A Guide's High; Lake Davis 10/27

[Troutstalker55B]

Shrouded in a blanket of freezing fog I awaited for my clients in a desolate Camp 5 Parking lot. Dave and Bob from the east bay had never fished Lake Davis until today and I wanted to share with them the hunt for fishing off the bank to eager trout in the shallow water. Today water temps started at 44 degrees but rose to 55 by late afternoon. The main body of the lake was packed with tubers and the San Jose Flycasters were out in force for their fish out. I chose some spots for my boys away from the masses that offered those shy rainbows some sanctuary.



Bob was into a fish right off the get go. I had to teach them how to strip set since many of the takes were so light. This time of year the fish are so hungry that they will hit your fly multiple times. If you get a hit, don't lift the rod, keep your fly in the strike zone because you will get another hit.



These Rainbows are in great shape right now, 90% were clean of any parasites and super colorful!



Once Dave mastered the take he was landing fish left and right. There was one spot in front of him a mere 25 ft away where he hooked into 9 of them.



Fish ranged from 15-20" today. We also had plenty of risers in front of us and the boys had never had so much fun casting to targets and stalking individual fish. Between the two of them they touched at least 50 rainbows and landed about 30 of them!

There is a high for guides after a day like today that no drug or bottle of booze can replicate, your so pumped up; you glow! It is so satisfying to me to be able to share and teach the this style of fly fishing stillwaters. I give my students a solid foundation that they they can grow from and have confidence on the water when they are out there on their own. That in its own is worth more to me than anything. I'm happily tired from chasing these two trout bums around with a net all day.

The fall bite is peaking at the lake right now, get your butt up there and experience some magic!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Excellent Jon....looks like my kind of fly fishing.

Maybe next October I will be able to be there.

[Morgan]

I always see boats nearby.....is it neccesary to have a boat to get to the holes?

[Troutstalker55B]

Bill, your welcome on my boat anytime. I would love to share with you what I know about the lake; next October it is.

Gangster, boats are not mandatory at all. The best way to approach Lake Davis is a float tube or pontoon boat. PWC are the most effective way to fish a stillwater as you have so many options from fishing deep water, to getting out and fishing off the bank. Many regulars use a float tube to go from point to point on the west shore and fish off the bank. My main reason for bringing a boat is comfort for my clients, some do not want to wade on a muddy shoreline. If your a gear head the boat allows you to bring enough of it to outfit an army depending on the size of the boat. For myself a boat means I can go somewhere else if a certain bucket is not producing and be in a new location in minutes.

Jon.

[FRSam]

Great stuff Jon...a day like that makes it all worthwhile...being able to share all that you've learned over the years has got to be rewarding. I know fishing with you over the years has been a kick and we've had some great times. Your enthusiasm is electrifying....I remember shore fishing off Freeman earlier this year in search of damsels & big rainbows when all of a sudden I hear "GAME ON!!!"' hell I think everyone one the lake heard you. I look over and there you are bent rod in hand, stripping in line with a big grin on your face. We spent the next couple of hours sight fishing rainbows in shallow clear water...it doesn't get much better than watching a rainbow turn and wake toward your damsel pattern after that perfect cast.

It's got to feel good getting paid for something you love doing...nice work.


Pete

[gene goss]

Great post and pictures Jon, its nice to see Davis Lake coming back. The snails were a great food source to faten up those trout in the fall, and i didn't see that many snails this year, lets hope with high water levels and good weed beds the snails will come back soon.

[fishnbeatsworkin]

I don't post very often but I have to give thumbs up to Kiene's fly shop and Jon for this trip.

Bob & I booked Jon back in April to fish the Middle Fork of the Feather River. After talking with him & watching his presentation about fishing Lake Davis at Kiene's Expo, we decided to wait until fall & hit Lake Davis instead.

On our way up to Portola on Friday we stopped by Kiene's and I tried out their welded loop repair that they have mentioned in other threads. The guy who helped me said he wasn't sure if his repair would hold, but after hooking into close to 30 Lake Davis trout over two days, I can report that their loop repairs do work. If you have a fly line that needs repaired stop by & they will hook you up.

We met up with Jon at the Camp 5 boat ramp Saturday morning at 8:30. After a short boat ride in the mid 20 degree temps we pulled into a cove. There were already several float tubers on the water on the other side of the lake. Jon rigged us up with his own flies & leaders. In less than 20 minutes we were into fish and the action continued all day.

Later in the afternoon there were several fish rising. We would cast to what direction we thought the fish was heading & in less than no time we had another fish on. The grabs were pretty much non-stop all day.

Like Jon mentioned in his post, the others on the lake weren't having nearly the success we were. At least it didn't sound like it. There was one funny moment when I heard a guy across the lake who had just caught a fish yell to his buddy & say "This is what they look like in case you've forgot." I guess its universal that fisherman are never at a loss to bust their fishing partners balls when they're not catching fish.

Bob & I can't say enough about our experience fishing with Jon. He had all the right gear, he had a great attitude, he shared lots of knowledge of the lake & surrounding areas, taught us how to fish a lake neither of us had ever fished before, corrected some of our bad habits, and put us onto the fish. As one who mostly fishes dry flies on streams, it was also nice to figure out the strip setting. It took a few misses, but eventually I figured it out.

We hiked thru the snow on Sunday back to the same cove since we only had one float tube. If you are the duck hunters we walked onto, sorry about spooking the ducks, we didn't know you were there. We only fished for a couple of hours before having to head back to the Bay Area. We ended up catching another 5 between us, but more importantly we didn't miss nearly the number of takes that we did starting out on Saturday.

All in all, a great 2 day trip. If you're thinking of fishing up there & need a guide, don't hesitate to contact Jon. He definitely knows his stuff.

Dave

[GoldenStone]

The fish shots were great, but that first shrouded fog shot was amazing! A blue ribbon shot!

[jbird]

Great post and photos! I sure miss western trout lakes

[jrief]

I made it up to Lake Davis last Friday and Saturday. I was a little worried being that I drive an old Camry and didn't want to test the snow on the West side of the lake. Who should we run into but Jon B. launching on a rate day fishing for himself. He was headed over to the mosquito slough side of the lake, but was nice enough to recommend we try sheeps creek. Thanks for the advdice.
We didn't do as well as his group on Saturday, but we got into some nice trout averaging between 18-20 inches. Lot's of snow on the west side and much less on the east side. Next time I'm booking a trip with Jon .
I'll try to post some pictures when I get to my lap top. Can't seem to upload from an IPad.