North Sierra Fly Fishing Report
Jon Baiocchi reports on 4.20.17
Lake Davis, Frenchman’s Reservoir, Middle Fork Feather Report
Lake Davis is about 80% iced out and access is very limited. The Taylorsville – Beckwourth road on the eastside is not plowed past the intersection where Lake Davis road meets. You’ll need snowshoes, cross country skis, or a snowmobile to reach areas like Coot Bay and Mallard Cove. Forget about launching a boat anytime soon, still nowword on when the main boat ramp, Honker Cove will be plowed. There is still 3 to 5 feet of snow at the lake, and the current capacity is 109%. The lake is currently flowing out the high water spillway. If you do plan on fishing, try a blood midge pupa under an indicator, or stripping buggers and wiggle tails in black, brown, and olive. Access on the westside with a vehicle is totally out of the question at this time.
Frenchman’s Reservoir is also in the same condition as Lake Davis but an angler can put a float tube in near the dam, using the same flies and techniques as described above. There is less snow at Frenchman’s so access will be available a little sooner than Lake Davis. The capacity of the lake is 104%, and the spillway has been flowing for a while now too. The opener on Little Last Chance Creek below the dam has the potential to be really good as some resident fish of the lake may have been washed down over the spillway.
The Middle Fork Feather River is extremely high, and unlike
the Truckee River, the resident trout like the water temperatures a little
warmer, usually 54 degrees and above. June will be a great month on the river,
and evening dry fly fishing here will be awesome in the evenings of July. I’ve
always caught the bigger fish in this watershed during spring runoff using
streamers like Double Bunnies in a baby rainbow trout scheme, and Bunny Leeches
in black. The MFFR finally got a good flushing, and with the amount of water in
the system it bodes well for the health of the fishery – It sure needed it. So
a little more patience is needed for the waters of Eastern Plumas County, and
if the creeks are your thing, it may be until July 1st. See you out
there.
Jon Baiocchi
Nevada City, CA 95959
(530) 228-0487
Visit my Fly Fishing blog;
http://jonbaiocchiflyfishingnews.blogspot.com/
The Premier Fly Fishing Guide Service for the Northern Sierra;
http://baiocchistroutfitters.com/
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