What'd we do wrong?

Came up to DVL for the first time this last friday with high expectations, unfortunately me and my friends got skunked pretty bad. By skunked I mean not even the slightest nibble on a full day. We used primarily small feather plastics or nightcrawlers and fished close to shore for bass. We stayed real close to the shore for the most part and saw many folks landing quality bass in the shallows only 20 feet across from us! When we asked what baits they were using, everybody said the same thing: plastic worms. I know nightcrawlers arent exactly the same, but should it of made that much of a difference? Me and my buds also took a few shots in deeper water about 40 yards from shore on trout using power bait and small plastics....no dice. I was hoping to have a better experience, because I love the layout of this lake and wanted to come back, but I don't know anymore, it was just that bad of a day out there. Let me know what you guys think, maybe with the right preparation next time we could make another trip worth while, Cheers!

dvl is most of the time very clear water so they can be line shy. also the hook shy. most of the time is it soft plastics that catch the fish finesse fishing is normally best for numbers. lots of people drop shot I do to when im having a hard day. if that was your first time there that is normal it is not an easy lake to fish. keep trying you will get some on a drop shot for sure.. start there and then try other things...

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Originally Posted by SoCalfishboy11

Came up to DVL for the first time this last friday with high expectations, unfortunately me and my friends got skunked pretty bad. By skunked I mean not even the slightest nibble on a full day. We used primarily small feather plastics or nightcrawlers and fished close to shore for bass. We stayed real close to the shore for the most part and saw many folks landing quality bass in the shallows only 20 feet across from us! When we asked what baits they were using, everybody said the same thing: plastic worms. I know nightcrawlers arent exactly the same, but should it of made that much of a difference? Me and my buds also took a few shots in deeper water about 40 yards from shore on trout using power bait and small plastics....no dice. I was hoping to have a better experience, because I love the layout of this lake and wanted to come back, but I don't know anymore, it was just that bad of a day out there. Let me know what you guys think, maybe with the right preparation next time we could make another trip worth while, Cheers!

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Book a trip with PETE MARINOS" guide service!:Big Grin:

SoCalfishboy11,

DVL can be really tuff, if you don't know what they are eating and how deep they are. Before I got my boat I fished DVL from shore for almost a year and never caught a single fish. That is not to say you can't catch fish from shore I just didn't know a thing about bass fishing and was throwing crankbaits all day long. At the time they were not on crankbaits obviously!

A friend showed me about drop-shoting small plastic worms and it was on! I later learned how to fish a Texas rid, Carolina rig, wacky worm and I got away from drop shotting all of the time. These techniques are used for bass fishing. I don't know if that is what you are pursuing; but these are what works most of the time for bass. When the bite is tuff a drop-shot is hard to beat for catching fish.

A friend of mine fished the National Bass Tournament at DVL last Sunday and he said the algae bloom is getting pretty bad. They finished just out of the money and caught most of they fish 10 - 20 feet off of the bank on reaction baits, (spinner baits and crankbaits); which is unusual for DVL. Normally reaction baits don't work too well for me a DVL.

Don't give up, DVL is in an unusual pattern right know. I believe it is because the water is so stained and they are eating reaction baits; because they can't find the other baits. If you go again and the water is still stained try drop-shot a darker worm and see if that works.

the bloom is pretty bad and the bite is different.... might have been trying to get them in too shallow of water... drop shot always seems to find fish for me... but with the water visibilty at almost zero feet the blade bite and vibration bite is going to get them becuase they can feel the bait in there lateral line... good luck out there and remeber its not called catching but called fishing for a reason!

+1 for Pete Marino

Hire him and bring a buddy, it will save you some $$. Its a good investment if you are a beginner on that lake. Once you get the hang, you will be better at finding fish all year around.

Thanks for the shout out boys!! SoCalFishBoy11 if you want to learn the ins and outs of DVL give me a call and book a trip.. There IS a REACTION Bite and There is a Worm Bite...ALL DEPTHS... I too fished the NBW event on Sunday and finished one out of the money with almost 16lbs.. I just didn't get a bunch of big bites ..we had about 25 bass but only had one over 4lbs on this day.. But, Im on a few good patterns...reaction baits and plastics.. It was an unuall day to say the least but my patterns are tried and true. Ill get you dialed in.. I know DVL inside and out.. algae bloom or not, high water or low.. You WILL do better out there after you go out there with me..

DVL is a strange lady.... sometimes shes nice and sometimes shes on the stingy side .. But with the right know how she cooperates more then not. ill get you pointed in the right direction..


Pete

DVL to me, and only been twice, is fishing very much like the Delta right now.Although I think the Delta is clearer than normal from the lack of rain.The darker water, reaction baits
classic Delta set up.Two weeks ago my 1st trip here I was getting some on worm and decided to throw my favorite crank (on the delta) and caught two keepers on the 1st 2 casts 3rd cast lost the bait re rigged same bait and two more keepers in 3 casts.This blew me away to say the least. I think its not so much that they cant see it and are hitting because of the sound,I feel that they can see it, but barely and if moving the bait just fast enough does not give them time to really see it and they hit it before it can get away, classic reaction strike.Now when it clears up I am gonna have to work at it, I KNOW!!!!LOL Stay at it. You will get em!!!

