AnglerBob
04-19-2013, 09:52 AM
This week was my annual DVL excursion, and I opted to make a two-day mini-vacation out of it, since in traffic it seems like it takes that long to get there. The plan was to concentrate on bass, but spend some time in search of quality trout, hopefully a holdover, via trolling or bait drifting as well.
I decided to get a late start Tuesday, and pay a first-time visit to Last Chance Tackle in search of worms and advice, both of which they offer in spades. I met FNN's DVL guru Matt, who was on hand with up-to-the-minute information. Matt suggested 5” slim Senkos would be the best bet, in two specific colors. When I asked about the trout scene, he was not optimistic. “It's been a while since they've stocked,” he said, “and most of the fish have either been caught or eaten by stripers. Unfortunately, I think it's possible you could fish for trout all day and not get a bite.” This sounded discouraging, so I decided to heed his suggestions and just work on the bass.
I hadn't made a reservation, but there were only two bass boats left to rent—a sign that the fishing, and possibly the economy, was picking up, perhaps. The lake has a new fleet of premium bass boats available, but I took one of the older ones, which are wider and cheaper. Both have their advantages, depending on the ride quality and performance you seek and room you need. Although well worn, the boat ran adequately. I made sure to examine the prop carefully this time, after a surprise fee on my last visit.
With only half a day remaining, I decided to stick to the near side of the lake, heading straight for Rawson Cove and working my way back around the dam to the marina area and nearby shoreline, skipping of course the coves reserved for shore fishing. Conditions were grim with high winds, unseasonable cold and dark clouds, but I managed a few bass using the Senkos. Fishing these weightless and wacky-rigged felt like fly-lining a nightcrawler; frequently I had slack line due to wind and current, with no clue as to whether my bait had sunk or was floating listlessly near the top. So I would take the slack up, and sometimes to my utter astonishment, there'd be a fish.
The real surprise, though, came as I'd pulled the boat into shallower and very sheltered water, wanting to see how shallow these bass would go. I tossed the senko into a narrow passage and it was seized violently. After a short battle, I saw I had a trout: a beautiful holdover a little over two pounds, with a defined pink stripe, full fins and spots.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0012_zps991f09ec.jpg (http://s629.photobucket.com/user/AnglerBob/media/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0012_zps991f09ec.jpg.html)
Sleek and strong DVL holdover trout
A second cast produced a similar trout (to my complete amazement), but the area quickly died after that, so I continued working the shoreline, ending up with three bass for the day, the two trout and a mild case of hypothermia. Fair enough, but I hoped Wednesday would be better.
And it was, a bit. Met up with Bassmaster Jack at the tackle shop and opted for the new “premium” boat. These are new green Tracker sleds with EFI fuel-injected outboards. The engines are more powerful and start more easily than the older models, and the hulls handle the DVL rough chop adequately, although you'll want to slow down to avoid losing your gear and fishing partners (more on that later). They're equipped with the same Lowrance X52 sonar as the older boats, which do an adequate job of indicating depth and bottom structure but lack the features of today's advanced units. Unfortunately, the trolling motors are no more powerful or long-lasting; ours failed in the first two hours, despite Jack being very judicious and relatively calm morning conditions.
The day started with a steady pick. No one area produced multiple fish, and you had to work for them, but they were there. As the sun grew warm overhead, though, the bite dwindled and long stretches between fish ensued. We tried different techniques: dropshot, shaky head. Then the wind began in earnest, and I grew frustrated with the Senko and switched to dropshot Robos, which did get hit occasionally. Nothing of any real size: these were all 1-2 pound fish, which does make me wonder what happened to all the lunkers we were catching in years past.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0014_zpse1ee8139.jpg (http://s629.photobucket.com/user/AnglerBob/media/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0014_zpse1ee8139.jpg.html)
Jack with a typical DVL bass
We found fish in a huge variety of spots, but mostly moderately sloping shoreline with small rocks, mud or trees. Boulders, rip-rap and steep cliffs were not productive, suggesting the majority of fish are still on or near nests. Small breaks and features often outperformed “obvious” spots which take more fishing pressure. The ability to stick to technique—keeping that drop-shot line at the right angle, giving it just the right amount of action—would eventually pay off, if you didn't succumb to boredom.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0017_zps9289e35b.jpg (http://s629.photobucket.com/user/AnglerBob/media/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0017_zps9289e35b.jpg.html)
Angler Bob rockin' the dinks
Around 5 PM, we grew weary of fighting the wind and packed it in. Jack had managed eight; from the backseat, I'd only pulled in four. However, I had a lot of missed hooksets and LDRs—I'd rigged everything weedless and just wasn't giving it a good enough yank with the billowing line. Lack of practice lately and a little off my mojo.
When we returned to the dock, the consensus was that it had been a very slow day for almost everyone. The cold weather and high winds of Monday and Tuesday had driven down surface water temperature (62-63F) and put the bass off their feed. So, we felt good about sticking it out, fishing hard and boating a few. Sometimes that's all you're gonna get.
It was great to meet Matt, who had excellent advice, although I'm glad he wasn't entirely correct on the matter of holdover trout (which I released along with the bass, since my freezer is already stuffed with an enormous Irvine Frankenfish). All I can say is there are at least two holdover trout in the lake, and they apparently eat Senkos. Who knew?
