AnglerBob
04-23-2009, 09:48 PM
Every Spring, I like to do an annual trek to DVL with Bassmaster Jack. I admit I wasn’t sure what to expect this time. Jim Matthews for weeks had been posting reports saying you couldn’t miss here: the place was on fire, fish were leaping into boats at random, passing motorists warned to roll up windows, etc. But, the water levels are way down, and I hadn’t seen many FNN reports on the place in quite a while. So, you never know.
We met up at the bait shop around 6:45 with an enthusiastic crowd of midweek anglers who, like us, could appreciate the value of the warm spawning conditions and the Wednesday half-price boat rental. Our top-secret strategy was to surreptitiously observe the baits the pros were buying (Ika tube baits, Roboworms) and get those. I admire Jack because he is undeterred by the financial sacrifices of fishing. “See this?” he asked, holding out a small overpriced package of plastic goo. “Guy over there says he caught an eight-pounder yesterday on those. Near the dam. I’m all over that like...like Michael Jackson at...well, at a day care center.” (Jack’s metaphors sometimes fail him.)
So, armed with Roboworms in 27 decorator colors, we set out to fish the lake, or what’s left of it, anyway. It sure has shrunk. “We’ll be able to sight fish easily this morning,” Jack exclaimed. Oh, joy. Confession: I hate to sight fish, because I can’t stand the humiliation. This morning proved to be no exception. Maneuvering into a cove near the East dam, we found lurking bass in sparkling clear water and presented our offerings. Naturally, they were all rejected, with some piscatorial sneering. Jack expertly threw crank and spinner baits, which drew followers, but apparently only for the comedic value. Meanwhile, I had an admiring throng grouped around my drop-shotted worm, commenting in fishspeak on what a crummy palomar knot I’d tied. Soon, they abandoned us and began chasing shad in the back of the cove, an activity we couldn’t deter them from.
After 40 minutes or so of this mortification, Jack wisely suggested we move outside of the cove into slightly deeper water. That was the ticket. In the 20-foot zone, we found some slightly wind-ruffled water in a narrow passage between an island and the shore. We drifted through here, correcting slightly with the trolling motor, and my Roboworm was suddenly wrenched with the force of an angry DVL bass. Moving to the calm, leeward side of the island, I picked up another, and soon Jack connected as well.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0857.jpghttp://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0859.jpg
After that, we could do no wrong. As the wind dimpled the surface a bit, the bass grew less spooky. We found fish in most hard-bottom spots between 3 and 20 feet. We lacked a map and the skill to find mid-lake high spots and features, but just pounding the shoreline and islands worked fine. Obvious structure such as jutting points, rip-rap and drop-offs were good. Some of the best spots were in the backs of exposed main-lake coves where the wind was pushing food in.http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0860.jpg
As often happens at DVL, the wind grew pretty formidable by the afternoon and although the bite didn’t diminish, it was getting harder and harder to fish. We had to put the trolling motor on “puree” just to break even, which quickly caused the battery to wear down. However, we discovered that we could leave the main outboard idling, which would stuff a few amps back into the battery and keep the trolling motor going. In the blustery conditions, this didn’t seem to spook the fish.
As we grew tired of fighting the wind, we headed for the protected coves near the West dam on the South shore. We motored into a barren, moonscape area with ultra-clean water that looked surreal somehow, like a Disneyland ride.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0864.jpg
Jack cleaned up here, sticking several more fish on Watermelon Ikas. Other coves on this side were calm, but didn’t produce fish, so we headed back towards the East Dam where we’d started. Finished off the day there with a doubleheader, right about the time the wind began making it unfishable.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0862.jpg
I ended up with nine fish, Jack with seven, all between 2 and 3.5 lbs. Most looked like smaller spawned-out females. My fish were all on 6” drop-shot Roboworms—the Morning Dawn w/yellow tip, and the Purple FX. Jack used the same baits and also caught a few on the watermelon Ikas. Surface water temp was a warm 70º from the previous days of blistering heat, which had dropped to a pleasant 82º or so. All fish were released.
I was unsure what stage of the spawning game these fish were in. I think they were mostly done. I didn’t see any bedding pairs in the shallows. Occasionally I’d see a small male on a shallow nest. I don’t think they were guarding fry. I think they were the guys who, like some of us, just can’t get a date. You know, the ones trying to impress females with the fish equivalent of action figure sets and Xbox games. I felt kinda sorry for them.
This was my personal best fishing day at DVL in terms of numbers, although I’ve caught slightly bigger fish in the past. It remains a fantastic destination and resource right here in our backyard, and I realized that if I’d flown here to fish from some other state, I’d have considered it a successful and worthwhile trip. As always, lake staff were pleasant, courteous and professional, although the battered rental boat fleet is getting due for a makeover. If you go, remember to bring plenty of water. If you don’t drink it all, you can dump it in the lake. I figure if each fisherman donates one 24-oz bottle of Sparkletts, we’ll have that launch ramp back in no time.
