My VERY LONG..ABA DVL TOURNEY STORY & REPORT...PLUS GOOD INFO!! EVEN FOR STRIPERS

So This past Sunday marked the end of the 2017 ABA Diamond Valley region regular season...

With the ABA Perris region already wrapping up last month where I finished in 2nd place in the series point standings after a good but not stellar season. I wanted to end the DVL regular season by winning my 3rd straight Angler of the Year title.. but I knew it was going to be a battle because the top 3 teams in the series were separated by just ONE POINT.. Us and another team were tied for 1st and another team was just one point behind in 2nd place.. This for all intents and purposes was the closest year in the series in recent memory...And we were in the thick of it..

Ive been doing some recon trips to DVL over the last few weeks and felt like I had the bite dialed in completely..

I found 3 solid offshore areas where I knew I could catch a big bag of bass So I made it a point to stay off said areas in the 4-5 days leading up to this tourney.

I had all my spots narrowed down to 2 patterns which meant Id only have two rods on my deck.. And the people that know me know that if I have only two rods on the deck, you better watch out...because Im dialed in!!

So the night before the tourney i put together a game plan... After all...as I always say.. "If you arent planning on winning then you are planning to lose."

So i put together the game plan... I knew where I was going to start, what I was going to throw and for how long. I knew where our 2nd spot was and how to fish it and I knew where my 3rd spot was and EXACTLY what time I wanted to get there as I have that spot dialed in to the time of day when the big bass eat there..

The boat was in order, the tackle was in order and the game plan was in order...simply put... We were READY..

So when the director called our number as we blasted off, we were like kids on Christmas morning... We couldnt wait to get started..

We pull up to our first spot and start casting... then another boat pulls up and its my buddy Mike... This spot is big enough for 2 boats, so we start fishing and giving each other some freedom to roam. Ive respected Mike since day 1 as he was one of the first people in the bass fishing community to help me out in 1999 so I have alot of respect for him.. So we all start fishing... Quickly Mike catches 2 bass... and we are still looking to find our groove.. I tell Carissa to stay focused on what we need to do.. We keep grinding..

Then Carissa makes a long cast...and after a few drags .. she gets bit and crosses its eyes!!! Soon after, a big DIAMOND VALLEY bass leaps out of the water 40 yards from the boat.. ITS A GOOD ONE...

She fights it perfectly to the boat and I net it...BOOM Good one almost 5 lbs..

Then I get into the mix...as I swing on a bass and set the hook... Keeper number 2 on the boat 3 1/2 lber...NOW WE'RE ROLLING!!

Then a few minutes later Carissa get bit again and sets the hook.. A solid DVL bass comes straight up just below the surface.. not a giant but a solid 3 1/2 -4 lber.. It surges back to bottom and takes her into the trees and breaks her line...NOOOOOO!!!!! That sucks but thats the nature of fishing flooded deep trees..

"Shake it off", I say...

So we continue casting... then again she gets bit and sets the hook... This bass doesnt come up like the last one, rather it stays deep right into the trees... we try for 7 minutes to get it out but the line finally breaks...NOOOOOOO...... We're seeing our title slowly drift away...

"We need to regroup", I tell her... "we'll catch more"..

So we keep grinding... Then Mike leaves so we have the area to ourselves... But the bites stopped.... Just as I was about to leave, I get bit.... Boom keeper #3 in the boat.. So we stayed another 1/2 hour... no more bites...

"We need to move", I say.

So we make the move to spot #2.. a spot that I knew had good numbers of bass but I also knew it too had deep trees and getting stuck was a risk...

We start fishing and fish it hard for almost an hour for no bites..and nothing but lost weights and hooks to show for it..

Those two lost fish are looming large.. But we can only keep grinding..

At 9;55 I say lets go.. I want to be on our 3rd spot at 10am exactly because its a timing type spot.. the big fish there eat at or about the same time every day... Like I said, I had my spots dialed in..

So we pull up to the spot and I give Carissa the details of the spot...and we start firing ... With in a couple casts... Im barely moving my Texas Rig along the bottom and I all of a suddenly feel slight pressure.... I KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS... SO I SET THE HOOK!!! DEEP HEADSHAKE... ITS A OOD ONE!!!

Just then a 6lb Diamond Valley Grumpy bass comes leaping out of the water 40 yards away... AND my hook is in its lip!!! GAME ON!!!

I play it to the boat and Carissa nets it... Looks like a solid 6 lber!!! WE'RE BACK IN THE GAME!!!

A little while later, I feel pressure again so I swing and we have keeper number 5 in the boat...That's our limit...

We then continue fishing the spot for another hour and a half...

NO MORE BITES.... so its time to make a milk run back through our spots....

So we make a move....We spent the rest of the day fishing our spots for nothing but a few short fish... no more keepers...

Then with about 30 minutes left in the day Carissa catches a solid keeper that got rid of a barely keeper I caught earlier in the morning..

Was it going to be enough to win the tournament? Were we going to win our 3rd straight Angler of the Year title at DVL?

We were about to find out...so off to weighins we went...

When I got to the ramp, most guys were saying that it was a tough day so I had no clue what everyone got..

We got in line and waited....boat after boat weighed in with small weights... then the team that we were tied with weighed in their limit...14 lbs.. we know we have them beat...so thats one hurdle down.... The tension was high and the drama was higher..

Then the team that was in 2nd place by one point came to the scales.... And they had a huge bag of fish... they weighed 18.83 lbs...AND THEY HAD A BIG BASS THAT WEIGHED 7 1/2 lbs.. WHOA...THATS CLUTCH!! and they were the new tournament leaders... only a few boats were left including us who were the last boat in line..

