Diamond Valley Lake 10/30
As my residence is on the way there, Breakwall Shane picked me up at my house this morning for a try at largemouth bass at Diamond Valley Lake. Last time I visited So. Cal.’s fishing-only emergency water reserve, I saw the bucketmouths sucking up the millions of two-inch bluegill lining the shore. That trip I illegally I tossed out live ’gills nose hooked on a treble for several bass to three pounds. This time I was armored with two packages of Storm WildEye Sunfish in an attempt to become more sportsmanlike.
Also, I read in the paper the lake received a recent trout plant. At the Wal-Mart I picked up a six-inch Castaic Trout to match that hatch, if need be.
We arrived at the lake’s entrance kiosk a few minutes after the six o’clock opening. For two it costs $13 for permits and parking. I grabbed my pack and marched toward the point where I ripped up last time. About half way there I stopped by another point only to see several bass breaking the surface as they hacked away at their quarry. I had the Castaic pre-tied to my 20lb calico bass baitcasting outfit; out it went.
Casting to several boils left and right produced nothing. As the sun rose I could see in the clear water what the bass were pouncing on; rainbow trout. There were seven six-inch trout swimming together in a circle. As they turned toward deeper water I would see another boil, I cast out unproductively, the trout would come closer to shore, now there were six.
What a difference two seasons make. The billions of bluegill tight to the shore I saw this past spring today were non-existent. What was around besides the smallish trout were clouds of fry of some sort. Being each only ½-inch in length, it was impossible to tell what specie the little guys were. They could have been bass or more likely threadfin shad.
Twenty minutes later Shane showed up casting a WildEye rainbow trout pattern swimbait. We put in what seemed like an hour of tossing various sizes of the aforementioned plastics with no takers, off to the next spot we hiked.
Okay, now the two of us are at the honey hole, where all the action was provided last time. What we saw was... nothing. No boils, no fry, no trout, no bluegill, no anything. After a half hour of tossing the various swimbaits, I tied on a Carolina-rigged motor oil sparkle Power Worm to work the bottom. That was no help.
I sensed this would be a not-so-good day. For sure this impoundment is a springtime-only run. We packed up to trudge back to the other point where at least we saw boils splashing. About then I concocted a theory. Since in the fall they plant trout at the marina, that’s probably where the bruisers will be parked. The truck backs down the launch ramp, pulls out the skids and dumps the whole tank-load of catch-able rainbows right in there. Any smartass bass within hearing distance likely picked up those vibes, in the order of Pavlov’s dogs.
True to the theory, we saw more boil action here at point one, only ¼ mile from the ramp. At eight we were already in the doldrums. Nonetheless we cast like wildmen, giving it all we had. My Casio Fishing Timer prognosticated that between 9 and 11 we would see more fish and game activity as the rising moon peaked.
During those two hours we saw it alright. Problem was we never had any bites from the bass, which were flying out of the water as they attacked their prey.
Somewhere in there Shane turned me on to a four-inch Castaic trout, slyly thinking a smaller bait would entice more strikes. Sorry, after an hour of myself flingin’ it, even that proper thought attracted zilch.
Then Shane says he’ll go ahead and soak a wad of Power Bait out there while he tosses his WildEye rainbow. We are both equipped with second rod stamps on our fish licenses, spending ten bucks each to allow us to utilize a pair of poles while angling in California lakes and reservoirs, as long as we stay 100 yards away from any running water.
I looked at his tackle hamper, selected the proper size treble hook for him (#16), the right amount of weight (1/8 oz.) and the 3 ½ feet of leader down from the split shots.
Every now and then a breeze would sound his clip-on pole bell; we would glance over to see the line still slack. A half hour later the ring-a-ding went off to a tight line, I screamed, YOU GOT ONE, he ran over, set the hook and just like that he reeled in a two-pound stocker rainbow. I scooped it up with my belt-holstered collapsible landing net, which was as about as productive as I was the whole day.
