Davis Lake Trout Fishery Gets Big Boost With Truckloads Of Rainbows    By: Dan Bacher June 18, 2008 More Articles by Dan

In a huge effort to return Lake Davis to its status as one of California’s premier trout fisheries, the California Department of Fish and Game stocked 11 tons of rainbow trout – a total of 20,000 fish – at the reservoir on May 16 and 17. If you want to have a ball catching lots of trout, Lake Davis will be the place to go this year.

“By planting nearly one million trout in Lake Davis this year, we hope to quickly re-establish Lake Davis as a quality trout lake with some of the best trout fishing in California,” said DFG Director Donald Koch at a news conference featuring DFG, City of Portola and U.S. Forest Service representatives and other officials at the dam on May 16.

After the conference, DFG hatchery staff backed up seven trucks to a fish release tube at the dam and dumped thousands of catchable rainbows into the lake’s clear waters. Hatchery employees then drove the rest of the trucks over to Honker Bay where they began stocking 3,000 trophy trout, ranging in size from 6 to over 10 pounds, as a crowd watched.

Some of the trout have $10 reward tags that DFG will use to determine catch and growth rates. This will also provide biologists with a way to estimate the number of fish caught from Davis.

The conference and the “Lake Davis Lake Trout Restocking Celebration” the next day followed joint efforts in September 2007 to successfully eradicate the invasive northern pike. The pike were killed because of the threat of irreversible harm they posed to Central Valley and California Delta fisheries if they had escaped from the lake downriver into the Feather River and then into the Sacramento River and California Delta.

The need to keep the highly predatory pike out of the Central Valley becomes particularly urgent considering that Sacramento River fall chinook salmon are now in unprecedented collapse, while delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad populations have declined to record low levels.

The pike also decimated the Davis trout population, causing economic devastation to Portola and surrounding communities that depended upon the lake’s fishery for much of their income.

The latest pike eradication effort followed an unsuccessful one in 1997 that took place after pike were first discovered in the lake in 1994. Unfortunately, the predatory fish reappeared 18 months later; whether the pike survived treatment or were restocked is not known.

Some local activists and officials vociferously protested the 1997 poisoning in the months prior to the chemical treatment. That year Portola resident Bill Powers chained himself to a buoy to stop the lake from being poisoned with liquid rotenone, an organic pesticide.

Powers, now a Plumas County Supervisor, speaks highly of the cooperative way that community officials, the DFG, and Forest Service worked this time around to treat and then restock the lake.

“We're looking forward to welcoming trout anglers from across the west to come join the fun,” he said. “We need to get on with our lives in a good way. We want to make Lake Davis one of the most spectacular places in the West to fish.”

Prior to the September treatment, the pike had ravaged the trout population. After the lake was treated with rotenone, DFG workers collected over 50,000 pounds of fish.

About 10 percent were northern pike, 83 percent were brown bullheads and less than 1 percent (.6 percent) were rainbow trout. The remaining 6 percent included largemouth bass, golden shiners and pumpkinseed sunfish, according to Randy Kelly, DFG Project Manager.

Just before the lake froze over in December 2007, the Department replanted 24,000 lbs. (approx. 31,200) of Eagle Lake trout into the reservoir. Recent DFG surveys demonstrate that fishing has already rebounded since the lake iced out in April.

“The catch rate for trout is already six times what it was last year before we treated the lake,” said Randy Kelly, DFG Project Manager. “The trout can be found in schools throughout the lake. The fish we have sampled were in excellent condition.”

The Eagle Lake trout were chosen for their ability to grow large quickly – and for their tolerance of high PH concentrations. Davis has up to 11 ph during the summer.

Just like before the stocking, brown bullheads are still the most populous fish in the lake. “The bullheads are twice as frequent as trout in our electro shocking surveys,” said Kelley. “A few pumpkinseed sunfish have also showed up.”

The macro invertebrates are coming back, but not yet in the same large quantities as before the treatment. There is a lot of zooplankton, though, to sustain the food chain. And the crawdads are definitely back.

“Within two weeks of the treatment, the crayfish population exploded,” said Kelley. “The crayfish burrowed down in the mud where the rotenone won’t penetrate.”

No pike have been found, fortunately, but the DFG is closely monitoring the situation. The DFG has kept DNA samples of the pike poisoned last fall just in case the pike reappear. If they do, the DFG will be able to determine from the DNA samples whether the pike were illegally stocked again or somehow evaded the rotenone treatment.

