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5 species spotted, 4 caught, Diascund Reservoir, 5/27

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  • 5 species spotted, 4 caught, Diascund Reservoir, 5/27

    My was visiting a friend near Williamsburg, VA on Sunday to pick up some equipment, so I tagged along and had her drop me off at Diascund Reservoir to fish while she visited. Diascund and Little Creek Reservoir were close to her friend's house, which made everything easy. I fished Little Creek back when I lived in Williamsburg and caught some nice bass and pickerel there in the winter. According to VDGIF electrofishing reports (check out the list of lakes here: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/), Diascund has a bass population of similar high quality with good numbers of fish over 15", and it also has bowfin, which Little Creek doesn't. That would be a new species for me if I could find one.

    There's a single boat ramp there with a dock, which is the easiest place to launch. There's parking for about 20-25 trucks with trailers and some non-trailer spots. There's no port-a-potty, surprisingly, so plan accordingly or use the woods near the parking lot. There's no charge to launch.

    View from the boat ramp:


    I hit the water at about noon, which wasn't optimal. According to some reports I found on other fora, the bass would be near woody debris in the shade during this time of the year. I forgot my thermometer, but the water was pretty comfortable temperature and cooler than the air, so I'll guess it was probably somewhere around the low 80s. I spent a lot of time in the sun casting to the shade, so my fishfinder sensor never cooled below 86*. The water in the reservoir was stained but really clear. I could probably see down at least 3 or 4 feet. If my lure was big and bright enough, I could often see it out to a full cast's distance away. The cool thing about this is that I saw a lot of fish during the course of the day. I saw one pickerel around 18", bass (one around 15-16"), bluegill (lots of really big bluegill in the 9-10" range), and a channel cat as it carried off my lure out of its nest. There were tons of minnows and small sunfish in the shallows and by brush piles.

    According to the report, the Wahrani Creek arm had the largest bass (14" average) of the three areas they sampled, so I headed up the creek. I decided to shake up my starting line-up by including some new, more "natural" colors, like baby bass and Rapala's Helsinki shad (i.e. sexy shad), with my usual firetiger or chartreuse lures. It quickly became apparent that perch-colored or chartreuse lures were the color range of choice, but I kept changing things up in hopes of finding bigger fish. Minnow shapes seemed to be preferred to shad shapes. I ran through nearly everything I brought with me. Here's a list of everything I threw and the results:

    Rapala Flat Rap, perch, 2.5”: two 10” bass landed, one 5” bluegill landed, one ~18” pickerel follow, multiple large bluegill follows




    Rapala X-Rap, perch, 3”: one 12” pickerel landed


    Rapala X-Rap, yellow perch (paler than the perch color), 1.5”: few bluegill follows

    Rapala floater, firetiger, 2”: multiple large bluegill follows

    Rapala Crankin’ Rap, CRR05 & CRR10, Helsinki shad: no hits, no follows

    Bomber square bill shallow crank, firetiger, 2”: no hits, no follows

    Spinnerbait, chartreuse & white, 3/8oz: no hits, no follows

    Powerbait grub, chartreuse, 2”, 1/8oz: one 6” crappie, one 11” crappie, one 6” bluegill, one ~18-20” channel cat hooked, multiple large bluegill follows




    Chatterbait, chartreuse & white, 3/8oz: one 13” bass, one yellow perch follow


    Zoom fluke on a weighted hook, baby bass: one nice bass follow, one yellow perch follow

    Heddon Torpedo, baby bass, 2.5”: multiple malfunctions

    Rebel Pop-R, 2.5”: multiple bluegill strikes

    Powerbait worm, motor oil, 1/8oz Slider head: no hits, no follows

    Norman Deep Little N, baby bass: no hits, no follows

    Storm bluegill, 3”: no hits, no follows

    Roostertails, multiple colors, 1/16 & 1/8oz: no hits, no follows

    Rattletrap, blue & silver, 1/2oz: no hits, no follows

    Jitterbug, frog, 3”: no hits, no follows

    I caught the two little bass back to back. They slammed the Flat Rap as soon as it hit the water, which got me thinking that topwater lures would work. They didn't. The bluegill were really funny because they kept hitting the knot between my line and leader. I kept stepping down my lure size, but they didn't fall for anything. I bought a super small X-Rap for another place I had planned to fish with large sunfish, but the bluegill didn't like it. They would only follow a steady retrieve, not a "reel and pause" or "jerk and reel" retrieve. I thought for sure they would hit the dressed hook, too. Small Roostertails and Joe's Flies didn't work either. I hooked the catfish while retrieving the small Power grub from a snag. I hit a submerged branch right on the shore line. I pulled my yak in and was jiggling the lure trying to free it when the channel catfish hit it and started lazily swimming off as I watched it. I suspect it had a nest nearby. I set the hook, but my ultralight didn't have enough backbone to drive the hook home. The cat continued on unphased, so I set the hook again, which is when the cat dropped the lure and took off. I was bummed I didn't get to land it, but it was a cool series of events to watch. I was surprised I caught the 13" bass where I did because I had seen two other boats fishing there earlier and figured that area would've been worked over pretty well. It was on the way back to the ramp, so I decided to give it a try. The little bass managed to pull some drag at my striper setting, which was fun.

    There were a lot of weeds and bottom scum, which made fishing the Power worm or anything else along the bottom pretty much impossible. I brought some things to jig, but I never saw many marks, not even along the many drop-offs in the lake. Also, it's apparent that I can't fish a fluke to save my soul because I have yet to catch anything on one despite several attempts with different colors and weights.