Let’s recount. This is the third outing Mr. Shane has come with me. So far on trip one he caught a bigger calico bass than me, trip two a larger opaleye than me; now on trip three he catches a fat trout the same day I get skunked.
Golly darn I’m a great guide. At this time I am seriously considering in the future bringing a cooler of ice beer and a lounge chair, sitting there belching out to my clients dissertations of what to tie on, where to stand and where to cast. My fee? Half your catch.
Shane was so grateful that he gave me his whole trout. I will fillet it and put it in the smoker next month after I pick up some more of the killer salmon scraps from the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Torrance. Smoked trout has a better texture after it has been frozen for a month.
He packed in the beer and asked me if I would like one. I said I was too pissed for beer. That's how bad it was.
I’m some sort of mega-fish-guy, right? Wrong. Here I am going with the flow, tying on my own commercial Power Bait rig to pole number three – the 4lb High Sierra finesse graphite 7’ specialty. For the next hour we soaked bait, cast plastics but nothing else happened by noon. As it was Sunday, there were lots of other breakwall types stationed about. All day long the only woo-hoo we heard was Shane’s.
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Email out of the deep blue from Peter, 10/30
Dufish,
I'm a surf fisher, I primarily target barred surfperch from the sand w/ sandcrabs & consistenly do pretty well up in the ventura area. But recently have been wanting to try after opaleye, something different on the dinner table. I've never gone after them or even caught one. But we have a few rocky shorelines & jetties I'd sure like to try. I've read your catch reports & they are enjoyable & inspiring. Only after reading them have I begun to want to find & catch opaleye.
How do you setup your rig? I noticed you're using a bobber & enteromorpha. You just rolling the green stuff into a ball & throw it on the hook? What size & type hooks are you using?
I tried searching for this info in your reports but I couldn't find it & figured I'd ask you straight out. Any hints or tips you'd be willing to give on targeting opaleye would be greatly appreciated because I love fishing.
Peter
From the editor:
Rigging up for opaleye like The Breakwall Crew goes like this:
Thread a bead on the line.
Thread a large cast-a-bubble painted fluorescent red on the line through the narrow end.
Crimp two #2 split shot 12 inches above the end of the line and below the bubble so that the fat end of the bubble insert rests on the split shots and the bead is atop the narrow end of the bubble insert.
Tie a 1/0 live bait hook to the end of the line. I use Owner Flyliner hooks.
Here’s the trick. Loop a thin rubber band above the bead five feet from the hook. Cut off the excess rubber band so there is left only a small chunk.
Now when you cast out, the split shots take the bait down 5 feet, then the rubber band hits the bead. Always use a bead because the small chunk of rubber will work its way inside the bubble insert. You can adjust the depth by sliding the rubber band up and down the line. Also you can fish any depth because if you want to fish, say, 40 feet, the rubber band will wind onto the reel spool and you can still cast without the line hanging up on the chunk. As far as sticking the enteromorpha algae on the hook, select the thinnest, longest strands and wind them around the hook and up the line several times until they are a ball covering all of the hook. Fish the rough side of your favorite jetty. Opaleye hang out just behind the white water.
Please send a fish report.
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From Aunt Joyce, Uncle Tony and Nephew Rick 10/22/2005:
I though you might like to see what it was like on our fishing trip which ran from Oct 14-18 at June/Tioga. The weather was generally good although at Tioga it was mostly in the 30's and low 40's. We had wind and blowing snow our first day on Tioga that left a blanket of snow around the lake. We ate and rested and fished and watched football. The last shot is of the sun setting from Gull Lake just as Tony and I finished the last of the fishing for the trip. Already looking forward to next year. Rick.
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From Breakwall Robert 10/18/2005:
Fall Trout Fishing in the Eastern Sierra's...
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From Breakwall Jerry 10/17/2005:
Attached is a Pic of the largest fish caught at Henrys Lake Idaho.
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From Romanian Architect Doru 10/4/2005:
Thanks for the updates, appreciate enormous. How about this? (@ Lake Isabella). Best regards, Doru