Davis Lake report Sept. 19-23

[gene goss]

Water temp. was 62 in the shallow bays in the morning, and the main body was 66, it was just right temp. to spread the trout across all the bays on the north end of the lake. Look for the trout in the shallow bays in the early AM and at sundown, when the sun is bright look for the trout around the deep weed beds. Use a floating line with a size 12 callibatis emerger or a Jon Baiocchi blood midge emerger for the shallow water bays, I used a floating line with a burnt orange or a black wiggle tail size 10 for the deep weed beds, a intermediate line would work in the deeper water just outside the weed beds.
The first days of the trip was the best catching days with some 10-15 fish days, most of the fish were 15-17 inches with a couple of 19 inches mix. in. The lake was still full of water and the weed beds are growing and looking good, about 80% of all the trout we caught were free of copepods and some had there fall colors, the lake is starting to look its old self again.
Duck season open Sat. and with all the duck boats runing around in the shallow bays and all the shooting going on, we were chased out of the bays, and on Sunday a weather front with 20+ winds shut down the catching, i think Scott caught 3 that day before we all quit.
It was nice to meet some of the message board members on the lake with some helpful tips.
Jon Baiocchi rode his road bike up to our camp site from Gray eagle and shared some helpful tips for our fishout group, he also show me his roadrash from a crash on the ride up to the camp site.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/davislakesept19-12005_zps13f1626c.jpg
These two Gentleman share a nice bay with me at sundown.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/davislakesept19-12001_zpsbdc29414.jpg
Driving down the dirt roads back to camp i ran across a lot of toads crossing the road???
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/davislakesept19-12004_zps738fdf14.jpg
Getting out of my floatube i droped my life vest into the water and it inflated....SHIT
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/eugene047/davislakesept19-12012_zps60e10a75.jpg

[Troutstalker55B]

Gene,

It was great to see you and the other GBFC members and talk trout! I'll be back up at the end of this week to cast some more dry flies to those skinny water feeders. BTW - I'm healing up just fine!

Jon.

[FRSam]

Gene it was nice to finally meet you on the lake and I'm glad to hear you got into some nice, mostly clean, fish. They really are looking better, this is one of several I took before running into you at the north end of the lake...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/8009235642_f389d52319_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/80658038@N05/8009235642/)
A74A2481.JPG (http://www.flickr.com/photos/80658038@N05/8009235642/) by StillWaterGold (http://www.flickr.com/people/80658038@N05/), on Flickr

And yes that blood midge emerger of Jon's is a killer fly. I'm okay with the toads it's the cows and bulls I can live without. I look forward to seeing you again hopefully out on the lake with a tight line, bent rod and a monster toad on....that is a toad with fins. ;)

Pete

[gene goss]

Gene,

It was great to see you and the other GBFC members and talk trout! I'll be back up at the end of this week to cast some more dry flies to those skinny water feeders. BTW - I'm healing up just fine!

Jon.

One evening i shared a cove with 2 gentleman and they showed me how to dry fly fish for trout from the shore, so with this new skill i fished 3 nights from the shore on this trip....and i'm hooked now on shore fishing, maybe the next trip i'll try the dry fly.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

FRSam....nice photo.

What kind of boat is that?

[OceanSunfish]

Great to hear such a positive report on the general health of the lake.

According to CDEC, the lake level is at 58K (rounded up) which is a great level for this time of year..... This is a level that has only been surpassed by the falls of 1993 -1994-1995-1996-1997 (5 years straight) which I'm sure made a difference in strengthening the food chain. That lake was on roll if it weren't for the introduced Pike. Ugh.

I hope that by not letting the lake drop below today's level for at least 3 or 5 years straight may help the copepod problem.... and allow the snails and other critters to rebound to full strength, especially in the backbays and coves which, IMO, make a difference.

There's hope!

[Troutstalker55B]

Bill, here is Pete's Whaler. It's his pride and joy - sweet boat!

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i424/moto55b/Lake-Davis-34---Web.jpg

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I could tell by the look of the deck it was a high quality boat....thanks.

[FRSam]

I could tell by the look of the deck it was a high quality boat....thanks.

Thanks Bill...it's the Montauk 150. A smaller version of the 170. I got it the first year it came out back in 2006. I was looking for a boat with a good casting platform, I could fit in my garage for the winters up here, was safe in rough water, had enough power for the big water and had a shallow draft so I could take it into the skinny water.

I've been very pleased with it. It fishes two people and a dog comfortably. It does great in the big water...as Jonny can attest we've had it up at Eagle and over at Almanor with no problems.

You can't go wrong with a Whaler ;)

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r6/FeatherRiverSam/DSC00533.jpg

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r6/FeatherRiverSam/DSC00878.jpg

Pete

[DFrink]

Gene,

I'd love to hear more about this, is it something that can be explained in writing?

Dan


One evening i shared a cove with 2 gentleman and they showed me how to dry fly fish for trout from the shore, so with this new skill i fished 3 nights from the shore on this trip....and i'm hooked now on shore fishing, maybe the next trip i'll try the dry fly.

[gene goss]

Gene,

I'd love to hear more about this, is it something that can be explained in writing?

