Hello, DVL.

Hadn't been to Diamond Valley Lake for at least a month, was itching for another shot at fishing it. Cruised through Hemet and arrived at DVL at 11:00am. Talked to the workers about the shore fishing, supposedly some guy hauled in 4 stripers yesterday, with more chasing his swimbait on the retrieve. That was encouraging. I had called in on my way over and asked about the trout plant, and the guy told me they hard "just stocked it this Friday." However, the girl working the bait shop told me they hadn't stocked any trout this week, go figure.

Sun was hot on the water by the time I got down to Cove 1 and started working the trees. Really not too many people on the shore compared to my previous trips. As usual, most people were either dunking for trout or throwing massive swimbaits for stripers/DD largemouth. Water was still relatively cold, with a slight chop from the wind. Visibility was great, I could see down 5-10 feet easily, despite a thin layer of algae growth. The water was up much higher than I have seen it before, covering all sorts of nice trees and stumps-awesome!I moved down to a point, setup one rod with a dropshot nightcrawler/bell combo (hoping for a stocker or big 'gill), another rod with trout swimbait, and the last with a 3'' Senko. The two-rod stamp is definitely worth it (it's actually cheaper in California than back in Washington, surprising) and I love keeping one pole out for carp/catfish/sunfish/etc while the other rod I use for bass. Right after casting out and propping up the nightcrawler rig, I had a solid hit. Whatever it was took some drag, made some weird headshakes for a trout, and simply wouldn't come in on my ultralight pole. I got him within 15 ft of the shore, and he went right into the submerged trees. I tried forcing him through, no dice. I ended up giving him a little slack, and he pulled himself out, whew. Brought him in, was surprised to see it was a largemouth bass! Not what I was expecting off a bait 'n wait rig, and certainly not my preferred method of catching them! Super thanks to the Asian bass guy with the nice spinning gear who took my picture with the fish before the release. I'd peg him at 1lb, nothing spectacular but a good start for sure!

#1
I spent the next hour or so fishing the submerged cover hardcore. Tried the 3'' Senko for one tap, actually saw the bass nip it but I set the hook too soon. It is crazy how clear the water is, and it's absolutely stunning to see giant largemouth cruising through the cover, within casting distance, near the shore. Tried a Yum crawbug, lost several to snags. Finally switched up to a special Cabela's worm (one of their Senko clones) with a little modification I did to it. Worked it for a while, kept on getting too many phone calls. I was in the middle of one call on my cell when my line suddenly took off-boom, fish on! The fight was intense, I throw light gear and I had to work extra hard to avoid a repeat of getting another fish stuck in the cover. Finally got him to the shore, super healthy, fat bass. Weighed him at 2lbs on my scales, photo and release. Sweet!

#2
Check out that belly, little piggy.

I moved around some more, and has the day was winding down, I fished another cove. Was still working the modified Senko-clone and made a cast to a likely looking spot. Once again, line takes off as the lure is falling, and I st the hook. This time, I'm not sure if I'll even stand a chance. Heavy, heavy headshakes, burning my ultralight drag, gunning right for a disastrous brush pile. Somehow, I turn it around, and it heads to the surface, headshaking jump, then back down, more drag pulling. Back and fourth, then it slows down and I bring it to the shore. I'm freakin' out, it's my biggest largemouth from Diamond Valley Lake so far. 17.5'', 3lbs on my scale. Fighting 'em on light line makes me think every bass is a monster, heh, I was surprised it was only 3lbs. Not that big a fish, especially by DVL standards, but I'm stoked. Gotta thank the guy with his kid who took my picture with this beast, I'll definitely remember this trip.

#3
  Not baggin' on anyone, but I didn't hear of any other bank anglers landing anything. It was pretty slow overall. I went to DVL without the highest of hopes, since my last trip from shore had been a big skunk. I didn't see any boils or crazy shad balls, like my first and second trips (back in October and November), and definitely no panfish action near the shore. The only fish I saw were the largemouth and one huge carp, cruising the shore. I wish DVL would stay open later, 4:30 is nice, but I want to fish the dusk bite! Still, I had a blast out on the lake and I'll definitely go back, hopefully soon.