DVL, sorry I've been cheating on you (2/16/17)
Haven't been to DVL since last summer, it was a great season considering the fluctuating water level, funky water clarity, and the reintroduction to private boaters. Gotta be honest I spent much of this past fall and early winter fishing San Vicente :Secret: the great sheer numbers of bass caught was short lived, but the quality was awesome. Nice lake for sure, almost like a DVL on steroids regarding the cover in the lake. However I found it almost comical setting the hook on jig fish in 80ft of water or dropshotting with really heavy weight and line. I started to miss the simplicity and the pure peacefulness of being on the water at DVL. Decided to reunite with her yesterday and boy did it feel good to be back.
I had absolutely no prior intel on the lake or the conditions other than the water being up. I had a free rental and was wanting to get a deluxe but it turned out the last one available had trolling motor issues, so I saved my free pass and bought a basic. I asked what the water temp was in the marina and was told it is around 59 degrees. The lake looked great, the water level is as high as it's been in a very long time. For those who took pictures of the lay of the land around the lake while the water was down it will definitely come in handy this season. When DVL is near full pool at first glance much of the lake almost looks featureless, but that's certainly not the case.
Started out heading west and stopped in my tracks when I saw something boil off a main lake point. Second cast hooked a nice fat and healthy bass with a full belly, couldn't tell if it was eggs or just good eatings but I'd probably go with the latter. Caught another smaller one shortly after in the same spot, both in 15ft in submerged brush. Made it to the west dam but saw no activity. Caught a couple near the I/O Tower, and also saw some huge boils inside the buoy lines. Went through a lull late morning and threw the kitchen sink at them for nada. You name it I threw it worms, creatures, fb jigs, swim jigs, underspins, jerkbaits, hudds, glidebaits. Slowed it back down with a weightless senko and caught 2 more near the marina. I wanted one more before I left and got short bit on 3 consecutive casts. Finally on the 4th attempt I let her eat it and turned out to be a nice smallie, awesome way to end the day.
Ended the day with 7. All fish were caught on senkos in 20ft or less around submerged brush, using 8lb fluoro. Water clarity is still fairly poor with a lot of debris in the water. Didn't visually see any fish or forage, but water clarity and wind made it tough to see well. No signs of bedding fish from the ones caught. I'm sure the storm this weekend along with the strong winds will stir things up, but the lake is looking really promising for the foreseeable future.
