pressure Were there any "Good ol' Days" of fishing?

[Russ E]

I have been bass fishing since  I was a teenager  in the mid 70's.

Catch and release was not very popular at the time.

Needless to say nearly all fish we caught were under the legal limit.

catch and release is much more common now.

The average size bass I catch now is much better than it was back then.

In my opinion the good old days are happening now. 

[david in va]

Daddy and granddaddy had one firm rule put little bass back, now trash fish was another thing throw them back on the bank where they could not get  back in the water

[UPSmallie]

I would have loved to be around when Rapala Originals first hit the market.  From everything I have read and heard from those who experienced it, it was non-stop action.  Fish every cast at times.  Now I tie on a Rapala, but hardly ever the original.

[davecon]

The good old days are, in my opinion, whenever you find that body of water that has lots of fish and little pressure. These bodies of water change over time and seem to peter out but when they are hot it is great. The time frame may be a few weeks or a few years. In my fishing past I have had bodies of water that on a good day you expected to catch 50 bass a piece, slow day - 25, really good day - 100. I'm talking average size of 3 pounds. Did it last forever ? No! But we rode it as long as it lasted - about 3 years. Hurricane ruined it. Before that - power plant lake. Same kind of numbers - if you didn't get at least 4 that were 5 or better it was a slow day. Lasted for years until power company shut it down. Before that a phosphate pit where you could always catch 15 to 25 with several 5 pounders. They drained it after about 4 years. Another that even though it received tremendous pressure was always good for 15 bass. Caught several double digits in that one too. d**n broke - when refilled it was never the same.Have several bodies of water that were just as good over the last 40 years. For the last 12 years have been fishing a river for Snook. Slow day - 10, good day - 25, exceptional day - 40 or more with some up to 40 inches. Reds and tarpon a bonus. How long will it last - who knows but I will keep going back til it slows then find another spot. Point is, the good old days are now if you know the right spot. If you don't, keep looking and you will have your own good old days. Just keep your mouth shut when you find it.

[RPreeb]

On 8/26/2017 at 5:23 PM, david in va said:

Daddy and granddaddy had one firm rule put little bass back, now trash fish was another thing throw them back on the bank where they could not get  back in the water

 

We made our own judgement as to what was a keeper and what wasn't.  I feel that we made good decisions, and like David above, we also tossed trash fish out for the scavengers.  Bag and size limits, where they existed at all, were quite liberal.

 

We did fish for the table, but we didn't over fish - didn't take what we couldn't eat.  Some people did though, and as population increased, it meant more fishermen on the water, and that forced the fish & game commission to start regulating limits.  Now, like most here, I practice catch and release, so the limits don't have much impact on me.  

 

Although if I ever figure it out and hook into a decent walleye, it might just become fish 'n chips.   That would be a rare exception.

[scaleface]

Slot limits seem to work real well "if"  the fishermen use them . A local lake has had a slot limit for decades but people just would not keep those little bass . I kept a limit every time out . The last few years I have noticed more people keeping those little bass and  the population of med sized bass in and over the slot has exploded  . The average sized fish is noticeably larger .It appears to me if  you want to help a fishery keep the fish under the slot or the smallest legal fish if there is no slot . If theres a min 15 inch limit ,   I will keep a limit closer to the 15 inch mark . Bass are renewable .

[Darren.]

For me, "good ol' days" are days of memories catching

fish with my Dad, my boys. Catching my PB was a "good

ol' day", too! That day I slayed several 5 and 6 pounders

under a flooded bridge was one.

 

Another one was recent when my 2nd son and I were yaking

back to the dock and he says "dad, can I troll a frog?" I said,

"sure, why not! I doubt you'll catch anything, though."

 

Next thing you know, he's screaming, I caught one!! That was

a good ol day for me. Oh, I was towing him with my e-kayak.

[Crestliner2008]

Being 72 has it's advantages. You can reflect on how things "use to be". Problem is you tend to remember the good times and not the not so good times. Back in the 70's, it was an exciting time to be a die hard fisherman. We used hand lines to map lakes and find structure you previously had success on.

 

Then came the first "Green Box" flasher from Lowrance. Wow! Talk about exciting! You could actually "see" fish on the structure you were fishing. Then came Buck Perry's Spoonplugging. Talk about a mapping process! And it was productive as well.

 

I remember reading an article in BassMaster Magazine where they talked about the greatest invention of all time - the paper plotting sonar. Every was excited back then as well with this and many other innovations to follow. Was the fishing any better back then? I rather doubt it. However, with each "breakthrough" to hit us, we certainly had more fun doing it.

[BuzzHudson19c]

Some places I fish have gotten worse, some have gotten better. Often when people complain about a lake or river they forget that they change over time. Silt builds up, erosion, vegetation growth varies. "Grand pappy used to catch them right near that island by the bucket! In the good ole days." Chances are the fish aren't holding in the same spot they were 30 years ago (shocking).

[tkunk]

The guys who've been around for a long time say that gobies, which provide an all-you-can-eat buffet for smallies and walleyes, are the best thing to happen to the Great Lakes.  Plus, now that I think about it, salmon were introduced to the Great Lakes to eat the invasive alewives. So overall, fishing's really good by me and probably much better than it used to be.

[clh121787]

Other than listening to the old timers talk about fork in the 80s and 90s, imo these are the good old days. Tournament sacks are getting bigger. Spotted bass records are getting smashed in norcal smallies up north are thriving. I'm catching more fish and bigger fish than I ever have. Take into account I've been an adult for 11 years always had a boat of some sort. But my experience is diluted compared to alot on here. 

