It’s that time of year at Lake Davis that makes this still
water the premier destination for fly anglers across the state. The hatches are
going off right now, damsels are coming on strong, and the Hexagenia mayfly has
shown up right on time. The weather last week was very warm which sparked even
more bugs to emerge, currently we have a cool down with lows at night reaching
the high 30’s. Water temperatures in 6 to 12 feet of water, and 1 foot down currently start out at 57 in the
morning, and are climbing to 62 in the early afternoon. You’ll get higher water
temp recordings in skinny water and coves that are located off the main lake
due to a dark muddy bottom, and solar radiation. Even when these coves reach 72
degrees, the rainbows will still come into to feed for a short time before
returning to deeper water, the damsel menu means that much to them.
The damsel game is the main attraction right now which
starts around 9am and lasts until 1pm. Long leaders to 4x like RIO’s 13.5 foot
supple flex is ideal for stealthy presentations. You’ll have targets to cast to
and your accuracy is very important, remember lead the rise form by casting
ahead of the cruising fish. A consistent slow 1 inch strip mimics the damsels
swimming pace, also giving the fly some pauses and just letting it hang there
can induce a strike. Fly selection is very important; you’ll want a fly that slowly
sinks like Jonny’s Hover Damsel. Also you must match the color and size of the
damsels that are hatching the day that you are there. Their color will change
due to the location and the color of the weed beds. Damsels only have camouflage
as a defense against predators. The hatch is different every day, sometimes
heavy, and sometimes barely a bug. You must be flexible in your approach and
venue selection.
Before and during the Damsel hatch there are plenty of Blood
midges hatching. Rise forms tell all when trying to figure out what each individual
fish is eating. Soft rises are fish midging in the film, aggressive boils and
slurps are Damsel grabs. Today my guests got a few fish to take some dry blood
midge emergers, it’s quite possibly the most awesome way to hook into these
toads. There is also an early afternoon
Callibaetis spinner fall, but with so much food already consumed not too many
fish are interested, the nymph on the other hand is a must have in the box.
The Hex appeared for the first time a few days ago, if you
have never seen this novelty hatch, it’s a must. Nymphs can be fished in the
early evening with a sinking line, but the real draw is fooling trout on top,
and by far the emerger out fishes the adult. You will only have about 40
minutes of light out in the late evening until it is black as sin, and you can
no longer see your fly. With low light conditions you can use 3 and 2x. Big
yellow bugs are fun to watch and fish.
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Photo by Darren Chapel
Though my entire month is booked up, there are other quality
guides who have special use permits for Plumas National Forest and are
available. As an ambassador for Lake Davis please do not hesitate in contacting
me regarding info, or anything fly fishing. This is it, my favorite time of the
year on the lake, and I’m so stoked!
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