Wiping down the boat at the ramp the other day I was asked from a couple anglers wondering why I stopped posting reports and I was a little shocked. Well I really didn't have an answer for them, but I guess the main reason was that I didn't feel right about posting seeing as how I wasn't fishing the lake often while it was closed. Better late than never.
DVL has been fishing pretty damn well since the opener on May 18th. This year I told myself I was boycotting the swimbait and utilizing mainly traditional baits and techniques as I think I'm going to partake in a little bit of the tournament game. So needless to say its been a little revisiting this and revisiting that. While most everyone's reports, or general word of mouth, are saying that its 30 fish a day type stuff I'll be completely honest with you; It's not. The bite is tough, but really good at the same time. What I mean by that is that it's tough in locating but really good when you find them.
With the water level coming up so quick, so fast, the water has flooded a plethora of cover for these fish to meander through. As the lake was low and the bottom was barren, Bass would stick in greater numbers to obvious structure and cover. The lake was very predictable as anglers could jump on a milk run and beat the fish up pretty hard. Now that the lake is stacked with a heavy amount of soft cover, the bass are literally everywhere from the bank out to 30'. This makes locating tough. Anglers can often find themselves locked into A LOT of false patterns. A fish here or a fish there, on this or that. Needless to say, with the amount of cover available I'm finding there to be A LOT of dead water. This is why I say its tough fishing but great when you find them. When you pick through the available shoreline to work with and filter the non productive bank from the productive, and when you find the fish; They simply want to die.
The reaction bite thing has been there and you can score on a lot of solid opportunity however I'm finding it to be really day to day. Some guys seem to be on top of it but its definitely been a little hit or miss for me based on conditions. One day I'll crack em' hard and then the next I'm getting beat up. I'll come into an area with a blade, underspin, jerkbait or topwater and pick off a few here or a few there, but the predominant bite has been on the soft bait on a day to day basis. 9" Bass Chow, Uptons worms and the senko have been my bread and butter lately. The last few days, Watermelon Red has been the name of the game.
The 25-30' zone, or the outside brush edge, is without a doubt the strongest zone for numbers that I've found. Texas, drop shot and Hideki but the reaction bite is high and tight out to about 15'
Don't let the lack of reports fool you. The lake is doing really well, it's just that you have to put your camo on and do a little hunting.
Any questions, hit me up at Last Chance Bait and Tackle (951)658-7410 and I'll be happy to drop a little dirt.
Like everything I do, I'm more than happy to offer up some bites, however, it'll be up to you to make your opportunities count. Happy fishing guys!!!
Here's a few from the last few trips.