Breakwall Angler Diamond Valley Lake Report 3/20/2013

Springtime bass on the brain. They are a fun but fickle proposition; either they bite or don’t. One trick is to figure out how to entice them to take your bait when they don’t want to. This is how the pros make their living. Another technique – for us amateurs – is to know under what conditions they will always bite. Throughout the years I have found the best action occurs post-spawn, on an overcast morning, after a series of water-warming hot days.

Everyone knows largemouth bass spawn in spring. The exact week is unclear; it varies by lake and by other natural factors such as water temperature, etc. That leaves us with the two factors humans can determine. We had four hot days last week and Sunday, Monday and Tuesday mornings were thick with overcast all over western Riverside County.

I usually email Hooky (his pseudonym acquired by ditching work to fish Wednesdays) to forewarn him of the impending inland marine layer but he beat me this time. Monday night I saw in my inbox his DVL Jones.

We spoke on the phone yesterday, concluding in unison that today, Wednesday, will be a great day to fish Diamond Valley Lake. It’s already mid-March, the fish should be either spawning or done, we’ll have thick overcast and the water temp has risen not a lot but enough to get’em goin’.

Also we decided to do something I’m not really into... rent a boat. For a deluxe bass boat with a trolling motor, it’s $140 for five hours. I have yet to meet a bass worth those bucks. However on Wednesdays, the lake offers half-price rentals which would set us back only $35 apiece. This is very affordable after factoring the $200/mo. savings from my recent mortgage HARP.

My usual plan is, I wake up at 4am on fish day, look out the window, if I see stars I go back to bed. If I see gray then I call my buddy and say come on down! This morning I looked out and after three days of perfect overcast, the sky was disappointingly clear. Not good but we were going anyway, as we already had a boat reserved and were irrationally motivated by having a day off to fish. Now the focus went from overcast post-spawn to sunny pre-spawn-to-spawn, in hopes the fish will defend their nests by attacking intruders invading their lairs. Not perfect but it can work, especially from a boat.

Wook was at my house at 5:45, we lined up seventh at the gate at 6:30. One big thing I don’t like about DVL is they open late, especially after the spring time change when it is darker in the morning. Seven o’clock? I usually catch half a limit by then.

One new change for the better lake management has instituted since our last visit is they drive out to the lineup just before opening and take everyone’s parking and permit fees before you enter. Heretofore you would have to line up early outside the gate then again at the one-man kiosk to pay the $13 for two permits and one parking. Depending how far back you were, it could cost you many precious early morning angling minutes. This new policy saves lot of time.

That is, unless you are renting a boat. Once we parked we noticed everybody ran over to the rental office from the several vehicles that entered before us. Even though you make a reservation it is first come first service from the two-person operation behind the counter and with all the paperwork to be signed we didn’t even make it down to the dock until seven thirty. Even though, we felt blessed, as there were 20 other eager anglers lined up out the door waiting to sign up for boats.

Looking down from the bridge that connects the launch ramp to the rental dock I saw a big fat six-pound largemouth lurking in the corner in about four feet of water. Hell yeah it’s going to be a great day! It’s probably the employees’ pet anyway, you know, the friendly fish that hangs out for offerings of sandwich bread crust and hot dog chunks.

As we boarded the aluminum Bass Tracker I asked the docent who was setting us up where the hot bite is. He revealed they’re biting all over the place, nowhere in particular. That seemed to be the word we had been reading in the papers lately and had transcribed from all the rental office chatter.

We steered west along the south shore to the first un-submerged island, meaning during high water it would be dunked but now that the reservoir is thirty feet low the boulder pile is sticking out with all its lake sediments sun bleached a dazzling white.

I cut the engine and coasted in, then used the trolling motor the last hundred feet to the island’s shore. We hit it hard with our plastics, Hooky with a drop-shot worm and I with my usual six-inch purple Power Worm rigged Texas style on a 1/0 Gamakatsu worm hook held down by a quarter ounce black bullet weight. We pretty much knew after ten minutes this day was going to suck because we were tossing into escellent habitat but neither of us detected a taker.

The sun was bright except for the few moments high thin clouds slightly blotted it. We fished the whole circumference of the island then motored a short way to the main shoreline a quarter mile past the big point that is the limit of the shore fishing zone. There, we used the trolling motor to cruise slowly over ten or fifteen feet of water where we started to see nests, as indicated by dark sediments brushed away by caudal fins to reveal the lighter colored natural decomposed granite of the hillside. With polarized glasses we could pick out vigilant males just off the clearings, their olive backs camouflaged against the muck.

One in particular Hooky badgered enough times with the drop shot worm to entice it to finally strike. Not too far away we floated over more nests, Hooky looked and proclaimed, there’s one! He dunked the same rig, maneuvered it through the exposed granite and BAM he was on again to his second two-pounder.

The next hour we cast and cast and cast to all nests, stickups, points, coves, depths with absolutely nothing happening. I lowered my Texas rig to many nest protectors, almost conking them on the head, they all swam away from both our offerings. As we took a snack break another boat came trolling through the same shore we just finished. I thought to myself, he’s not going to catch anything, Hookey already caught all that was there. Next thing we saw was his rod go bendo and a two or three pound bass come flying out of the water, which was totally awful news.

With two hours left on our half-day rental contract and wondering what to do, we zoomed across the lake to Rawson’s Cove. The pros will tell you, stay out of Rawson’s Cove. Everybody goes there. Lots of traffic. We figured it couldn’t be any worse than we experienced up to now.

Sure enough, boats were everywhere. Even the water was stained compared to the crystal clear conditions encountered earlier. Nonetheless, we hit it hard for an hour with nothing to show.

For the last hour we zoomed over to a submerged ledge a hundred yards off the main point between the marina and the east dam. I was launching a five-inch Huddleston trout and working the trolling motor to keep us somewhat over the ledge while Hooky was over there watching the Hummingbird for 35 feet and casting a variety of lures, the particulars of each escape me. What I did remember; we didn’t catch anything and I got a skunk for the day.

Back at the dock the same employee who helped us this morning asked if we caught any. We gave him the lowdown, it was slow. He said everyone had the same report, not too good compared to the excellent action up to yesterday. I Asked if it was overcast here the past few days, yes it was.

For future ventures to this lake I am sticking to my plan. After a week of hot weather around the first day of spring I will wake up at 4am, peek out my window on a Wednesday morning and if I see thick overcast I will go. No exceptions and no boats.

*****

Jim L. sent in a fine collection of fishing tragedy photos. View

Quick run to Joshua Tree Park after a snowstorm 2/20/2013. Photos

Hiked with James to the top of Sitton Peak near Ortega Highway. Photos

Had my Irish Setters re-soled with Vibram Montagna

Finally got around to scanning and publishing my:

Mt. Whitney pics from 2000

Stanford Lake pics from 1993

*****

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