Crowds

[jimf]

What kind of crowds do you all deal with, and how do you deal with them?  I become very crowd averse over the years,  doing just about anything and everything to avoid them.   Fortunately I have flex schedule where I can basically take every Friday off in the summer, and use that to beat the crowds.  But that doesn't start for a little bit.   This week it's either Sunday or take a day off Monday which I'm not sure I can swing, and Sunday will be a zoo.    Alot of places are still closed up here, and the lake I am talking about is a cooling lake with water temps in the 60's when everything else around here is probably below 40 which draws big crowds.  Long launch lines, parking issues, your favorite spots already taken etc...     

 

I'll probably end up going but I'm still contemplating not going, which given my state of Cabin Fever says alot.  

[Darren.]

 

 

[Scarborough817]

i dont have to deal with other fishermen very much mainly i am dealing with crowds in the form of other boat traffic like tubers, water skiers that kind of thing it doesnt bother me i have the fishing mainly to myself just need to try and find somewhere im not going to get thrown into the bank 

[NYWayfarer]

14 minutes ago, Darren. said:

 

I try to work around crowds by going during the week, when

possible.

 

I do the same. My company has a very generous time off policy. I use it to take off a day a week during the summer months to fish. The plus side to not being limited to weekend fishing is I can plan my day off around the weather.

 

I also fish out of the way spots. I might have to travel a bit more but it is worth it for the lack of boat and jet ski traffic.

 

Come to think of it I use this approach to other things in my life as well. I hate crowds.

[Clinton john]

Fish more during the middle of the week.

 

Best thing is to just sacrifice a day of fishing and just watch where the crowds fish most often, once you figure that out then you will know where not to fish when the crowds are out and where to fish and find good bites because nobody fish's there.

[jimf]

1 hour ago, Finesse Wayfarer said:

 

I do the same. My company has a very generous time off policy. I use it to take off a day a week during the summer months to fish. The plus side to not being limited to weekend fishing is I can plan my day off around the weather.

 

I also fish out of the way spots. I might have to travel a bit more but it is worth it for the lack of boat and jet ski traffic.

 

Come to think of it I use this approach to other things in my life as well. I hate crowds.

 

Same here, we can work 4x9's Mon-Thurs and then get every other Friday off as a "Flex Day", and during fishing season the Friday's I don't have as a flex day I telecommute and take 1/2 vacation day to get out on the water by about noon when I can.  Most Friday's where the weather is ok I'm fishing.   So generally I can avoid the crowds, but the weather didn't cooperate today and I really need to get out.  

 

One river I fish is crazy on the weekends with skiiers/boaters and there really is no practical way to fish it on the weekends.   Pretty much have to go during the week.

[Quarry Man]

When trying to avoid pleasure boaters, stick to the mornings and the last couple minutes of the day. Try anchoring or fishing a pond from the bank...

[contium]

I only fish weekdays. I own my business so I can do that. Here in SoCal, we have tiny lakes and tons of fisherman/clubs. You will have 60 boats on a 250 acre lake on weekends. If I had to deal with that, I would quit bass fishing.

[Scott F]

2 hours ago, jimf said:

What kind of crowds do you all deal with, and how do you deal with them?  I become very crowd averse over the years,  doing just about anything and everything to avoid them.   Fortunately I have flex schedule where I can basically take every Friday off in the summer, and use that to beat the crowds.  But that doesn't start for a little bit.   This week it's either Sunday or take a day off Monday which I'm not sure I can swing, and Sunday will be a zoo.    Alot of places are still closed up here, and the lake I am talking about is a cooling lake with water temps in the 60's when everything else around here is probably below 40 which draws big crowds.  Long launch lines, parking issues, your favorite spots already taken etc...     

 

I'll probably end up going but I'm still contemplating not going, which given my state of Cabin Fever says alot.  

I live just a few miles South of you. Crowds are seldom if ever a problem for me. Mainly, because I fish the smaller rivers where bigger, prop driven boats can't go. The DuPage, Fox and Kankakee Rivers are all as close to you as LaSalle and Heideke or the Illinois River. Switching to a canoe or kayak is a major adjustment but the smallies are shallow all summer and there are almost no crowds unless you are bothered by the occasional bikini hatch on warm afternoons! The smallie in my avatar was caught about 20 minutes from your home within sight of a major road.

[jimf]

2 minutes ago, Scott F said:

I live just a few miles South of you. Crowds are seldom if ever a problem for me. Mainly, because I fish the smaller rivers where bigger, prop driven boats can't go. The DuPage, Fox and Kankakee Rivers are all as close to you as LaSalle and Heideke or the Illinois River. Switching to a canoe or kayak is a major adjustment but the smallies are shallow all summer and there are almost no crowds unless you are bothered by the occasional bikini hatch on warm afternoons! The smallie in my avatar was caught about 20 minutes from your home within sight of a major road.