[RPreeb]

My "good old days" were as much about the situation as they were about the actual fishing.  I spent my first 16 summers at our cabin on Balsam Lake in western Wisconsin.  I clearly remember the billboard sized sign that said "Welcome to Balsam Lake, one of the top ten bass lakes in America.  Now, I take that claim with a grain of salt, but it was good fishing none-the-less, and great for a kid trying to learn the ropes without a father to help him out.  

 

We started just digging worms to catch sunfish as soon as we were old enough to hold a cane pole.  When someone was nice enough to supply us with a dozen or two minnows, then we could be more adventurous and go for crappies.  I was probably 13 or 14 (1959 or 1960) when I first targeted bass with artificial lures and got hooked.  (sorry for the pun, but it was unavoidable   )

 

The point was that it was so easy to "go fishing".  All it meant was walking down to the water, flipping over the canoe and sliding it into the lake, and we were fishing.  Now it's a lot more work, walking the shore and not catching much, or loading the canoe on top of the truck, driving to the lake, then unloading the canoe, putting all the stuff in it, and finally getting out on the water about 2 hours later.  

 

In any case, I'm more than ½ hour from the nearest actual lake (North Sterling Reservoir or Jumbo Reservoir), and I don't know the topography of any local waters so the fishing takes some planning and a little guesswork.  It's not as relaxing as it was back in those "good old days".  Don't get me wrong, it's still fun, but takes a more concerted effort to get it done.

[flyfisher]

I honestly feel that people who complain about the good old days are just making an excuse as to why they are not having success now.  I have only been on this Earth 40 years and i can say i catch more and bigger fish now than i ever have.  Whether that is due to skill or what is of no concern to me because it is happening.

[slonezp]

Learn when to fish. Learn where to fish. Learn when to fish where.

 

Only other advice I can give is to learn the habits of all the predominant fish species in any given body of water, not just the ones you are targeting. 

 

I can assure you, if you follow the above advice, you will be on your way to living the good ol days right now.

 

[Columbia Craw]

Bass....good old days?  Nope.  Steelhead?  Absolutely.

[Tommy Pugh]

It's very true. There are places that my grandpa would fish and had pics of stringers full of fish that people don't even fish anymore. The population has grown so much and pollution has done damage as well. Even in my lifetime I can tell a change from when I was a kid, to when I was in my 20s, and to now. Fishing off of the bank is terrible. I moved here to SC in Jan. There were places that i would go in my early 20s and catch fish all day long. Now at those same places I am lucky if I get a bite or two. 

[perd]

Manabu Kurita caught a 22lber on Lake Biwa, one of the most pressured lakes in the world...

[lonnie g]

On ‎8‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 2:19 PM, A-Jay said:

Learning from the past may be helpful. Comparing the past & the present has never caught me any more fish.  There may be some better and some perhaps worse.  But I’d say there are enough better to offset the worse and sort of even it all out.

BTW - the BASS Elite series is on Lake St Clair this week.  On the first day the pros weighed in 15 five fish limits over 20 lbs.  The second day there were 30 bags OVER 20 lbs ~ !  And we are taking about Smallmouth people – Smallmouth.   That’s some big weight.   And for a lake that’s so close to metro Detroit, MI – that’s just plain outrageous.

That said, this month has been pretty tough sledding for bass fishing in my world – has nothing to do with the past. 

I’m just a hack.

A-Jay

I disagree with the hack part , I seen some of those footballs this spring! I bet you can still hang with them. now for me they would say OLD HACK!!

[38 Super Fan]

I suppose it's different everywhere. As far as bass here in Kentucky, I think it's still good, but the fishing pressure, and tons of recreational traffic out on our lakes sure does suck. People around here are notorious for keeping everything they catch too, that doesn't help.

 

We've still got some big fish, but I'm not sure there are any state records swimming around these days. The state record largemouth was caught in 1984, spot was in 1970, and smallmouth (also world record) was way back in 1955. Those were all a pretty long time ago, and I really don't think we'll ever see that smallmouth record fall.

 

 

 

 

[gnappi]

First post, I hope it's not too controversial.

 

I'm in my mid 60's and have fished all of my life from age 4 or so. Was fishing better way back? Maybe, maybe not. In Florida there are a LOT of bass, and I don't think that has or will diminish over the coming years. 

 

I think that some lures in areas where there is a lot of pressure fish naturally avoid lures that they see regularly. Varying my lure arsenal a bit and presentation helps a lot. Also I think too much catch and release just makes fish wary. For example... down here Peacock bass are plentiful, well more than plentiful but still most fish get returned to the water. Then the pressure makes them wary of lures.

 

The rub here is the first cold snap is going to kill off most of them and it will take years to recover the numbers. Some say that the one you eat may have been the one that survived a cold front, maybe but likely not.

 

So, I take every Peacock within State limits that is of a size large enough to eat. LMB's OTOH inch for inch have less edible meat than Peacocks on them down here, so I release ( I only ate one this year) the vast majority. I notice that the areas I release the most fish get harder and harder to catch later on so that's where my lure arsenal and presentation variation gets them. Also when I see other fishermen fishing and they see me catching fish or I have to pass by them I keep my lure arsenal to myself.

 

The bottom line for me is that catching a number of fish hasn't changed, only what I use and how I fish has. I still catch a bunch of fish.