There has been a lot of suspect numbers being thrown around about DVL. My favorite outdoor writer stated (in a recent WON piece) that the bass per acre at DVL is less than San V and other lakes from particular times. The instant someone starts talking about bass per surface acre, take into account the topography of the lake before panicking. A more suitable way to measure population would be to look at bass per shoreline mile, or even bass per acre of water that is 60 feet deep or less(typical bass supporting levels). DVL has 26 miles of shoreline, so a simple statement would be that it supports over 1,700 catchable bass(over 12 inches) per mile of shoreline. Of course there are structures that extend into the lake that bass will relate to, way off the shoreline, but this equation is a little more accurate than the bass per surface acre approach. Not many bass hanging out in 200 feet of water, a mile away from the bank.

As to the numbers of bass caught in the opening days, weeks, months etc. A figure like 78% of the bass population will be caught if every boat catches 20 fish is ridiculous. There are going to be thousands of bass who exhibit the "stupid" trait, and are caught ten times before another bass is caught once. Like Brian said, the smaller fish exhibit a more aggressive trait due to competiton for food. These fish will be the most likely to bite, and be taken away. Angling pressure will bear this out as many fishermen find out that in DVL, like any other lake, 90% of the bass will be doing the same thing(which usually isn't that easy for occassional anglers to figure out).

BTW- I'd love to give another boat my 457 feet of shoreline, as I back off the bank a little and hit the 90% of the bass hanging out in 30-40 feet. That was the primary pattern for those who fished the millionaires opener last week...LOL. things could change this week, but probably won't. Plastics, jigs and spoons. But of course my EFI is black-balled, so if I ever get out there it will be as a backseater.