Giving Back To The Truckee River ~ TRWC Adopt-A-Stream Day ~ Autumn Session

Today I had the pleasure of donating my time to the Truckee River Watershed Council's Adopt-A-Stream program, where chemical, physical, and streamside habitat were monitored. If you're not familiar with the TRWC's Adopt-A-Stream program, adopted streams in the Tahoe Basin are monitored by a committed team of volunteers four times a year, May through September. TRWC trains the teams and provides all the equipment and supplies.

Our team, led by our trustworthy and courageous leader Nicole, worked on two types of chemical and physical monitoring to take measurements such as temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and habitat characteristics. As always there was much to learn and the knowledge gained is invaluable for future studies, and improvements. 

Though Davies Creek was dry and provided zero water to sample, we still took additional notes on the test site area. A little rain did not hamper our efforts one bit, in fact it was a welcomed sight!

Water samples were then taken from the Little Truckee River below Boca Reservoir, after a little chemistry these samples were recorded into the log. I was amazed at the difference of the cold air temperatures, and the warm water temps that were running in the mid 60's.

I had an awesome time with my team, and feel grateful for contributing to a great organization! Special thanks to Erin Casey, Director of Land Use Compatibility for TWRC. She does an amazing job with all the details of these special events!

To become a volunteer for TRWC, go here; https://www.truckeeriverwc.org/get-involved/volunteer

Want to donate and help the Truckee River? Go here; https://www.truckeeriverwc.org/donate/make-a-donation

Truckee River Watershed Council

Lost Coast Outfitters Fishing Report 9/25/14

Autumn is blowing in with this first small weather system that finally brought some rain, and fishing is about to get crazy in many of our waters! For a complete report, check out my friend George Revel's LCO weekly updates on current conditions from knowledgeable guides.

As for myself, I'll be on Lake Davis for the next four weeks. I only have 5 more days available for the month of October, so please do not hesitate in contacting me by phone or email if you want to experience a great day; Baiocchi's Troutfitters

http://www.lostcoastoutfitters.com/
http://www.baiocchistroutfitters.com/

Lake Davis Fishing Report 9/17/14 - Callibaetis!

Conditions at Lake Davis continue to improve, catch rates and strikes have been on the upswing using a wide variety of techniques. The aggressive fall bite is starting to kick in; the best fishing of the year is on the horizon! Water temps this week were 60 degrees in the morning rising to 66 by the afternoon. This morning, air temps in the area were much warmer at 51 degrees, with areas of heavy smoke. Water clarity is off in places with a slight algae bloom but improving dramatically in some areas. Big wind the last few days has shut down the callibaetis hatch, but hanging chironomids in the chop has produced numbers. The wind did help blow all the smoke out, but to the south toward Tahoe the plume was huge, black, and darkening the sky. A weak system is coming in tomorrow with a 30% chance of precipitation, and colder nights down to 37. We need a change to get those rainbows going. 

Free floating weeds will be in the system for here on until ice up, the American coot have shown up in moderate numbers, ripping up weeds and eating their veggies. The weeds beds are also starting to wane and compress allowing more fishable pockets to open up. For you boaters the west side peninsulas are barely submerged, these long fingers of land stretch extremely far out into the main body of the lake. Running north and south routes near the east side and then coming in directly west to the coves of Cow Creek, and Freeman Creek, is a safe choice.

Fish behavior is starting to change, and quite a few cruisers in the skinny water have been caught while sight fishing with the Adams parachute dry fly. The callibaetis are out, and last weekend there were thousands of them with large trout slurping the surface. Productive tactics include using a floating or intermediate line stripping Wiggle tails in black and rust, Rickard’s still water nymphs, and other buggy patterns with a slow sink rate is getting the grabs. The most effective rig has been the bobber, 3-5 feet down in the morning, and 9-14 feet down in the early and late afternoon. Chironomids #10-18 in red, black, brown, and lime green is what they are eating. Hot flies have been callibaetis nymphs #14-16, Adams parachute #16, UV2 sheep creeks #10-14, Spirit River UV2 mayfly nymph #14-16, and Blood Midge emergers #14. 4x-3x tippet depending on your presentation and depth.

Photo courtesy of Ralph and Lisa Cutter / Flyline.com

Adult bug life is rich with very small midge adults on the surface during the morning, it seems every new morning there is a different unique midge they are sipping on. Very sparse hatches of blood midges of late in most areas around the lake, though the fish do search for them while working. Callibaetis on the other hand are flourishing on days without big wind. This hatch is the start of the last brood of the season, and both duns and spinners will be smaller now in a size 16. The main staple of damsels is always present, and the increasing snail population is a favorite of the large rainbows in autumn, two patterns you should always carry.

Remember that the incredible fall colors peak sometime from the 2nd week of Oct. to the last week, but you never know with mother nature, she’ll throw a curve ball when you least expect it. Fishing will improve on a weekly basis, and with beautiful surroundings like the colors of autumn, makes for an unforgettable experience at Lake Davis.

Lake Davis Presentation at Chico Area Fly Fishers 9/11/2014

This coming Thursday I will be in my old 'hood presenting a very informative and enjoyable power point presentation on "Fly Fishing Lake Davis". The audience will gain vast knowledge and a better understanding through virtual images, maps, and diagrams of the lake. I'll cover the history of Lake Davis, access points, how to fish the different seasons, tactics, techniques, entomology, and the most productive flies.

The Chico Area Fly Fishers meeting will be held at the CARD center located at 545 Vallombrosa Ave in Chico, Ca. Social hour will be from 6:30 pm to 7:30, followed by the meeting, and shortly afterwords I will be taking center stage to share my enticing program. Admission is free, and guests are welcome.

CAFF was my very first fly club I ever belonged to way back in 1972, it will be a sort of homecoming for myself and a special one at that. I hope you'll be able to join me, see you there!

Lake Davis Fishing Report 9/2/14

Change is in the air with cooler nights, and Lake Davis is starting to wake up. Water temperatures two weeks ago were 61-66 degrees, this week 63-69. Water levels are not as bad as you think, capacity right now is 57%, I've fished the lake much lower than this and it fished really well back then.  Current conditions are such; Rising fish in the mornings from 7-10am eating chironomids, blood midges, and sparse callibaetis mayflies. Shortly after the fish are moving to 14-22 feet of water, the thermocline right now is about 16 feet down, and you should see how many fish are stacked up at this depth on the sonar - Amazing! Using a deep indicator system with midges, snails, and damsels will catch these large rainbows in the heat of the day.

The Fall bite has not kicked in yet, but every week the fishing will get better until the peak around the 2nd or 3rd week of October. I had a good talk with Jay and Glenn Fair last week and we all agreed on three colors of flies that are must haves for Lake Davis in Autumn. Burnt orange, rust, and cinnamon are key no matter the pattern.

My fall dates are quickly filling up, if you have yet to experience the best still water in Northern California, or looking for that inside knowledge to help you reach the next level, than it's time to book a trip with me. Give me a call, let's chat, I love to share Lake Davis and to see others enjoy this magnificent place! 530.228.0487