I decided to get a late start Tuesday, and pay a first-time visit to Last Chance Tackle in search of worms and advice, both of which they offer in spades. I met FNN's DVL guru Matt, who was on hand with up-to-the-minute information. Matt suggested 5” slim Senkos would be the best bet, in two specific colors. When I asked about the trout scene, he was not optimistic. “It's been a while since they've stocked,” he said, “and most of the fish have either been caught or eaten by stripers. Unfortunately, I think it's possible you could fish for trout all day and not get a bite.” This sounded discouraging, so I decided to heed his suggestions and just work on the bass.
I hadn't made a reservation, but there were only two bass boats left to rent—a sign that the fishing, and possibly the economy, was picking up, perhaps. The lake has a new fleet of premium bass boats available, but I took one of the older ones, which are wider and cheaper. Both have their advantages, depending on the ride quality and performance you seek and room you need. Although well worn, the boat ran adequately. I made sure to examine the prop carefully this time, after a surprise fee on my last visit.
With only half a day remaining, I decided to stick to the near side of the lake, heading straight for Rawson Cove and working my way back around the dam to the marina area and nearby shoreline, skipping of course the coves reserved for shore fishing. Conditions were grim with high winds, unseasonable cold and dark clouds, but I managed a few bass using the Senkos. Fishing these weightless and wacky-rigged felt like fly-lining a nightcrawler; frequently I had slack line due to wind and current, with no clue as to whether my bait had sunk or was floating listlessly near the top. So I would take the slack up, and sometimes to my utter astonishment, there'd be a fish.
The real surprise, though, came as I'd pulled the boat into shallower and very sheltered water, wanting to see how shallow these bass would go. I tossed the senko into a narrow passage and it was seized violently. After a short battle, I saw I had a trout: a beautiful holdover a little over two pounds, with a defined pink stripe, full fins and spots.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0012_zps991f09ec.jpg (http://s629.photobucket.com/user/AnglerBob/media/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0012_zps991f09ec.jpg.html)
Sleek and strong DVL holdover trout
A second cast produced a similar trout (to my complete amazement), but the area quickly died after that, so I continued working the shoreline, ending up with three bass for the day, the two trout and a mild case of hypothermia. Fair enough, but I hoped Wednesday would be better.
And it was, a bit. Met up with Bassmaster Jack at the tackle shop and opted for the new “premium” boat. These are new green Tracker sleds with EFI fuel-injected outboards. The engines are more powerful and start more easily than the older models, and the hulls handle the DVL rough chop adequately, although you'll want to slow down to avoid losing your gear and fishing partners (more on that later). They're equipped with the same Lowrance X52 sonar as the older boats, which do an adequate job of indicating depth and bottom structure but lack the features of today's advanced units. Unfortunately, the trolling motors are no more powerful or long-lasting; ours failed in the first two hours, despite Jack being very judicious and relatively calm morning conditions.
The day started with a steady pick. No one area produced multiple fish, and you had to work for them, but they were there. As the sun grew warm overhead, though, the bite dwindled and long stretches between fish ensued. We tried different techniques: dropshot, shaky head. Then the wind began in earnest, and I grew frustrated with the Senko and switched to dropshot Robos, which did get hit occasionally. Nothing of any real size: these were all 1-2 pound fish, which does make me wonder what happened to all the lunkers we were catching in years past.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0014_zpse1ee8139.jpg (http://s629.photobucket.com/user/AnglerBob/media/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0014_zpse1ee8139.jpg.html)
Jack with a typical DVL bass
We found fish in a huge variety of spots, but mostly moderately sloping shoreline with small rocks, mud or trees. Boulders, rip-rap and steep cliffs were not productive, suggesting the majority of fish are still on or near nests. Small breaks and features often outperformed “obvious” spots which take more fishing pressure. The ability to stick to technique—keeping that drop-shot line at the right angle, giving it just the right amount of action—would eventually pay off, if you didn't succumb to boredom.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0017_zps9289e35b.jpg (http://s629.photobucket.com/user/AnglerBob/media/DVL%204-17-13/IMG_0017_zps9289e35b.jpg.html)
Angler Bob rockin' the dinks
Around 5 PM, we grew weary of fighting the wind and packed it in. Jack had managed eight; from the backseat, I'd only pulled in four. However, I had a lot of missed hooksets and LDRs—I'd rigged everything weedless and just wasn't giving it a good enough yank with the billowing line. Lack of practice lately and a little off my mojo.
When we returned to the dock, the consensus was that it had been a very slow day for almost everyone. The cold weather and high winds of Monday and Tuesday had driven down surface water temperature (62-63F) and put the bass off their feed. So, we felt good about sticking it out, fishing hard and boating a few. Sometimes that's all you're gonna get.
It was great to meet Matt, who had excellent advice, although I'm glad he wasn't entirely correct on the matter of holdover trout (which I released along with the bass, since my freezer is already stuffed with an enormous Irvine Frankenfish). All I can say is there are at least two holdover trout in the lake, and they apparently eat Senkos. Who knew?