I finally took the boat out on Davis for a shakedown cruise and was absolutely amazed by the amount of water in the lake. of the snow is gone from the lake but the westside still looks snowed in and impassable. I only fished for a few hours before the wind forced me off the lake. It was nice launching from the Lightning Tree boat ramp for the first time in YEARS, but the dock has not been installed yet so retrieving in the wind was a pain in the ass. All four launch ramps are usable this year!
On a down note, only one Forest Service campground is open this year,Lightning Tree. Grizzly and Grasshopper are closed for improvements and there is very limited dispersed camping on the west side of the lake. J&J's Grizzly Store has 34 camping sites available for tents and RV's and is less expensive than the Forest Service campgrounds.Check them out!
The water clarity in the north end of the lake is pretty poor at this time with a foot or two of visibility and a color that ranged from chocolate milk to pea soup. There is a lot of water to explore this year and finding fish should be a fun and challenging experience.There were a few blood midges around but not much else at this time. The damsels should start showing up anytime but with the full lake may have a long migration this year. I am hoping for a good hatch but expect it to be about the same as last year...spotty. If they don't show in great numbers don't be too bummed because midging will be outstanding as usual! Blood midge pupa's and Sano's rootbeer midge will catch plenty of fish!Next up...Frenchman's.
