The final two days of "LeTour"commenced at beautiful Lake Davis blazing wild in fall color. This was a very important trip for me since my clients were the guys who were on my vessel when we had to make a mayday distress call at Eagle Lake. I needed to wave the magic wand and pull a trout out of my hat, needless to say the fish gods had my back on this trip. I arrived on Saturday and went to Camp 5 boat ramp to see who was around. I met an angler who I had spoke to on the phone earlier in the week, Dave is another soldier who stalks trout from the bank and sight fishes when conditions allow. It's always great to hear stories from individuals who ply the shores of Lake Davis.
I rough camped full gypsy style for the next two nights on the log skidder site by Camp 5. Just the bare necessities came on this trip; A simple stove, the 15 pound -20 degree sleeping bag, and my insulated camo "mansuit" that is a must when you're cold weather camping. Once night came it was cold and a bit spooky, and those thumps and crunching sounds in the distance always add a few extra hairs to stand up on the back of my neck. The modern age lends a hand though as I answer business emails, Facebook my thoughts while checking in on my special friends, and running the Foo Fighters channel on Pandora keeping them bears away. Smartphones are one serious tool. The coyotes kept me company while singing the most eerie melodies, and the stars brilliant sparkle lit up the night sky in grand fashion. I pondered life in the darkness and thought of my upcoming birthday; 47 years old and to be honest life just keeps getting better, and better. I feel blessed.
Dan and Dean from the east bay had rescheduled another 2 days with me after the Eagle lake debacle. Talk about about winning the lottery, these guys picked the peak of the fishing at the lake combined with the warmest November weather I can ever remember! Yesterday the high was near 70 degrees at 5,700 feet; I was wearing a t-shirt! Very little wind to deal with and at times many rising trout.
It's hard to explain to someone how good the fishing was and how many hook ups we had. To an average person it would seem like the old fisherman's lies and bragging breath. Bent rods all day long no matter what style of fishing we chose to present flies; Shallow water with a floating line, Int. line with a fast strip, stalking individual trout off the bank, or the Jay Fair trolling technique all kicked ass! In two days these guys touched about 140 rainbows, bringing about 100 to the boat. So much action and so many fish we really lost count on the exact numbers. This is by far the best two days of the entire year on Lake Davis I got to experience - It was insane!
The rainbows ran from 16-20" and some so colored up in a crimson scheme that it looked like someone airbrushed them. These fish now have shoulders to them and they fought extremely well. The fishing will remain good but cold arctic air and snow is moving into the region for the next few days and the end could be coming soon. In any event I'll be back up with a few more client trips after the storm blows through.
I'm kinda sad that this trip has to end, I wish I could provide these perfect conditions everyday to my guest. But reality stares me in the face and I realize that times like these are gifts in life that are meant to be cherished memories. You know the ones that you play over and over in your head that make you grin and put that sparkle in your eye no matter how bad a day you're having. On my way home driving down hwy 49 through the twisty turns I was jonesing for a hot shower to rid my body of that stinky trout smell I had acquired from two days of pure bliss, and my temper-pedic bed. Through every turn in the damp darkness of the canyon I kept asking myself; "Did we really hammer all those fish or what?" Yes Jon, there is a Santa Claus!