I wade fish the Fox and DuPage.  3K I actually like fishing from my boat, launch up at the state ramp right off of I55.   That area gets tons of boaters in the summer and is a zoo on the weekends.   Braidwood is exactly where I am planning on going this weekend.   

[A-Jay]

Much of my USCG career was spent right in the middle of the boating crowd.  Never a dull moment.   Now a retired human, I made a conscious decision to live in a place – well, let’s just call it rural.    Even still, during the peak of summer and the boating season, many lakes see quite a bit of action.   Accordingly and as mentioned above, during peak user hours, the challenges associated with the parking wars & crazy boat ramp antics are often in full bloom.   

  The simplest solution for me is to be on & off the water, well before & or after the insanity.   Mid-week is often pretty good (Wed & Thurs).  I usually will not even go out on weekends in the summer – it’s just not worth the hassle.  Choosing instead to do whatever needs to be done (domestically & landscape wise) over the weekend in order to open that next week up.  

  I’ll either get on the water a couple of hours before grey light, fish until about an hour after sunrise & then bail.   The other option is to get on the water @ 3 or 4 pm and stay out until midnight or so.  Both of these moves are designed to avoid the boat ramp circus that routinely occurs in the morning & again right before sunset.

  Of course the ultimate in peak season best fishing, when available & at least for me, is to fish exclusively at night.  Getting to and launching 2 hours after sunset, fish all night and then depart before anyone even knows you were there – it’s the ultimate in “Having the lake to yourself”.

 May not be for everyone.   But instead of getting bummed out about the Barnum & Bailey Boat Brigade, the intoxicated tube towers squad & the Kamikaze Jet ski patrol, the cool dark nights are something I really look forward to every year.

Best part of all of this is that the “busy” season here really only lasts about 10 weeks or so.

 

A-Jay

 

[jimf]

Alot of the state park facilities (maybe all?) in Illinois open at sunrise and close at sunset, so getting there too early or late is not an option.  The good news about some of the water I fish is it's fishing only - no recreational boating allowed.   You can still have some insanity but it's more just having to wait in line to launch, not being able to fish your spot etc...    I've been scared for my life before on recreational boating waters - I used to fish Lake of the Ozarks off and on when I lived in Missouri and that was just frightening on the weekends in the summer.   

 

 

[NYWayfarer]

Sometimes it pays to downsize. I have a lake by me that has canoe access only.

 

[tander]

Retirement is the best way to avoid crowds. I know for some that is not an option right now, but let me tell you, it is the answer. I hardly fish my 33,000 acre reservoir on the weekends or Friday. Monday-Thurday, I just about have it to myself.

[A-Jay]

24 minutes ago, Finesse Wayfarer said:

Sometimes it pays to downsize. I have a lake by me that has canoe access only.

 

 

Didn't mention this in my previous post but I could not possibly agree more !

The Old Town is a Great Option now.

A-Jay

[soflabasser]

I often drive far distances to fish so I can enjoy being in the outdoors and be away from the city.

[RoLo]

 

Above all, I never fish on Saturdays when the big waters like Toho & Kissimmee are a ZOO

Further, there's almost always one or more tournaments underway every Saturday throughout the year.

 

I eventually learned that my 'Start time' & 'Finish time' are just as important as the days I choose to fish.

Though many would disagree, we've never found Florida-strain bass to be early risers like northern-strain bass.

After a fashion I've found that nothing depresses the launch crowd like a "late start" and a "late finish".

For many years now our fishing begins around noon to 1 pm, and we fish down the afternoon to sunset.

I realize that a noon start sounds like a travesty, but that’s exactly why it can be lonely at the ramp.

When we participate in our community tournaments, we have no choice but to Start early & Quit early,

but our success has been noticeably better when we freelance with a clockwise tilt (Late-start / Late-finish)

By launching late and retrieving late we’re usually able to include Sundays too.

I refer to Sunday afternoon as "Bath Night", when the boat traffic dries up quickly

as the afternoon wears on. I can't tell you how many times I've made the trip

across '21/2 Mile Bay' back to Camp Mack when we were the only boat on the water,

as though I held title to the lake.

 

Roger

 

 

 

[Jar11591]

While I do fish in the mountains a lot, I also do a lot of urban fishing. My couple "home" lakes are in urban areas, and during the right time in the right season these lakes can be totally overrun with people. Other fishermen, pleasure boaters, shore fishermen crowding the boat launch....it gets crazy. 

 

I have found that the crowds usually don't show up early on in the season, and most people hang it up when summer is almost over. So during spring and fall I often have the lake to myself. 

