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Well thanks Tayler and Bill, I was very fortunate to have Jay show me Eagle, Lake Davis, and Frenchman decades ago, and his insight on guiding. I still have my Lassen USFS special use permit for Eagle Lake, but with the current water quality issues, and low water, I rarely guide there anymore. It's still my favorite stillwater, with LD being a close 2nd.
BTW - Lake Davis is on the rebound, CDFW is actually planting lots of catchable rainbows and browns, 4 plants so far for this season. Trout grow 4 to 5 inches a year there due to the huge bio mass, so hopefully 2 to 3 years down the road it may be back to near normal. - J.
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Thanks Jon.....
We are very fortunate to have some of the best guides in Nor Cal members of our forum.
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I used to be a regular there making several trips per year. Usually a week or two after the opening weekend in the spring then typically two trips in the fall and early winter.
I also learned a lot about the lake from Jay Fair. So fortunate to have fished with him over the years.
I have not been up there since just before the drought years and a lot of the usual reports on fishing boards have been absent in the past few years. That's probably for the best as Eagle really didn't need the extra fishing pressure during those times. Nature tends to deal Eagle a tough hand in general but the added abuse that it takes at the hands of the ranchers and various agencies is really discouraging. It's a fragile ecosystem up there that really needs sensible protection.
Maybe it's time to check it out again this year.
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Thanks for that info LS,
I have heard the lake level has come up some so people are able to fish around the tules again?
Listening to the regulars for years I heard that the open week or two can be good for fly fishing.
Then Oct/Nov/Dec is the big timing........I think Nov is the most popular time.
I will check with Eagle Lake veteran Terry Thomas to see if his group is doing their annual trip this year.
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Maybe 40 years ago a customer came into the shop I was working at and gave me a little plastic box with an "Eagle Lake Leech".
It was tied on about a size 8 hook, Limerick bend, maybe 3x long.
The body was only rusty brown chenille with a gold rib (sparkle chenille) and then a matching marabou tail....no hackle.
I probably have it somewhere in my collection of sample flies?
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Years ago an angler described float tubing out from the tules, casting to where he saw the foliage moving from fish eating scuds and
insects.