el_chojin
10-03-2010, 01:57 PM
Yesterday was an exciting day for me. It was our first time fishing for striper. Normally we only fish for trout. My buddies and I had been planning and talking about DVL for quite a few weeks now. After lots of research and schedules opening up we decided on a date to go. We arrived a little before 6:00 and waited in line till the gates opened around 6:30.
With all the paperwork done we finally get to our rental at 7:15ish. We were very surprised at how nice the basic boat is. I've only been fishing since July so I haven't been to any lakes other than Hemet and Castaic and all they have are putt-putts. After a last inspection we take off towards the west dam. Weather was cloudy and cool. No boils in sight and we kind of drift around and anchor. A mistake we later realized. We blind casted for a while then headed over to Saddleback dam. We get to a small cove that seemed fairly active. A few boils and another angler seemed to have caught a small lmb and released it. A bite here and there but couldn't hook anything. Around 10:30 it started to clear up and the sun was shining down.
After a bathroom break it was off to the east dam. We couldn't get to the spot we wanted to as there was a helicopter pulling water near there for reasons unknown to me. We find a shrubby shady area near some concrete platform and set up shop. A school of shad showed up but no bites. There were some boils but these were different. Reminded me of carp at Lake Hemet. Another cove and school of shad later, still nothing. A bluegill followed my cousin's kroc back to the boat though.
Around 2 we went back to Saddleback dam. It was really warm and the sun was bearing down on us. Another school of small shad and a fish I couldn't identify, probably a small lmb, we were still being skunked. Around 3 the wind really started to pick up. As a last ditch effort we went somewhere between west dam and the buoy line and fished deep. I drop shotted a robo on 1 oz. Around 4 with everyone being tired we decided to call it a day and headed back.
After talking to a few other anglers there didn't seem to be much action all around. And if there was, the fish were small. A guy working the dock said the thunder and lightning from the night before could have agitated the fish. Probably trying to make us feel better.
Even though we were skunked we still had a great time out there. DVL is very beautiful and being on a nice boat made things much better. DVL is huge, there looks to be so many spots that have potential but we couldn't get to. Next time though. We threw our entire arsenal out there...all sorts of rapalas, swim baits, krocs, thomas buoyants worked at different speeds and pauses. Robos, lip ripperz, nightcrawlers wacky rigged, texas rigged on a carolina rig or drop shot. After drowning our sorrows in pho and ice cream we came up with a new gameplan for next time. We don't think it was our tackle, just when and where we fished. Hopefully we'll be back in 2 weeks to see if we're right.
Lastly I want to thank all those who post reports. The information was been very helpful to a rookie like me. I can't wait to continue to learn more and gain more experience.
With all the paperwork done we finally get to our rental at 7:15ish. We were very surprised at how nice the basic boat is. I've only been fishing since July so I haven't been to any lakes other than Hemet and Castaic and all they have are putt-putts. After a last inspection we take off towards the west dam. Weather was cloudy and cool. No boils in sight and we kind of drift around and anchor. A mistake we later realized. We blind casted for a while then headed over to Saddleback dam. We get to a small cove that seemed fairly active. A few boils and another angler seemed to have caught a small lmb and released it. A bite here and there but couldn't hook anything. Around 10:30 it started to clear up and the sun was shining down.
After a bathroom break it was off to the east dam. We couldn't get to the spot we wanted to as there was a helicopter pulling water near there for reasons unknown to me. We find a shrubby shady area near some concrete platform and set up shop. A school of shad showed up but no bites. There were some boils but these were different. Reminded me of carp at Lake Hemet. Another cove and school of shad later, still nothing. A bluegill followed my cousin's kroc back to the boat though.
Around 2 we went back to Saddleback dam. It was really warm and the sun was bearing down on us. Another school of small shad and a fish I couldn't identify, probably a small lmb, we were still being skunked. Around 3 the wind really started to pick up. As a last ditch effort we went somewhere between west dam and the buoy line and fished deep. I drop shotted a robo on 1 oz. Around 4 with everyone being tired we decided to call it a day and headed back.
After talking to a few other anglers there didn't seem to be much action all around. And if there was, the fish were small. A guy working the dock said the thunder and lightning from the night before could have agitated the fish. Probably trying to make us feel better.
Even though we were skunked we still had a great time out there. DVL is very beautiful and being on a nice boat made things much better. DVL is huge, there looks to be so many spots that have potential but we couldn't get to. Next time though. We threw our entire arsenal out there...all sorts of rapalas, swim baits, krocs, thomas buoyants worked at different speeds and pauses. Robos, lip ripperz, nightcrawlers wacky rigged, texas rigged on a carolina rig or drop shot. After drowning our sorrows in pho and ice cream we came up with a new gameplan for next time. We don't think it was our tackle, just when and where we fished. Hopefully we'll be back in 2 weeks to see if we're right.
Lastly I want to thank all those who post reports. The information was been very helpful to a rookie like me. I can't wait to continue to learn more and gain more experience.