large trout and even small mouthed bass.  It's a sight worth seeing and if you care to suspend a bait.  It makes for an enjoyable evening on the water.  I'll be targeting large fish in the mornings as the nymphs are present in the water all day before predominately surfacing and flying off to breed in the evenings.

Good luck.  And please practice patience and understanding as you share the water.  There is a lot of congestion at the boat ramps this time of year.