Pumpkin Trout Insanity

Ghosts, goblins, and witches are the standard when it comes to Halloween, so what is it about this last day of October that has produced the most incredible fishing I have ever experienced? Only those in the afterlife have the answer I suppose. The two significant days that revolve around in my mind and give me flashes of grand display from time to time would be the McCloud River in 98 presenting the October Caddis dry to so many large trout it could never be duplicated. The other was when a close fishing buddy and I found an active feeding pod off Pelican Point at Eagle Lake in 2001, a hundred plus fish gave us game for 3 days and the biggest catch rates I have ever seen on the pond. Days on the water like these may not ever happen again. Days like these are golden memories that will never be forgotten.

It happened again this past Halloween on the pristine waters of Lake Davis. Absolute magic. Myself and a regular guest of mine headed out into the cold air filled with patches of freezing fog to the hunting grounds. Normally I do not fish when on a guide trip but this man insisted I do so. Conditions were perfect, a very warm and windless day and by luck a mega pod of rainbows I had found the previous day was waiting for our offerings. The pod was suspended in 2-6 feet of water in the upper column taking advantage of the most comfortable water temps and weed beds that held a vast amount of aquatic insects. Finding fish in these amounts of numbers do not happen often, in fact it is a rarity.

Mark from San Jose slayed them on Halloween.

The catching was so silly that if one of us did not get a bump or a hook up in 5 minutes we would be shocked. I don't want to say it got boring but after a while we started to tie on flies just to see what they would not take. The trout took them all with no questions asked. It was utterly amazing! When the day was done 97 fish were touched with 48 to the net! My thumb looked like raw hamburger from releasing so many trout. Teeth. It was yet again another day where I question myself and say “Did that just really happen?”  “Really?”

I think Halloween just may be my favorite holiday if this sort of fishing keeps happening. Our good luck had a lot to do with a small snow storm and front that graced the lake. It got the trout’s attention for sure and sparked a feeding frenzy that has kept up since then. With water temps now running 41-49 degrees it won’t be long before the ice takes hold and winter sets in. Only the hardy need apply now so man up and get out there, the grabs are waiting.

Oh, by the way, a few shots from yesterday. Though the clarity of water was very dirty from the previous day’s wind, we did find a few clearings. The trout were still there…

Neil from Reno with his biggest fish ever on a fly rod, way to go buddy!

Ricky from Calistoga stoked on his first Lake Davis rainbow!