Rick J
06-30-2008, 07:09 AM
All I can say is be careful what you wish for!! A few posts back I said I hope the damsels did not get hurt by the poisoning. Well, this weekend would indicate they did not!!! One of the most prolific hatches/migrations I have ever seen and needless to say just a bit of competition for your bug - very tough fishing but truly awesome to watch.
My trip did not have an auspitious start - I decided to go up HW 70 through Quincy and left Friday afternoon - 30 miles north of Marysville a sign indicated 70 was closed due to fires :( I got out my map and looked at options - continued up to Chico and over on 32. Just east a sign gave me pause - "Expect Long Delays 30 Miles Ahead" Yup - another fire with a 30 minute delay then one way controlled traffic for around 10 miles through the fire cooridor which was burning right along the side of the road - you could feel the heat :shock:
By the way - Deer Creek runs right along this highway and is a gorgeous little stream - Anyone fish it??
Quincy was very thck smoke with only a few hundred feet vis. This added 2 hours to my trip and got to Don's around 9.
Don indicated I should not expect much as his dogs were very upset about my previous post and they would put a hex on me! Don had a wedding to go to on Saturday in the afternoon so we hopped in his boat around 6:30 and got out around 7 to a few fish working - seemed to be mainly on damsels. We anchored up and soon Don was into fish
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/DavisLake017.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/DavisLake018.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/DavisLake020.jpg
He had 3 fish to the boat before I even knew what was going on!
Then I got a hook up - Know what I really hate?? When a fish makes a vicious grab on the upper fly of a two damsel set up and breaks you off :x
Then I hooked another one - really nice 20" fish
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/DavisLake023.jpg
Around 10 Don said he had to head back to the dock where his wife would pick him up - I said last cast and hooked another fish around 18". I dropped Don off at the dcck and went back out and did not have another fish landed for the rest of the day - maybe 3 other grabs - truely a frustrating but exciting situation. Fished until 3. Sleeping on Don's couch around 4 the dogs went ballisitic as a small bear had climbed the stairs to Don's upper porch!
Next morning early we headed out - friend of Don's (our Silver Creek buddy) joined us -Don dropped me on a point and he and Mike anchored just off shore - and what a morning - started slow with no grabs for at least 2 hours and fish cruising and grabbing midges and damsels. Then the migration really got going and it was amazing. What made things so much tougher than 2 weeks ago was the fish were just sceaming and slashing at bugs and you did not get any still targets. Fished until 2 and had one fish to hand and maybe 3 or 4 other grabs. Don and Mike both had 2 fish on and a few other grabs.
So things are really going right now but it can be tough with all the bugs as competition - still something really to witness!!
My trip did not have an auspitious start - I decided to go up HW 70 through Quincy and left Friday afternoon - 30 miles north of Marysville a sign indicated 70 was closed due to fires :( I got out my map and looked at options - continued up to Chico and over on 32. Just east a sign gave me pause - "Expect Long Delays 30 Miles Ahead" Yup - another fire with a 30 minute delay then one way controlled traffic for around 10 miles through the fire cooridor which was burning right along the side of the road - you could feel the heat :shock:
By the way - Deer Creek runs right along this highway and is a gorgeous little stream - Anyone fish it??
Quincy was very thck smoke with only a few hundred feet vis. This added 2 hours to my trip and got to Don's around 9.
Don indicated I should not expect much as his dogs were very upset about my previous post and they would put a hex on me! Don had a wedding to go to on Saturday in the afternoon so we hopped in his boat around 6:30 and got out around 7 to a few fish working - seemed to be mainly on damsels. We anchored up and soon Don was into fish
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/DavisLake017.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/DavisLake018.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/DavisLake020.jpg
He had 3 fish to the boat before I even knew what was going on!
Then I got a hook up - Know what I really hate?? When a fish makes a vicious grab on the upper fly of a two damsel set up and breaks you off :x
Then I hooked another one - really nice 20" fish
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/DavisLake023.jpg
Around 10 Don said he had to head back to the dock where his wife would pick him up - I said last cast and hooked another fish around 18". I dropped Don off at the dcck and went back out and did not have another fish landed for the rest of the day - maybe 3 other grabs - truely a frustrating but exciting situation. Fished until 3. Sleeping on Don's couch around 4 the dogs went ballisitic as a small bear had climbed the stairs to Don's upper porch!
Next morning early we headed out - friend of Don's (our Silver Creek buddy) joined us -Don dropped me on a point and he and Mike anchored just off shore - and what a morning - started slow with no grabs for at least 2 hours and fish cruising and grabbing midges and damsels. Then the migration really got going and it was amazing. What made things so much tougher than 2 weeks ago was the fish were just sceaming and slashing at bugs and you did not get any still targets. Fished until 2 and had one fish to hand and maybe 3 or 4 other grabs. Don and Mike both had 2 fish on and a few other grabs.
So things are really going right now but it can be tough with all the bugs as competition - still something really to witness!!