Finally back with my other sweetheart. When you’ve been away
from one of the most beautiful lakes found in the West for 7 months, it hits
you deeply. What an awesome place. The most striking characteristic of this
area to me is the bird life. Around the lake you’ll find Bald Eagles, Red
Tailed hawks, Western Grebes, White Pelicans, Pie Billed Grebes, and Sandhill
cranes. Among the conifers and deep forest, songbirds and warblers are thick
like the Fox sparrow, Yellow-rumped warbler, and Western Wood-Pewees just to
name a few. Super green native grasses, willows, and flowering Mule’s Ear
encompass the lake’s basin. What a sight to behold.
The
weather was a bit extreme for June in the Northern Sierra, an encroaching low
pressure system brought fierce strong winds that howled up to 35+ mph the
entire time I was up there. Big water and waves ran from the South West shore
up to the North Eastern shore of the lake. I’m always on edge when I have
guests in my boat during such conditions because it’s SO gnarly, like an
episode of Deadliest Catch. I’m really glad I have a safe boat that was
designed for such conditions, the Lilly Bob, a Tracker Pro Deep V 16 that knows
Lake Davis well. This morning at Lake Davis the low was 27 degrees with a few
inches of snow. It looks like we’ll warm up again only to see a slight chance
of showers and cooler weather for this coming weekend. With all that wind, it
pushed many anglers off the water, and only the hardy toughed it out.
Campgrounds are open and full, though the big shocker for me
and many others was the increase in fees for day use areas and launching ramps.
Daily use fees have gone from $6 to $10. Launching fees? Are you ready for
this? One ramp access - $50, 2 ramp access - $70, unlimited ramps at Davis,
Frenchman, Gold, and Bucks Lakes - $100. Oh, by the way…leave the checkbook at
home as they are only taking cash.
The
lake is at 76% of capacity, I like it from 60 to 70% as it offers more peninsulas,
flats, and coves that offer better habitat and transition zones for the trout
to thrive in. The good thing about the water level though is that Lightning
Tree boat ramp is still usable. Water temperatures were 62 on Saturday morning.
I expect it to drop a degree or two by this coming Monday. The current fishing
condtions? Let’s start with the catching. Pretty good action on Thursday and
Friday for my guests. Highlights included one rainbow at 24”, and two browns in
the 16” range – That means those brownies have grown about 5 inches since last
June when they were planted. With Lake Davis having one of the biggest bio
masses for a western stillwater, it does not surprise me at all.
Water clarity is a little off, mostly from the absurd amount
of wind that has been hammering the lake. Weed growth is slow and most weed
beds are dark in color, but very abundant. Many of the trout were hooked in 4
to 8 feet of water, and in deeper water they seem to favor the mid to upper
water column, even late in the day. Stripping was the only game we played and
did not bust out the indo rigs – For my guests, the tug is the drug. They’ll
take that over watching the neon ball that owns you. Floating lines for the
shallower water, and clear camo intermediates in the deeper water. Best tactic
while in your tube or pontoon boat is using an intermediate line and covering
water.
Now
for the bugs. The morning starts out with a good blood midge hatch with adults
in a size 12. There is also many other smaller chironomids in the mix, most
notably a size 14 in a pale olive color. The damsels have just started and with
this cooler weather it will delay the peak of the hatch, I’m guessing the 3rd
week of June or so. Damsel nymphs are dark in color right now in cocoa brown
and dark olive. They have chameleon like traits and change colors to match the
surrounding weed beds they live in. Camouflaging themselves within the
surrounding environment is their only defense against predators like Dragon fly
nymphs, Kirby’s backswimmers, sunfish, bass, and trout. Callibaetis spinners
are also on the water’s surface, but the few days I was out there, the hatch
was sparse at best, and not very many duns on the water. That will change.
Lastly, I found my first Hexagenia mayfly of the season
which is always a treat to show my guests that has never seen one before. If
you’re really serious about fishing this novelty hatch, go to Lake Alamnor, Butt
Lake, or the Fall River. It’s just a better game at those areas. I use to guide
this hatch heavily at Lake Almanor when I started my guide service in 1997, and
I learned so much back then being on the water learning both the insect’s
behavior, as well as the trout. The nymph is your best bet if you want numbers
of trout, and you can start fishing it in the late afternoon when the bugs
slowly wiggle their way up towards the upper water column from their homes in
the clay.
I’ll be back up to the lake this coming Wednesday with an 11
day run of trips and will post a fresh report in a week or so. Spring and early
summer Lake Davis trips are filled up. I have 9 days available in Late
September, and 14 days in October. If we get good weather into November I’ll be
there, and my calendar at this time is wide open. Book now for fall dates!
Shoot me an email - baiocchistroutfitters@yahoo.com
See ya out there…
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