Lake Davis Fishing Report 6/15/15 ~ The Haunting Of The Hatches!

Finally a consistent weather pattern of the norm has fallen upon the Lake Davis region with sunny skies and cool nights. Water temps have bumped up quite a bit, 62 in the morning reaching 70 in the late afternoon. Windy days will help keep the water temperatures lower, as will cooler nights. The rainbows will still feed on the damsel hatch during such conditions for a few hours, and then return to water depths of 12 to 18 feet of water. Fishing has been technical and challenging which is a common theme during the damsel hatch at Lake Davis. If you want to be more successful, choose areas that receive little or no fishing pressure, or try another method of presentation; like a grasshopper pattern with a small mayfly nymph dropper. Afternoons have been very slow due to the fact they are full of food and resting comfortably while digesting their damsel nymphs.

The life cycle of the damselfly is quite amazing, to actually witness the nymph swimming to shore, hatching into a teneral, and reaching the adult stage really shows you just how unimportant our modern world is. 

The Hex hatch has been insane with so many bugs hatching the last hour of light! I knew this was coming. The population is exploding because the make up of Lake Davis is ideal for the nymph, mud and clay banks are the required habitat for them. Emerger patterns have been the most effective by far. It is so important to seek out individual fish and put the fly right in front of them to get the grab. The most satisfying angle for me is watching the hatch and how this food source supports the entire ecosystem, Canadian Honkers, California gulls, Western grebes, bats, dragonflies, and of course the resident rainbows have been feeding on the Hex like crazy. It’s so awesome to watch that I could really care less about the fishing. 50 years into this and Mother Nature still blows me away, I’m so grateful to be a part of her.

Lake Davis is a complex fishery during this time of year. Observe more, cast less, and make an educated approach to your presentations. For those that follow me and my adventures know straight up I love to share, to see others gain knowledge, and to be more successful with fly fishing. A day on the water with me is eye opening experience with the flora and fauna, techniques, presentations, fly selection, rigs, and more. This is my life and I’m not going anywhere. Expand your mind and the love for Northern California with me; I’ll put a smile on your face that will never go away.