Then the team that was 3rd in the standings weighs in and they have 18.72... they are in 2nd place and could be spoilers for us...

So the stage was set... we were the last boat to weigh in.. We needed to finish 2nd or first to win the title..If we finished third we'd lose the title by one point...

We needed to have 18.72 or better...

The weighmaster got our fish...put our bg bass on the scale..5.46 lbs...which was good for 2nd big bass of the day...

Then he put all the fish together and put our fish on the scale... it went over 19 lbs then back down to 17 as the bass flopped around in the basket... the drama was intense!!

When the bass settled down the weighmaster called out our weight... 18.32 lbs......AWWWWWEEEEEEEE!!!!

And with that, we finished 3rd in the tourney and lost the Angler of the Year title by 1 single point!!

After about one minute to compose myself I went over and said congrats to the new champs... they earned it... They stepped up in the final round and caught a giant 7 1/2 lber and won the event. We had some misfortune and it cost us.... But we did our best and thats that... Sometimes you just get beat!!

As Kevin Van Dam once said... "you cant always be awesome"... We battled hard, we never gave up and we took the good with the bad and thats all we could do..

CONGRATS to the new champs... We're coming for your title next year... you can bet on it..

We're already looking forward to next season.... but now its time to enjoy the summer and maybe fish a random night event and get ready for the US OPEN!!!

A quick thank you to all my sponsors that all mean the world to me..

Bass Pro Shops
Nitro Boats
Costa Sunglasses
Dobyns Rods
Fairveiw Ford
Gee Gee Baits
McSpin Tailspins

Now for some good Info...

Although there are a ton of fish up along the shoreline along the brush line in 8-12 ft I have found better quality fish stacked up offshore on structure in 18-30 ft of water.. the structure being underwater Islands and high spots with rock and scattered wood (trees).. Use a map or your graph and find the islands and highspots as there are ALOT of them on the lake right now
What I think is happening is that these bass are suspending in the trees and go down to the rock to feed. Often youll get bit as soon as you bait hits bottom, which tells me that these fish are following the bait down as it passes through the trees...
Other times in the areas with less trees I find that these fish move up to the high spots at certain times of day to feed then they go back to suspending... So figure out the timing as youll smash them.. For instance.. fish them early, then mid morning and again in the afternoon and youll figure out when they are eating.
On my 3rd spot I was talking about for instance, those fish absolutely don't bite in the morning...How do I know that? because for at least 8-9 trips, Ive never caught a bass on it until 10 am... So I don't go there until then.. its like clock work... Then my first spot is best it seem early and then again late so it works out good for me not needing to be there mid morning..
The two rods I have on my deck are a dropshot and a Texas rig... Im using Gee Gee baits G-TECH 4.5″ & 6″ in the copper neon craw and the corpatone.. I'm dropshotting the 4.5" on 6lb flouro and Texas rigging the 6" with a 1/8 oz weight on 8b flouro.... Both are getting both about the same...depending on the water clarity.. I look at the water color in an area and determine which of the two colors to use... Its simple... If the water has that ugly brownish algae bloom I go with he Corpatone and if the water has the green little algae balls/clumps I go with the Copper neon crawl... its all about contrast people...In my opinion..

Heres something that is HUGE.... When you catch a big fish.... DONT LEAVE... the big girls are schooling up together... If you catch a 6-8 incher... chances are you wont catch a giant.. or at least you wont catch many of them... I feel like these fish are schooling up for the most part by size...
Another HUGE TIP.... DO NOT SHAKE YOUR BAIT....JUST SLOW SHORT DRAGS... And I never move my bait after the initial cast for about 20-30 seconds... just cast it in..let it fall, and wait before you feel the bait, then slowly make you line taunt and feel for pressure...often they will already be on it... if so cross its eyes... if not, then slowly drag the bait a foot only... at a time...

If this is all too much to take in and you want me to show you the ropes, Call me and book your trip SOON and Ill get you out there and turn these words into reality for you.. .Youll see the spots, know why they are the, see the timing of it, and the baits and presentation.. But you have to call me and book your trip... I have Fathers day gift certificates available so you can send your dad on a fun bass fishing trip...or you can come with him too... Lets go fishing... the bite is good at DVL if you are doing it right..
PM me or call me soon to book your trip..

AND for you STRIPER GUYS here's a good piece of info..... The STRIPER are STACKED UP on the islands on the North Side of the lake.. The Islands you pass on the way to the west Dam just after the first MAN point... you cant miss them.. thy are still out of the water... There are literally hundreds and hundreds of striper there... Just off the islands in 30-40 ft of water... I was fishing those islands last week and metered them, so I got out my Arig just for fun and caught one on every cast for about 8 casts in a row and two of the casts I had doubles.. If you troll the area youll smash them... I was just casting my Arig and letting it sink to bottom then reeling it in and twitching it now and then.. I did that on two separate days last week... Had about 10 one day and about 8 the next... BUT I ONLY DID IT FOR ABOUT 15 minutes each time... They were between 1 1/2- 4 lbs.. I DO NOT do Striper trips... I hate striper fishing but I ran into this bite and so I did it for a few minutes... But I don't have any plans do it again and Im surely not taking clients striper fishing... those things make a mess on my deck hahaha .. This is just a one time piece of info for you striper guys..

You can also follow me on Facebook at... PETE MARINO FISHING.. Give my page a "LIKE" to be eligible for monthly giveaways....

CALL ME AND BOOK YOUR TRIP... FYI THE TOPWATER BITE IS ALSO GOOD AT LAKE PERRIS.... So lets go smash them!!!

Pete:Cool:

(909) 241-8283 cell (Its best to call my cell)
(909) 510-5679 office