In October 1931, the Red River Lumber Company disclosed a whopper of a fish story. First a little background. In the summer of 1922, Red River built the Indian Ole dam on Hamilton Branch just a short distance south of Westwood. The main purpose was to provide water power for a hydro-electric plant located along Hamilton Branch where it enters Lake Almanor. The newly formed reservoir created by the dam was officially named Mountain Meadows Reservoir, but the locals referred to it as Walker Lake. Whatever the case may be, fish flourished there, especially catfish.
In mid-October 1931, Red River needed to drain the reservoir to make some necessary changes and repairs to the dam. Of course, lots of catfish were sent cascading down Hamilton Branch, or so everyone thought. It turned out the catfish decided to take a short cut and went down to the penstock that feeds the power plant. All of a sudden the turbines at the plant came to an abrupt stop. Upon investigation, it turned out the turbines were clogged with catfish, and a lot. When things were all said and done there was a pile of catfish that measured twelve feet square and five feet deep. A new control gate was installed so that in the future, all fish would be detoured to the natural channel of Hamilton Branch.