No Ice, Ice, Baby: A Davis Lake Winter Trout Tale

The following appears in the February issue of California Sportsman:

By Cal Kellogg

When I arrived in the Sierra city of Truckee just before dawn during the second

week of January, the thermometer in my Suburban registered a brisk 18 degrees. As I drove north on Highway 89 for a half hour or so, the temperature steadily inched down, eventually bottoming out at 11 degrees.

As a native Californian who typically avoids the high mountains in the dead of winter, this was the lowest temperature I’d ever encountered. And it honestly had me doubting my plan for a moment or two, but I was committed, so I poured myself another cup of coffee

from the thermos and kept pushing north. I’m glad I did because it proved to be an eventful and memorable adventure to Lake Davis, one of my all-time favorite trout fishing spots!

SNOW-FREE DAVIS

I planned the winter trip to Lake Davis after I saw a Facebook post from Jeanne Graham at J & J’s Grizzly Store and Camping Resort (530-832- 0270). Jeanne lives less than a mile from the dam at Lake Davis and is a reliable source of information about the conditions and fishing at the lake.

Ordinarily at this time of the year, the shores of Davis would be covered in a few feet of snow and the lake would be lidded by a thick sheet of ice. But so far this season, we’ve been

experiencing a wet, warm winter. As a result, Jeanne reported that much of the lake was devoid of ice and there was little snow on the ground.

I typically fish Davis a dozen or more times per year from my kayak, always in spring and fall, but I’d never visited the lake during the winter months. With the lack of ice, it sounded like a perfect time for a day trip.

I thought about hauling my Hobie Pro Angler kayak to the lake, but the ideaofgettingstuckonanicyboat ramp with nobody around to lend a hand wasn’t appealing. Instead, I opted to keep things simple and fish from the bank.

Even though the lake wasn’t iced over, I knew the water temperature would likely be in the 30s. In all likelihood, the most active trout would be in shallow, near-shore waters, and they might be too lethargic to chase a trolled lure or fly.

When I turned off the main highway and started up the small county road to the lake, I felt a surge of excitement and expectation spurred by visiting a familiar destination at an unfamiliar time of the year.

A while back I wrote an in-depth piece detailing Davis (California Sportsman, April 2024). As a reminder, the lake is located in Plumas County and has a surface area of just over 4,000 acres when at full capacity. The nutrient-rich meadow soil that makes up the lake bottom serves as the catalyst for a robust food chain, including shrimp, aquatic insects and minnows. Trout in the form of Eagle Lake-strain rainbows and German browns reside atop the food chain and grow fat dining on a smorgasbord of prey items.

Rainbows averaging 2 pounds and ranging up to 5 are plentiful and it’s not uncommon for me to catch upwards of two dozen a day while trolling from my kayak in the spring and fall.

PICKING A SPOT

“Where should I try my luck?” That was the question running through my mind as I approached the lake at about 7 a.m. I knew that when Davis is covered in ice, anglers tend to work deep-water areas near the dam with success. I’d never fished near the dam, so I dismissed that area as a starting point.

I considered the north end, but concluded weeds might make for difficult bank fishing. In the end, familiarity won out and I pulled into Mallard Cove. This is the spot I generally launch my kayak from and I have a lot of experience trolling the near-shore waters both north and south of the cove.

There is an area just north of Mallard’s primitive boat launch where you can drive right down to the lake. Over the years I’ve watched bank anglers catch a lot of nice trout from that location, but since I was going to be creating a video for my YouTube channel, I decided I’d hike to a spot with a little more privacy.

I doubted anyone would be out fishing due to the cold, but if I were filming and somebody did show up, it would be awkward talking to the camera in front of a stranger.

After parking my Suburban, I gathered up my tripod and fishing rods, slipped on my backpack and headed south toward the dam. In this area, the water offshore ranges from 25 to about 40 feet deep. There are some fairly deep areas near the bank, but plenty of shallow flats too.

The first cove I came to was completely frozen over and there were patches of snow covering the ground. I could see that the point beyond the cove offered open water, so I continued hiking.

The point of the cove appeared to drop away sharply and was protected from the rays of the rising sun. I continued around to the south side of the point and found the slope going into the lake to be gentler and the water fully exposed to the sun. If I were a trout looking to warm up in the sun and grab a bite to eat, this was just the sort of area I’d gravitate to!