 

I'm also known to be on the water well before dawn, and it's a very rare occasion that I have to share the water with anyone during those early hours-except maybe a loon. I don't know if there is anything better than being the only boat on the lake, in the middle of thick fog before the sun is up and hearing that eerie cry of a loon. 

[Oregon Native]

Definitly a mind set.  I would try to go very early and then time when there's a pause in the early afternoon to pull out.  Or fish to dark.  I too do not care for crowds...especially me me me crowds but it is what it is.  Go fish...laugh at the idiots...pray for others and try some new stuff to see what happens.  Don't set your expectations to high other than hopefully everything works and you feel a few tugs.

Good Luck

[gim]

I agree with what a lot has been posted about this problem already - go during the week, at night, and

avoiding peak traffic hours, especially from the notorious recreational riff raff.  Down sizing definitely works.  I will sometimes float a smaller sized river in a small jon boat or canoe and it winds through rural, private, mostly wooded/agricultural areas, plus it can get pretty shallow, so you can't launch a large craft in it.  It has awesome smallmouth fishing.  Rarely do I see anyone else out there fishing except near a bridge when there could maybe be a random shoreline angler.

 

Another suggestion I might make is to try and target days where there's inclement weather in the forecast.  I know it sounds counter-intuitive to some, but the rain keeps a lot of people off the water.  I'm not saying to fish in a severe thunderstorm or hurricane - be smart about it.  Plus, the fishing is often better too than it would be in flat, calm, sunny, warm conditions.

[bassguytom]

On lakes that I fish where there are is not water skiing or tubing allowed the best way to avoid the fishing crowd is to fish in the middle of the lake. Sometime I'm the only one out there. Yep I'm the crazy guy out there not catching anything. ? Learning to use my electronics and fish deep has really paid off for me. On lakes where water skiing and tubing is  allowed and I think it will be crowed. I fish lakes that don't allow water skiing or tubing or fish those lakes not during peak times. You get a feel for when those times are. Please don't tell anyone about the fishing deep thing. I wouldn't want to spoil the bank beater's parade. 

[lonnie g]

5 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Much of my USCG career was spent right in the middle of the boating crowd.  Never a dull moment.   Now a retired human, I made a conscious decision to live in a place – well, let’s just call it rural.    Even still, during the peak of summer and the boating season, many lakes see quite a bit of action.   Accordingly and as mentioned above, during peak user hours, the challenges associated with the parking wars & crazy boat ramp antics are often in full bloom.   

  The simplest solution for me is to be on & off the water, well before & or after the insanity.   Mid-week is often pretty good (Wed & Thurs).  I usually will not even go out on weekends in the summer – it’s just not worth the hassle.  Choosing instead to do whatever needs to be done (domestically & landscape wise) over the weekend in order to open that next week up.  

  I’ll either get on the water a couple of hours before grey light, fish until about an hour after sunrise & then bail.   The other option is to get on the water @ 3 or 4 pm and stay out until midnight or so.  Both of these moves are designed to avoid the boat ramp circus that routinely occurs in the morning & again right before sunset.

  Of course the ultimate in peak season best fishing, when available & at least for me, is to fish exclusively at night.  Getting to and launching 2 hours after sunset, fish all night and then depart before anyone even knows you were there – it’s the ultimate in “Having the lake to yourself”.

 May not be for everyone.   But instead of getting bummed out about the Barnum & Bailey Boat Brigade, the intoxicated tube towers squad & the Kamikaze Jet ski patrol, the cool dark nights are something I really look forward to every year.

Best part of all of this is that the “busy” season here really only lasts about 10 weeks or so.

 

A-Jay

 

if I haven't already said thanks for your service thanks!! ive tried the night thing and its great for big bass feeding on crappie. but those mosqitos chew me alive. unless there is a breese. great advive on before and after sunset on ramp issue. I like finding local pond and lakes as well. crowds don't bother me to much except for that skier or waverunner blowing by you really close continuasly. then I just find shallower water  or go up a creek if possible. some times we just have to take the good with the bad. look at it as another challenge. just fish and love doing it.

[Fishing Rhino]

It's called the early bird gets the worm.

 

There are a few places I fish that has very limited parking at the ramps.  One is only good for five or six tow vehicles.  The others up to ten.  There is a simple solution.  Get up and on the road so I am at the ramp just before there is a glow in the easter sky.  Get the boat on the water and park the truck in the most convenient spot, where it cannot be blocked by another rig.

 

I'm on the boat with less light than than a full moon would provide.  

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

Power plant lake in the middle of winter on a nice day when everyone has cabin fever, you can about step boat to boat. I know there was one day this winter there was over 40 boats in the roughly 200 acre area where the warm water discharge has any effect. I work during the weekend, so if I see 10 other boats, it's busy.