10 bass and a 20lb striper! 5/2/2011 TJ joins the DD club
Loaded everything up last night and headed to DVL this morning for my first attempt at Kayaking this lake. Nothing is ever as it seems though and as it turns out, I had quite the surprise in store for me today!
Got my ticket after having the yak DVL approved, even though they measured my yak again later in the day because they didn't believe it was 10ft. More on that later.
Launched and strung up the rods. Was informed by the boathouse about an underwater parking garage in cove 3 so headed that way first after fishing a few points. Wasn't able to find anything biting at first but tried to keep a clear head and keep fishing.
After a short while I produced a good fighting DVL dink.
Not used to how well they fight here as opposed to the "home waters".
Nailed a second smaller one on the next cast after that first one.
Whatever I was doing, it wasn't right because the fish kept getting smaller and smaller.I was losing more and more tackle too.
Still managed to keep sticking the fish.
Bite slowed down a bit so decided to trol around with a crankbait and go check out the little island
This lady bug on my paddle had something in store for me.
I was hoping it had more along the lines of something to do with my Perris Triple Trout than my paddle. I made it a point to throw the hell out of that lure today. (you'll notice right now it still has both normal size hooks and both smartlinks that are painted white installed.)
Made a loooong paddling move to the east dam and wasn't able to scratch any fish. Moved back to some areas in cove 3 and pulled two more and lost two more.
One of these was a pretty good fight on my trust 4lb.
Was starting to cook and wasn't doing so hot on the worms. To be honest I was slightly bored of the worms and was about to call it a day two hours early. When I landed on the ramp a guy saw my yak and took off in his truck. when he came back he had another guy in his truck and they both stopped me and said "Sir I think we made a mistake, you're kayak is too short!" I said "Ten foot two inches". They said "Really?" and proceeded to measure the kayak to try and prove me wrong. When it came out over 10'2" I looked at them like "Why would you doubt me, you let me in the gate!"
While going through this conversation, I noticed a big school of trout, and a couple pound striper and LMb's chasing them around. I'm like great I'm leaving and now and I can't fish the ramps anyways. I go up the lake store to grab something to drink and the guy talks me into going back down to the shore with my swimbait rig because "They just came and did a secret stocking of trout" and the fish are about to go crazy.
I run back to the car, grab my lunker punker and triple trout, and head to the shoreline.
A kid and his mom were catching trout and I could see giant striper boils just outside.
I politely asked if I could come over and cast my LP out past their trout school to the boiling striper. The trout splashing was making the striper go crazy. I made a rocket cast with the lunker punker and began to do the deed. Wasn't getting hit straight retreive.
Made another cast and paused it half way back in. Let it sit 10 seconds and BAM a fish knocked my lure 4 feet into the air and my jaw hit the floor as my lunker punker went flying!I didn't hook up on the fish but BOOYAH! I got hit on my Lunker Punker! Haha. Next time I'll make it happen!
So I couldn't draw any more strikes on the lunker punker. I remember watching a lunker punker video on some website where the guy breaks off his lunker punker because he didn't retie. He then threw out his Triple Trout and got hooked up. I decided to pull off my Lunker Punker and try my Triple Trout on this basis and the fact I couldn't draw any more strikes off that point on shore.
I brace myself and cast the Perris Triple Trout. Slow grind in and nothing. I'm starting to think I should have gone back to the lunker punker already. I make one more cast a bit to the left this time. I make one crank on the reel and BAM BAM BAM! My rod gets hit HARD AS HELL three times and loads up like no tomorrow. I heart dropped and my knees weekend and I started to feel a brick wall freight train on the end of my line when I swung for the moon to set the hook.
The battle was on! I yelled out "I GOT ONE I GOT ONE I GOT ONE ON!" to the mom and her son and they start yelling and jumping around and not knowing what to do. I start backing up and I notice it's like impossible to crank this fish in. Then he makes a run for it and my rod is just about yanked from my arms and my heart is beating and my drag is peeling and the fish is running sideways on the surface of the water. I almost started to yell for help because I couldn't pull the fish in! It's was INSANE!
I didn't give up! I kept cranking and lifting and cranking and lifting! YOU AREN"T GONNA WIN ME FISH! I GOT YOU ON THE TRIPLE AND YOU AINT COMING OFF! I'm thinking in my head. Finally after burning my arms off the fish is on shore and the Striper's mouth is HUGE. I know striper mouths are small in relation to their bodies unlike LMB. and this striper's mouth was HUGE and the fish was looooong! I tired it out and it was done and I got it's head up on shore and the lady and the kid and just plain freaking out! The lady goes "should I grab it?" and I go NO be careful that thing's gill plates will slice your wrist off or the swimbait will hook you and cut you up good! So I crank down time on the fish and I go to grab him by the lip cause his head is on shore. The fish is a good 17-22lbs for sure. HUGE striper and insane to crank this fish in. I still don't believe it.
I bend down to grab it and the hook pops off the triple trout!
I almost sh*t a brick! The fish rolled over and slowly swam away looking like it got it's @$$ handed to it but still swam off ok! I had that fish ON SHORE! I dont' care what anyone says I got his butt! The smartlinks are all bent out and the triple trout is CHEWED and hammered and ready for new hooks and more striper! The tail is shredded but you cant see it well. Can't believe he got away from both hooks on me.
I grabbed my triple trout and looked why the hook popped out and remember I put STUPID SMARTLINKS ON MY FREAKING TRIPLE TROUT and that's the reason the hook popped off! I had 20lb P-line and 20lb smartlinks on the cutsom triple trout to try and save it, but I had it rigged for a different lake and never imagined I would actually hook a real 20lb striper on it! OMG it was so insane that I don't even care I don't have pictures of me with the fish. I have pics of the people who were with me and saw the whole thing happen when shared their spot. I know I hooked and shored a 20lb striper on a triplr trout and that's all that matters. If you see the photos above of the striper chasing the trout in 1 foot of water and don't believe I hooked and shored a giant then you don't know fishing. The single most intense fishing moment that has happened to me yet since I have began fishing! You might as well call me striper junkie now because I have to go back and land another 20lber, only this time I'm gonna get his picture!
Here's pics of my with my two lures that the striper chewed and the missing hooks from the F'n smartlinks! ARG! Also a ipc of the lady and son that witnessed my MONSTER come to shore!
TRUELY AN EPIC DAY AT DIAMOND VALLEY! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
these pics were taken from iphone while the others were from the camera. I didn't take the camera with me when I walked back to the shore to fish the swimbaits but did have my phone.
Lady who witnessed my 20lb striper
Me with my Striper chewed lures. Hells yeah they both work BOMB! I was beginning to have my doubts about those triple trouts!
Here's the lady and son still fishing the same spot when I left after terrorizing the area with monster fishes and swimbaits!
Here's my chewed Perris Custom Triple Trout.
monster striper teeth ate the tail
you'll notice I had two different size hooks on and two different types of split rings. That's cause the fish stole the rear hook and smartlink piece of crap I put on there and I had to steal hooks and off the punker to get the triple trout back in the water!
I stole a hook from this one for the other one. This one got smashed hard and went flying four feet out of the water, away from the fishs mouth. lol wild.
even the front 20lb smartlink you can tell it's all stressed out and got hammered.
so crazy. My only regret is I don't have a picture of the fish but I don't have to prove it. I know what happened and I'll make it happen again!
Thanks for looking. I'm now in the double digit club! no better way to enter it than with a monster 20lb striper!
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Originally Posted by tacklejunkie