Dan

Hi Dan....These two guys that showed me how to fish this way, would sit in a chair drinking a beer with there rods ready to cast, they would wait for the trout to pop up close to the shore and then cast to the trout. This is a very unique style of fishing, if your doing a lot of blind casting the trout will get spooked, and stay down. So you need to find a quite cove at sundown, and get your rod, chair, and a cold beer and be patience. i found some very big trout in some skinny water at dark time.

[DFrink]

That sounds right up my alley. I just need to find a lake closer to home that has the right conditions for that type of fishing. Thanks Gene.

[FRSam]

The fishing continues to be pretty good over at Davis. I started early up on the north end and didn't have a grab...nothing. I was hoping to see heads but they were few and far between.

So I headed over to below Cow and got into some feisty fish. Had one break off the hook. Good size and best of all clean! Water temps were 63 to 65 degrees.

Pete

[Troutstalker55B]

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i424/moto55b/100_0984---web.jpg

Just to back up what Gene and Pete are talking about, stalking these rainbows at Lake Davis in shallow water is a must experience. I had clients on Sunday at the lake and we beached the boat and waited for the blood midge hatch to start. From 9-11:30am we had multiple targets to cast at with some only 15 feet away. These fish take off like missiles when hooked in this skinny of water and can be a handful of fun. One of my clients said "I wouldn't believe this if I didn't see it in person!" Most anglers don't.

Keys to fishing the shallow water are to find pods of active feeding fish that have not been picked on too much by other anglers. Cast to individual trout, find out which direction they are feeding in and put the fly 2-3 feet in front of them so they can intercept it. Don't blind cast all the time, rest the water, pick a target and stalk your prey.

The fishing will only get better from here on out and this is when the lake is beginner friendly, if you are in the right spot at the right time, you just need to hit the water with your fly and you'll get a hook up. We are blessed to have Eagle, Davis, and Frenchman's in Northern California, these lakes offer the best bank fishing for shallow water cruisers in the west. Now is the time until the ice locks things up, I hope all of you can experience the shallow water hunt!

Jon.

[gene goss]

Hi Jon...I'll be at the campgrounds at Frenchman Lake Oct.3-7, and will fish Davis Lake on Thurday, hope to see you or pete on the lake or stop by the campgrounds at Frenchman Lake and say hi.

[Troutstalker55B]

Gene,

I wish I could join you but I'll be busy showing clients the finer points of stalking trout in the shallows, in fact I only have 7 days off for the entire month of Oct! All this madness has to slow down at some point and would love to share some water with you at Davis or maybe Eagle.

Good luck up there! - J.

[FRSam]

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i424/moto55b/100_0984---web.jpg

Just to back up what Gene and Pete are talking about, stalking these rainbows at Lake Davis in shallow water is a must experience. I had clients on Sunday at the lake and we beached the boat and waited for the blood midge hatch to start. From 9-11:30am we had multiple targets to cast at with some only 15 feet away. These fish take off like missiles when hooked in this skinny of water and can be a handful of fun. One of my clients said "I wouldn't believe this if I didn't see it in person!" Most anglers don't.

Keys to fishing the shallow water are to find pods of active feeding fish that have not been picked on too much by other anglers. Cast to individual trout, find out which direction they are feeding in and put the fly 2-3 feet in front of them so they can intercept it. Don't blind cast all the time, rest the water, pick a target and stalk your prey.

The fishing will only get better from here on out and this is when the lake is beginner friendly, if you are in the right spot at the right time, you just need to hit the water with your fly and you'll get a hook up. We are blessed to have Eagle, Davis, and Frenchman's in Northern California, these lakes offer the best bank fishing for shallow water cruisers in the west. Now is the time until the ice locks things up, I hope all of you can experience the shallow water hunt!

Jon.

Very well said Jon...it just doesn't get much better.

I was out yesterday and the game is still on...plenty of fish in the shallows and as Jonny said when you hook one of these fish in the skinny water they take you for the ride of a life time.

Gene I might be on the lake Thursday depending on how things go...if I do make it I'll denfinately keep an eye out for you.

Pete

[Luv2Fish]

I've fly fished Lake Davis many, many times, but always from a float tube. The lake bottom in the shallow areas tends to be very soft, muddy and slicker than snot. I've battled these conditions many times just trying to get out from shore in the float tube...

I would love to try wade fishing it sometime, but am afraid I'm going to get stuck in the mud! :eek: Suggestions on how you deal with this? Thanks!

[FRSam]

I've fly fished Lake Davis many, many times, but always from a float tube. The lake bottom in the shallow areas tends to be very soft, muddy and slicker than snot. I've battled these conditions many times just trying to get out from shore in the float tube...

I would love to try wade fishing it sometime, but am afraid I'm going to get stuck in the mud! :eek: Suggestions on how you deal with this? Thanks!

It really not that big a problem...I've been fishing it for years and have never had a problem with getting stuck. Yes you do slip and slide every now and then but I've never taken a spill. And there are lots of times when your not even in the mud fishing from shore. It's really not as bad as you think...give it a try I think you'll be pleasantly surprised particularly if you get into a pod of working fish. :)

Pete

[Luv2Fish]

Thanks Pete! I'll give it a whirl this year.

[Luv2Fish]

Jon/Pete: Do you use a floating line or intermediate clear camo line when stalking the shallows?

[Troutstalker55B]

Floating line and a fly that is not too heavy, I use this rig 100% of the time when fishing 6" - 4 feet of water.

[FRSam]

^^^^^ Ditto....


Pete