    I called it quits just before 5pm. I talked with guy who had fished the reservoir for the past few days. He caught some smaller fish on Saturday but was skunked on Sunday.

    In all, it wasn't a bad day of fishing despite the heat. If I wasn't set on finding nice bass and possibly a bowfin, I would've spent more time crappie fishing. There are lots of brush piles and an excellent mix of drop-offs and shallow flats. There are lots of submerged brush piles and stumps as well. The areas with stumps that I came across were pretty heavily fished by the bass boaters. The deepest water I found was about 16 feet, but I rarely saw bottom marks or bait marks in the areas I fished. I was hoping to find some lily pads/spatterdock so I could practice my frogging, but I never saw any. It's a big reservoir, I and think there are some somewhere based on what I've read. I would definitely fish Diascund again, if for no other reason that it's cool seeing the fish hit my lures in clear water.
    Yellow Hobie Revo Rube Goldberg
    Yellow Tarpon 120

  • #2
    If this isn't a detailed report, I don't know what is. Looks like a fun time indeed.

    One thing I learned from reading it is that I should switch up my lures more often. I tend to stick to the same thing for a long time, thinking "well this worked last time...".
    Mike S.
    Hobie Outback
    Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers
    3D Printed Hobie Hatch Bucket

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    • #3
      Yeah, I usually only use a small group of lures, too, but I'd like to be a bit more versatile. Also, I wouldn't mind catching bigger bass, either. As it turned out, my usual suite was the most productive. However, it's hard to tell if they're more reliable lures or if my confidence in them makes me more persistent or more effective working them. It's hard to learn new techniques, though, if I never catching anything using them. A skunk isn't very informative.

      I wonder if I can get a sponsorship from Rapala? That's what I've been having the most luck with these days.
      Yellow Hobie Revo Rube Goldberg
      Yellow Tarpon 120

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      • #4
        Funny, the part about the fish not wanting a smaller meal (lure). Even the fish want to "super-size" it.

        Yeah, nice run through those lures. Thanks for the report.
        2015 Hobie Outback (yellow)
        2011 Hobie Outback (yellow)
        2009 OK Prowler Trident 13 Angler (orange)

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        • #5
          Dr. Bill,
          I was going to ask where you've been through other thread. I thought you are busier than when you pursued the degree. I am glad that you are actively fishing. Though, the pimp hat doesn't look faded by UV. Was the hat the second one?

          Joe
          Fish like there's no tomorrow.
          Youtube UserID: ComeOnFish01 (Over 300 kayak fishing videos in mid-Atlantic (DE, MD & VA)
          https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKb...JtmNcSJBi2Sazg

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          • #6
            Joe--I have been pretty busy lately and can only get out twice a week if I'm lucky. I've gone out some with buddies on their boats, so I don't post anything from those trips since they're kind enough to take me to their spots. The funding for the project that pays my salary runs out soon, so I've been trying to finish up as much as I can as quickly as possible. My boss has been looking for additional sources of funding, so having figures showing results is helpful. Plus, since I'm not longer a student, I have to use leave time when I bail out to fish. Being part of the working world has definitely put a crimp in my fishing plans.

            Believe or not, that's the same safety pimp hat. The underside isn't faded at all (which means it is blocking UV like it's supposed to), but the top is rapidly approaching pink, which should only add to the pimp swag.
            Yellow Hobie Revo Rube Goldberg
            Yellow Tarpon 120

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            • #7
              Pimp swag. haha, nice! Great report as always. I miss clear water.
              -Jon
              Revo 13

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              • #8
                Thanks Bill.
                2012 Hobie Revo 13'
                2012 Hobie PA12'

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                • #9
                  Jon--I've been spoiled by clear water at the places I've fished this year. When Ron and I hit PLO, the water there was super clear. I got to see the two stripers I caught fighting my line 4-5 feet before they hit the surface. It was like watching a fishing show with a diver in the water. I wish I had a video of it. It's hard to beat seeing a fish slam your lure.
                  Yellow Hobie Revo Rube Goldberg
                  Yellow Tarpon 120

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                  • #10
                    That is a remarkably detailed report. How did you have time to catch fish when you were making notes for this type of report?

                    I wish I could learn how to fish hard plastic lures. Every few years I buy several of them, fish them with minimal success, then sell some off at flea markets, then repeat the cycle a few years later. You seem to do very well with them.
                    John Veil
                    Annapolis
                    Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

                    Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

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                    • #11
                      John--Joe (Comeonfish) got me started on using crankbaits in saltwater (Bomber minnows), and then gave me another crankbait to try in freshwater (the baby bass Deep Little N). Ron turned me on to X-Raps last year in St. Jerome's Creek. Prior to moving to Maryland, I never caught anything on crankbaits or Rattletraps, either, despite years of trying them in the Occoquan Reservoir when I was a kid. I still haven't caught much on spinnerbaits.

                      I found out that the firetiger Rapala floater was effective out of desperation at St. Mary's Lake when I couldn't catch anything on plastic grubs and the bottom was too slimy/weedy to use plastic worms. The nice thing about floating crankbaits is that it's possible to find some combination of diving depth and retrieval rate to keep the lure just above the stuff on the bottom. Plus, I've had a lot of luck with the various Rapala minnow-shaped lures deflecting off submerged structure, which helps with finding bass and pickerel. I've definitely caught more fish on minnow-shaped lures than on shad-shaped ones. I couldn't tell you why that is.
                      Yellow Hobie Revo Rube Goldberg
                      Yellow Tarpon 120

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                      • #12
                        love the report, thanks!
                        sigpic

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