We met up at the bait shop around 6:45 with an enthusiastic crowd of midweek anglers who, like us, could appreciate the value of the warm spawning conditions and the Wednesday half-price boat rental. Our top-secret strategy was to surreptitiously observe the baits the pros were buying (Ika tube baits, Roboworms) and get those. I admire Jack because he is undeterred by the financial sacrifices of fishing. “See this?” he asked, holding out a small overpriced package of plastic goo. “Guy over there says he caught an eight-pounder yesterday on those. Near the dam. I’m all over that like...like Michael Jackson at...well, at a day care center.” (Jack’s metaphors sometimes fail him.)
So, armed with Roboworms in 27 decorator colors, we set out to fish the lake, or what’s left of it, anyway. It sure has shrunk. “We’ll be able to sight fish easily this morning,” Jack exclaimed. Oh, joy. Confession: I hate to sight fish, because I can’t stand the humiliation. This morning proved to be no exception. Maneuvering into a cove near the East dam, we found lurking bass in sparkling clear water and presented our offerings. Naturally, they were all rejected, with some piscatorial sneering. Jack expertly threw crank and spinner baits, which drew followers, but apparently only for the comedic value. Meanwhile, I had an admiring throng grouped around my drop-shotted worm, commenting in fishspeak on what a crummy palomar knot I’d tied. Soon, they abandoned us and began chasing shad in the back of the cove, an activity we couldn’t deter them from.
After 40 minutes or so of this mortification, Jack wisely suggested we move outside of the cove into slightly deeper water. That was the ticket. In the 20-foot zone, we found some slightly wind-ruffled water in a narrow passage between an island and the shore. We drifted through here, correcting slightly with the trolling motor, and my Roboworm was suddenly wrenched with the force of an angry DVL bass. Moving to the calm, leeward side of the island, I picked up another, and soon Jack connected as well.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0857.jpghttp://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0859.jpg
After that, we could do no wrong. As the wind dimpled the surface a bit, the bass grew less spooky. We found fish in most hard-bottom spots between 3 and 20 feet. We lacked a map and the skill to find mid-lake high spots and features, but just pounding the shoreline and islands worked fine. Obvious structure such as jutting points, rip-rap and drop-offs were good. Some of the best spots were in the backs of exposed main-lake coves where the wind was pushing food in.http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0860.jpg
As often happens at DVL, the wind grew pretty formidable by the afternoon and although the bite didn’t diminish, it was getting harder and harder to fish. We had to put the trolling motor on “puree” just to break even, which quickly caused the battery to wear down. However, we discovered that we could leave the main outboard idling, which would stuff a few amps back into the battery and keep the trolling motor going. In the blustery conditions, this didn’t seem to spook the fish.
As we grew tired of fighting the wind, we headed for the protected coves near the West dam on the South shore. We motored into a barren, moonscape area with ultra-clean water that looked surreal somehow, like a Disneyland ride.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0864.jpg
Jack cleaned up here, sticking several more fish on Watermelon Ikas. Other coves on this side were calm, but didn’t produce fish, so we headed back towards the East Dam where we’d started. Finished off the day there with a doubleheader, right about the time the wind began making it unfishable.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-22-09/IMG_0862.jpg
I ended up with nine fish, Jack with seven, all between 2 and 3.5 lbs. Most looked like smaller spawned-out females. My fish were all on 6” drop-shot Roboworms—the Morning Dawn w/yellow tip, and the Purple FX. Jack used the same baits and also caught a few on the watermelon Ikas. Surface water temp was a warm 70º from the previous days of blistering heat, which had dropped to a pleasant 82º or so. All fish were released.
I was unsure what stage of the spawning game these fish were in. I think they were mostly done. I didn’t see any bedding pairs in the shallows. Occasionally I’d see a small male on a shallow nest. I don’t think they were guarding fry. I think they were the guys who, like some of us, just can’t get a date. You know, the ones trying to impress females with the fish equivalent of action figure sets and Xbox games. I felt kinda sorry for them.
This was my personal best fishing day at DVL in terms of numbers, although I’ve caught slightly bigger fish in the past. It remains a fantastic destination and resource right here in our backyard, and I realized that if I’d flown here to fish from some other state, I’d have considered it a successful and worthwhile trip. As always, lake staff were pleasant, courteous and professional, although the battered rental boat fleet is getting due for a makeover. If you go, remember to bring plenty of water. If you don’t drink it all, you can dump it in the lake. I figure if each fisherman donates one 24-oz bottle of Sparkletts, we’ll have that launch ramp back in no time.