A few minutes later I was standing next to the lake marveling at thin shards of broken ice lining the bank. For the moment, I concluded the ice had been formed by waves breaking on the beach. In time, I’d find this conclusion was incorrect.

SLOW START

I was armed with three spinning rods. My plan was to devote one rod to bait fishing and utilize the other two for tossing lures and flies.

The bait rod was rigged with a Carolina-style setup for floating dough baits or inflated worms off the bottom. Unfortunately, despite stopping at three different shops, I wasn’t able to get any nightcrawlers, but I did have some Gulp! Pinched Crawlers that would serve as a good worm substitute in a – wait for it – pinch!

I baited the rig with a small ball of yellow Zeke’s Sierra Gold dough bait to begin with and tossed it out about 25 feet offshore. I thought shallow water near the bank would offer the trout the most warmth.

After leaning the bait rod on a convenient near-shore piece of driftwood, I attached an orange Pinhead spoon to one of my remaining spinning rods and started fan casting. I worked diligently for about 20 minutes while enjoying the serene beauty of winter in the high Sierra and keeping an eye on the bait rod.

When the spoon failed to produce, I switched to the other rod armed with a clear casting bubble and orange Woolly Bugger streamer. With this rig, I made very long casts and worked the fly back slowly with plenty of pauses and twitches.

THROWING A CHANGEUP

After 90 minutes with zero results, I was ready for a break from casting and it was time to change up the bait rig. Davis is full of trout, and I was working in an area that had literally produced hundreds of trout for me in the past, so I was surprised by the lack of action.

What I really wanted to use was an inflated ’crawler, but since that wasn’t an option, I tied on a two-hook leader. This way I could fish dough bait and a Gulp! Crawler at the same time. I also decided I wanted to cast out further. After reeling in the bait rig, I put on a heavier sinker, attached the double- hook leader and baited the hooks.

The bottom hook sported a ball of green Sierra Gold and the other hook was armed with half a Gulp! bait. This time, I tossed the rig about 50 feet offshore and leaned the rod on the driftwood.

FISH ON!

I was about to begin casting with a gold spoon when I noticed the bait rod’s line twitch once and then again. Something was playing with the bait! I rushed over, opened the bail on the spinning rod and waited. The last thing I wanted to do was rush the hookset and miss the fish.

For long seconds nothing happened, but then the line began moving off very slowly, indicating the fish was lethargic due to the frigid water temperature. When I was sure the trout had the bait, I engaged the reel, allowed the line to tighten and set the hook into solid weight.

At first, the fish came my way, but as it ran into shallower water, it started putting up a spirited fight with plenty of headshaking and short, fast runs. Gradually, I worked the chrome-bright rainbow toward the bank. When the moment was right, I slid the trout right up onto the beach. Upon inspection, I found the trout had gobbled down both the dough bait and the imitation worm.

The rainbow was 21 inches long and I knew it would provide a great meal for my wife and I. After dispatching the trout, I stashed it under some of the ice.

HERE COMES THE WIND AND OTTER

I worked hard for the next couple hours without further results, and then a stiff breeze came up out of the south and blew directly into my face. At one point, a sheet of ice 20 or 30 feet across and maybe 10 feet wide was pushed up onto the bank a couple hundred feet from my location and broke up on the rocks. That solved the mystery of where the jumble of broken sheet ice lining the bank had come from.

Around noon, I decided to hike back to the truck and drive over to the dam to try my luck there. I figured if nothing else I could hide from the wind.
Unfortunately, the area in front of the dam was completely iced over. As I stood on the dam filming the final scene of my video, I heard a funny noise in the area near the face of the dam, so I crept over to take a look.

Perhaps 30 feet away, an otter had popped up out of a small patch of open water and was sitting on the ice. When it got a glimpse of me, back into the water it went!
On that note, I climbed back into the Suburban and headed for home. It had been a treat to visit Lake Davis during the dead of winter. As things turned out, I’d timed my trip perfectly. Within a few days, a cold front moved in and the entire lake froze over.

I’ll be back at Davis this April. In the meantime, I’m hoping for snow so the lake is nice and full this summer. CS