Got to thinkin about your post again and how did you rig the night crawlers? All fish relish live worms,I don't recommend fishing with them because the Bass will inhale them and more often than not get the hook stuck deep in their throat. Use a small split shot on 4 lb test with an octopus hook,put the crawler on by hooking it right above the collar line and let it dangle.Do not wad it up around the hook like in cat fishing.Do not let it sit on the bottom,semi slow retrieve with a bit of a Parkinson`s wiggle to your rod and dance the worm back to you.Blue gill ,crappie bass,trout will all be interested.Be vigilant as to strikes don't let them get away with it,set the hook right away, again they will swallow your whole set up!!Cheers!

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Originally Posted by SoCalfishboy11

Came up to DVL for the first time this last friday with high expectations, unfortunately me and my friends got skunked pretty bad. By skunked I mean not even the slightest nibble on a full day. We used primarily small feather plastics or nightcrawlers and fished close to shore for bass. We stayed real close to the shore for the most part and saw many folks landing quality bass in the shallows only 20 feet across from us! When we asked what baits they were using, everybody said the same thing: plastic worms. I know nightcrawlers arent exactly the same, but should it of made that much of a difference? Me and my buds also took a few shots in deeper water about 40 yards from shore on trout using power bait and small plastics....no dice. I was hoping to have a better experience, because I love the layout of this lake and wanted to come back, but I don't know anymore, it was just that bad of a day out there. Let me know what you guys think, maybe with the right preparation next time we could make another trip worth while, Cheers!

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The thing about DVL bro is that you have to approach it like a new lake every day for the reaction bite. Sure you can luck into a week straight of a consistent bite on particular stretch of bank but the key to DVL is your ability to always "go new". Treat each day as a completely different day. By doing so, you wont be chasing yours, or fellow anglers, previous trips. As the lake is ever changing, which it has been since the day it opened, bites that worked for anglers a week ago may be a shadow reminder of a specific condition at a specific time on a specific spot. Like many lakes, a general rule of thumb is if the wind is up pick your speed up if the wind is down slow your speed down.

I'm a big bait guy so wind or no wind I'm approaching the lake a little different than the average angler. Essentially they're the same methods but I fish at a quicker pace with above average sized baits and do my best to make 3 casts or less on prime real estate. This can make for a lot of fuel loss in a day but it's extremely effective for me. However on the days where I fish conventional, I'll often look for a quick low light reaction bait bite. I use seasonal patterns to dictate which baits I want to throw. Pre and Post Spawn I may run the bank with a chatter, blade or squarebill. In the Summer I may charge the bank with a buzzbait, frog or rat. Depending on your confidence in the baits in your arsenal I would pick a few core baits and hop to. Being that we're between the Spawn, Post Spawn and Summertime patterns, you cant go wrong with a square bill crank, chatterbait or swim jig. Males are flooded in the brush and being able to cover a lot of water in a quick amount of time can boost your count in a heartbeat and give you the confidence to find something new as you wont have to hold on to the bite the whole day. Keep your color choices around bluegill or fin fish in general and you should be fine.

Say my reaction bite falls on its butt in a hurry what would I do next? First of all knowing that bass are in the middle of the Spawn, Post Spawn and Summertime patterns, points, ridge lines and tree lines are areas fish will utilize on their move to and from their spawning flats. Pre Spawn fish will move up them and Post Spawn fish will be moving down them. A lot of people fail to realize fish in the Post Spawn act similar to the fish in the Pre Spawn. Post Spawn suspension is prevalent but that's a whole other topic in itself. With fish using these key pieces of structure or cover to travel on, in the Pre Spawn all the way to the Post Spawn I want to give these fish a big easy high calorie meal. I could care less if its pre frontal or post frontal; bass have to eat!. Giving a fish a meal at a retrieve speed where the bass don't have to expend more energy than needed is JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED. If you have a fish finder typically on DVL the 25'-30' mark is where I'll focus but I do let mother nature tell me where I should be. Thermocline, water clarity and water temperature will tell me if I should be in 15' or vise versa 30'. My go to baits for this part of the water colum are a jig, texas rigged worm and a carolina rigged creature bait. Keep it extremely simple because in reality it is. Isolate where the fish are holding, what they are holding on, what they're feeding on then do your best to match the hatch.

Say probing the deeper water fails to produce what you imagined I'll then reach for a senko rod or a dropshot. I rarely pull these rods from the locker but they serve a valuable purpose on DVL. Anglers can both start the day and end it with simply these two rods. As stated above I'll still focus on points, ridgelines and tree lines around the lake and use these tools to fish them methodically and slow. In doing so, I can put $$$ on the table stating you should have the opportunity to get bit. Mix and match worm size and color and you should get bit. If all else fails Green Pumpkin is my go to color. If i'm struggling I'll slap this worm color on and its over.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions stop into Last Chance Bait and Tackle and we'll do our best to show you some tricks.

Last Chance Bait and Tackle
3356 Wentworth Dr
Hemet, CA 92545

(951) 658-7410