Fly Fishing For Trout Breaks Wide-Open At Davis   By: Dan Bacher July 12, 2008 More Articles by Dan

The arrival of the damsel fly hatch on Lake Davis has spurred a superb trout bite for fly fishermen, demonstrating the dramatic rebirth of the northern Sierra Nevada reservoir as a trophy rainbow fishery. The food chain is rapidly rebuilding, the many truckloads of fish planted in the lake by the DFG in recent weeks have acclimated to the lake, and the rainbows are feeding heavily on the emerging damsel lies.

"Fishing is as good as it gets," exclaimed Jerry Dollard at Dollard's Sierra Market. "The hot fly fishing has been created by one of the strongest damsel hatches in years that occur most days from 9a.m. to 1p.m. Popular areas are on the west shore from Jenkins north to Freeman."

Although fly fishing enthusiasts are experiencing the hottest action, trolling remains good for experienced anglers with the depth of eleven feet being the key to success.

Shore fishing at Coot Bay and Grasshopper Cove is also productive. "Spinners and lures are good choices at Coot, while night crawlers and Power Bait are the ticket at Grasshopper," noted Dollard.

Richard Hardy, a credible long time experienced fly fisherman at Davis, reported catching and releasing 76 fish up to 25 ½ inches over a four day period from June 14 through 17, according to Dollard. Hardy ties his own damsel pattern and fishes out of his pontoon boat, using a floating line and casting to cruising fish.

"The most important approach is to sight fish," said Hardy. "Watch for fish working the surface, cast with in three feet of the cruising fish."

Hardy experiences a very high percentage of grabs as the fly lays motionless either on the cast or a pause between strips.

Rob Adams, who has fished the lake for years, caught and released 17 trout in two days while fly fishing from his pontoon boat on the west shore.

He landed a 27 ½ inch fish on Sunday. "It was my largest Lake Davis fish ever," he commented. "The fish gods couldn't be any better."

Roger Wyman caught and released 19 fish on June 17 and 18. The two largest trout were 23 ½ and 24 inches long. Wyman described the fishing as "incredible." "It's the best the lake has fished in 10 years," added Wyman.

Ed Dillard of Dillard's Guided Fishing reported catching 10 to 25 fish per trip for his clients on his last ten trips. Ed's favorite lure is the red head Dick Nite.

"However, the key is presenting the lure of choice at the correct depth," advised Dollard. "The correct depth has changed from 6 to 11 feet."

Shore fishing isn't too shabby, either. For example, 10-year-old Tyler Rials caught a 5 lb. fish while fishing from shore. Rials was soaking worms near the dam.

Sara at the Grizzly Store reported that a customer landed two 19 inch fish at Coot Bay while casting lures. A second fisherman landed four fish in the 16 to 18 inch range while shore fishing at one of the points off Grasshopper Cove.

The fishing was fantastic on the Lake Davis Celebration weekend. I had an absolute ball catching 2 to 3 pound rainbows on 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 heftier trout and released 4 others before deciding to put down my rod.

However, shore and boat fishing slowed down from the fast pace of that memorable weekend until the bite rebounded over the past week.

The DFG will have stocked nearly one million trout in Lake Davis by the end of this year. The Department stocked Davis on Friday, June 13, with 900 rainbows weighing 6 lbs. each, three thousand fish going 2 lbs. each and eleven brood fish, with the largest weighing 17 pounds, according to Dollard.

The rebirth of Davis Lake follows the DFG's apparently successful chemical treatment of the lake in September 2007 to eradicate the invasive northern pike. The pike had devastated the local economy and had the potential to cause irreversible ecological and economic harm had the fish spread to other waterways, particularly the Feather and Sacramento River systems where salmon and other fish populations are in a state of unprecedented collapse.

"We look forward to the rejuvenation of the lake's reputation as a trophy fishing venue and the sportsman's return to Lake Davis," said City of Portola Mayor Chuck Spencer at a press conference at Lake Davis Dam that I attended. "We commend DFG for the work they have done in this hopefully successful Northern Pike Eradication Project at Lake Davis."

If the fishing anglers are experiencing now is any indication, Lake Davis will be the "go-to lake" for trout anglers in northern California this year, especially as the rainbows grow fat and sassy with damsel flies and other forage.

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