“We have the community’s support this time around to stop any replanting of pike at Davis,” said Kelly. “We hope that the situation at Davis will be the same as it was at Frenchman Lake – where the pike haven’t returned after the lake was treated.”

The fishing was fabulous on the Lake Davis Celebration weekend. I had a blast catching 2 to 3 pound rainbows while tossing out 1/8 ounce Kastmasters in a variety of colors from shore on the afternoon of May 16 outside of the buoys at Honker Cove. I kept 5 of the bigger trout and released 4 others before deciding to call it a day.

Other anglers experienced similar action. Derrill Nunza of Vacaville quickly caught his limit of big, bold rainbows, also while throwing 1/8 oz. Kastmasters. Other anglers who bagged limits of trout included Nick and Bob Williams of Marysville and Gary Barnhard of Olivehurst. Anthony Kuzna of Marysville, his dad, Nathan, and grandpa Lou also nailed trout while using Kastmasters from shore.

Although most fish were in the 2 to 3 pound range, Chris Mendoza of Reno managed to bag a rainbow over 6 pounds while using Power Bait, and Rylee Block of Marysville enticed a 4 pound rainbow with a Mepps spinner.

One shore angler reported catching and releasing 28 rainbows. Meanwhile trollers caught easy limits of trout while trolling a variety of minnow imitation lures.

The only downside of the fishing was the massive hatch of flying ants that forced anglers to constantly swat the annoying insects off their arms and legs. However, big hatches like these only mean more forage to fatten the lake’s rainbows and will provide solid opportunities for fly fishing enthusiasts.

The celebration at Coot Bay along Lake Davis' east shore featured a free fishing clinic, informational booths, and children's activities, including a visit from Smokey Bear. A 1,200-gallon aquarium stocked with catchable and trophy trout weighing up to 10-plus pounds was also on hand.

“We look forward to the rejuvenation of the lake’s reputation as a trophy fishing venue and the sportsman’s return to Lake Davis,” concluded City of Portola Mayor Chuck Spencer.

Call (530) 832-4754 for more information about Lake Davis.

Lake Davis Facts  

Location and History: Lake Davis is located seven miles north of Portola, California. This lake was created in 1967 for fishing and other recreational opportunities. The reservoir is located in the northern Sierra Nevada at 5,785 feet above sea level and has a surface area of 4,030 acres. The lake has a shoreline of 32 miles and holds a capacity of 84,370 acre feet of water. Water-skiing and jet skis are not permitted. In the winter, ice fishing, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing are favored activities.  

Camping: A concessionaire manages three campgrounds around Lake Davis. Grizzly, Grasshopper Flat and Lightning Tree Campgrounds have approximately 144 family camping sites, 21 double sites and 1 group site. Campsites may be reserved through Reserve USA 1-877-444- 6777 or online at www.ReserveUSA.com. Grizzly and Grasshopper Campgrounds have piped water and flush toilets. Coin-operated showers are available at Honker Cove Boat Ramp. Trailers of up to 35 feet can be accommodated. No hookups are provided. Facilities are usually open from late April through late October. Lightning Tree Campground has vault toilets and is open year-round except when closed by snow.  

Fishing: There are twelve fishing accesses on Lake Davis. Some have toilets and picnic tables are available at Coot Bay Fishing Access. Fishing is regulated by the California Department of Fish and Game with a five trout limit and tributary restrictions. Below Lake Davis, almost three miles of Big Grizzly Creek is open to fishing for day use on a public access strip.  

Boat Launching: Camp Five, Honker Cove, Mallard Cove, and Lightning Tree Boat Ramps all have paved launching ramps toilets, floating boat docks, and paved parking lots. Camp Five Boat Ramp also has a Fishing Levee 100 feet long accessing deeper water fishing.

Facilities Information: Call Beckwourth Ranger District at (530) 836-2575.  

Fishing Information: Dollards Sierra Market, 530-832-5251, Grizzly Store and Resort, 530-832-0270, Gold Rush Sporting Goods, 530-832-5724 in Portola, and Sportsmen’s Den in Quincy, 530-283-2733.  

Fishing Guides: Brian Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service, 530-283-4108, Ed Dillard of Dillard Guided Fishing, 530-832-6394, and Ken Mathis of Ken’s Custom Tackle, 530-647-2306.

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