Lake Davis Fishing Report 10/14

Week 2 of my Gypsy Tour and its special time at Lake Davis, leaves are dramatically glowing away with fall color and migratory birds are stopping by for a brief camp over before moving to lower elevations. Every one of my guests spoke out loud in appreciation of Lake Davis, from its wildlife, to the native grasses, and plants that thrive on the rich shoreline. The weather has been incredible with some sunny windless days and a few teasers of snow. Mornings have been cold in the high 20’s, and the boat ride to the productive areas of the lake has been even colder. Fishing pressure is light some days and heavier on others. Many fly anglers are bunched up and there are plenty of areas for you to explore and find a super pod for your own with a bit of solitude. Hint; find large weed beds with ledges and edges and work the outside perimeter.

The last week has seen an extreme change in the trout’s behavior; fish are now on a feeding binge. Multiple strikes in succession during the same presentation are common at this time. Using heaver tippet is not a problem and 3x is great insurance with these large trout. Bigger flies and faster retrieves are getting even more attention and hook ups as well. The bottom line is the fish are getting really stupid.

Water temps in the shallows of secluded coves have been 46-54, and the main body of the lake is running 48-55. I've noticed the trout start coming into the shallows around 9am, with bigger numbers showing up just before noon when the temps come up to 51. As the water warms in the skinny water aquatic insects become more active and it’s just so much more comfortable for the trout to cruise for food items. The ospreys are gone, and the pelicans are thinning out too; the trout love that and are at ease.

Site fishing was spectacular on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday! Many trout were stalked in 1-3 feet of water with 10-20 foot presentations. It is such a rush to hunt a fish and put the fly right in front of them only to see them turn and inhale your humble offering. It never gets old for me. Most of my guests are so blown away at how close one can get and fool one of these beautiful rainbows. If you've never seen this before you will be shocked at how easy it is to spot them during the right conditions. It’s quite incredible!

The heaviest concentrations of fish can be found from Jenkins Point to Cow Creek, Bluff Cove and points north to Mosquito Slough. Today the middle lake provided better action than the North with bigger fish. If you're catching lots of small fish and want bigger ones, move to another location. Big fish will push out smaller fish for prime feeding areas. 

I have found numerous large snail shells and live specimens in the Northern part of the lake. I even got to see a large trout take one off the surface right in front of me, you would think the fish would gingerly slurp this tasty morsel down, but instead a very aggressive take and suck was witnessed. The trout just sat in one spot like a lazy cow and grinded the snail up in its jaws with bits of shell floating out from its mouth, then slowly finned off to find another. It's simple observations like this that pleases me the most.

Productive flies this week starting with the most effective have been UV2 Sheep Creek Specials in peacock #10-12, fiery rust, brown, and black wiggle tails #10-12. I've been using some prototype wiggle tails with a UV2 dubbed body picked out, and a sparse amount of wispy rabbit fur for the tail and getting good results, just something a little different than the normal patterns being stripped by others. Large leech patterns or Jay Fair trolling flies #6-8 in brown and cinnamon have been hammering bigger fish.

The weather looks to be fantastic this week with sunny skies through the weekend, let’s hope for a few calm days that allows for that stellar sight fishing game to become real. See you on the water, I’ll be wallowing in the mud off the banks hunting trout and passing on the knowledge.