Couple things to help you guys along with the changing conditions.
Hey guys, it's been a while since I really went on here to give an informative post to help you guys out. The questions keep coming in my inbox to whether or not the big fish are on beds. As a lot of you know this is almost like nails on a chalk board to me but putting aside my personal beliefs on bed fishing, I figured I'd help a lot of novice anglers along to understand the stage that the fish are in on DVL. As you all know we've had an unusual Winter; Or lack there of! Warm days, cool nights and falling water has made tracking the larger groups of big fish a real pain in the butt for me. I've had to pull out a lot of tricks to get them to go but in the past few weeks things have
started to happen. Where fish would be retreating to from Fall to Winter and through the trout stocks, these same areas just weren't harboring the numbers. or size of fish. that I've been trying to target. Its as if the fish haven't moved too far away from where they were in late Summer and early Fall. There's a large group of fish up on the bank on beds right now full of small rediculous sized fish but the largest wave of fish have yet to hit the shore line.
There's a healthy batch of fish staging on main and secondary points in 15-30' of water right now. These fish are the second or perhaps 3rd wave of fish full of 2 to 2-3/4 pound males. Here and there you'll rope into 4 to 5 pound fish but the main batch of fish is right around or just under 3 pounds. As temperatures continue to rise both the males and females will make their move up these pre spawn staging spots the next few days and eventually search out an area to spawn. As these pre spawn fish have yet to take up residence on the bank, there are healthy schools of fish in "wind trap" areas. These fish are taking the spinnerbait, chatterbait and shallow crank. By "wind trap" I mean, vertical banks, windblown coves, underwater structure creating or displacing current. Like I've said in many posts before, Pretend the wind is a big finger pointing at the shore you need to fish. Keep things simple and you'll get bit.
The "fall bait" bite is going strong with senkos and ikas being the mainstay for a lot of guys. These fish that have yet to spawn and are filtering up on the bank are using a lot of these trees as stopping points. All you gotta do is find the color, and get after it. You'll go through 3-5 bags a day right now but its still a gamble whether or not you're going to get fish over 4 or 5 pounds. Lots of fish in the same 2 to 2-3/4 pound size.
The big worm bite has been back for a while now but many guys fail to give it a chance thinking it's long gone or if we're telling stories. Grab your favorite color 1/4oz weight and worm hook and get to shakin crazy. I'm sure many colors will work but I'd stay with colors in the realm of green pumpkin, watermelons and chocolate blue vein. Typical craw or fin fish imitations. The only limitations to your fishing is when you stop trying new things.
The way I personally fish is by the big bait, big fish mentality. Timing, hard work and a lot of low count days in the hopes of striking it rich with a solid fish. I put a lot of time on the big baits and am really protective over the areas I fish. Ive been criticized A LOT lately regarding this. The way I figure, I put countless $$$, time and energy in to seeking out the monsters. I dont feel its my obligation to draw a map and send 50 guys on their way and spoon feed them what something I've stressed about, lost sleep over and have been pondered for days and weeks on end. My answer has always been I'm going to show you what I use, how I fish it and give you the knowledge to go out and find your own areas. That's by far more valuable than a map of where the bite was yesterday.
So basically here's what I'm doing. I've targeting both pre and post spawn fish with the swimbait. In specific I'm throwing glide baits in the realm of 10"-13". I'm giving them a meal to eat thats moving at a snails pace. Something a big loaded down girl or a tired lethargic fish isn't intimidated by chasing or worried about expending more energy than necessary to eat. I'm paying very close attention to areas where fish are funneling up on the bank and areas where spawning flats breakway to deep water. When the plus and minus factors stack in my favor I'll camp down in an area for a loooong time and pick my moments to cast. I build a batch of spots and rotate them when conditions match, that's the reason many of you see me running all around the lake back and forth from spot to spot.
Here are a couple fish I've caught recently on the lake that's long gone. The bite is there, its just taking some outside the box thinking right now.
The lake is fishing great, have fun and above all treat EVERY angler on the water with respect!
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Originally Posted by JDS13
