“Highly pressured”

[A-Jay]

Reading many of these responses regarding 'pressured waters' makes me really appreciate what I have available.

 I came across this excerpt from the MI DNR recently.

Sums it up.

 

  The state’s Fishing Tournament Information System, a mandatory reporting process prescribed for tournaments conducted on state waters, shows more than 2,200 bass tournaments were held on 298 bodies of water in 2019. In addition, more than 90 walleye tournaments were conducted on 34 fisheries.

"We operate 1,300 boat launches around the state and have about 300 sites that host a tournament,” said program coordinator and fisheries biologist Tom Goniea.

“That means 2/3 of our sites don’t see a tournament all year.”

 

95% of that occurs on waters three full hours south of me.

 

The winters are long, snowy and often brutally cold.  

I have to believe that plays a role.  

The question may be "Is It Worth It ?"

 

I go when I can & I appreciate every minute of it. 

 

(Last Week)

 

A-Jay

[TnRiver46]

6 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Reading many of these responses regarding 'pressured waters' makes me really appreciate what I have available.

 I came across this excerpt from the MI DNR recently.

Sums it up.

 

  The state’s Fishing Tournament Information System, a mandatory reporting process prescribed for tournaments conducted on state waters, shows more than 2,200 bass tournaments were held on 298 bodies of water in 2019. In addition, more than 90 walleye tournaments were conducted on 34 fisheries.

"We operate 1,300 boat launches around the state and have about 300 sites that host a tournament,” said program coordinator and fisheries biologist Tom Goniea.

“That means 2/3 of our sites don’t see a tournament all year.”

 

95% of that occurs on waters three full hours south of me.

 

The winters are long, snowy and often brutally cold.  

I have to believe that plays a role.  

The question may be "Is It Worth It ?"

 

I go when I can & I appreciate every minute of it. 

 

(Last Week)

 

A-Jay

You rascal....... they run smallmouth jet boat tournaments even up in the rapids down here! Haha

[NYWayfarer]

39 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Reading many of these responses regarding 'pressured waters' makes me really appreciate what I have available.

 I came across this excerpt from the MI DNR recently.

Sums it up.

 

  The state’s Fishing Tournament Information System, a mandatory reporting process prescribed for tournaments conducted on state waters, shows more than 2,200 bass tournaments were held on 298 bodies of water in 2019. In addition, more than 90 walleye tournaments were conducted on 34 fisheries.

"We operate 1,300 boat launches around the state and have about 300 sites that host a tournament,” said program coordinator and fisheries biologist Tom Goniea.

“That means 2/3 of our sites don’t see a tournament all year.”

 

95% of that occurs on waters three full hours south of me.

 

The winters are long, snowy and often brutally cold.  

I have to believe that plays a role.  

The question may be "Is It Worth It ?"

 

I go when I can & I appreciate every minute of it. 

 

(Last Week)

 

A-Jay

Looks like your own private lake!

[A-Jay]

28 minutes ago, NYWayfarer said:

Looks like your own private lake!

Early and late season it sort of seems like it.

Come around January though I have to remind myself of what can happen in May and August

A-Jay 

 

[Vilas15]

There's 8 boats on my favorite lake today which is a lot for a Tuesday. Launch can only hold about 15 max. But it's only 480 acres. If it's packed I'll go to one of the other 1300 lakes in the county. Or maybe take the long drive south to the next county's 1300 lakes. I've only fished about 10 enough to know them well over the last few years, but it's better that way than fishing a new one every time and never learning anything.

[JediAmoeba]

Our little 40 acre pond last Friday had me fighting spots for 12 other kayaks, 5 canoes and about 15 shore anglers... That's normally the way it is on weekends all year here though.

We have 5 ponds/lakes where I live.  The largest is 40 acres, the second is 8 acres, 1 is 3 acres, 1 is 2 acres and the last is an acre.  If it isnt raining or snowing you can guarantee there are people fishing at each one.

 

Normally you will see between 5-10 shore anglers at the small ponds.  On the weekends more.  The closest one to me that is 8 acres and relatively deep for its size will have at least 20 people fishing every day in the summer.

 

I know pressured water unfortunately and because of this Covid thing every day has more anglers lately.

[gim]

I can't tell if there's been more people fishing our lakes because of the pandemic thing or if its because we've had an earlier/warmer spring.  Some of the smaller metro lakes often have limited parking and when it fills up they stop allowing people.  I haven't seen this yet but then again, the recreational riff raff haven't really invaded the waters yet here because its too cold.  They usually start showing up in mid June when the water hits 70+ degrees.

 

The MN DNR did report that angling license sales were up a whopping 40% before May 9 compared to last year.  So more people are at least "intending" to go out.

 

I don't think its a coincidence that better fishing success occurs when fish are less pressured.  The more lures the fish see, the harder they become to catch.  That's nothing new.

[Captain America]

The my river has been getting slammed. People do not seem to care how close they get to each other either ?. Luckily the lakes I like to fish havent been as bad. More room, less people, and a change of scenery. 

[VinnyR]

Man some of you guys could be great deep sea fisherman, with how salty you are! Of course California is crowded and heavily regulated, what else is new. It also has beautiful weather year round and easy access to all sorts of outdoors. Love it or leave it (half kidding) 

 

My ponds couldn't possibly be any more crowded than usual, so I haven't noticed anything except more non-fisherman and families at the parks. Still tough, I think I'm gonna give up on weekend afternoons, there seems to be no point in even trying 

[JediAmoeba]

34 minutes ago, VinnyR said:

Man some of you guys could be great deep sea fisherman, with how salty you are! Of course California is crowded and heavily regulated, what else is new. It also has beautiful weather year round and easy access to all sorts of outdoors. Love it or leave it (half kidding) 

I will admit, I have become more and more salty just because 99% of the fishermen are what I call bucket and bobber fishermen.  Their most essential piece of equipment is their bucket to keep everything they catch without regard to season and creel limits.  I would just be happy if most of them had licenses and didnt kill everything they catch.

[Bruce424]

On 5/18/2020 at 4:28 PM, Bankbeater said:

I usually don't care to fish in the rain, but this year I've been looking for rainy days.

my wife thinks im nuts when i ask

"is it supposed to rain tomorrow?"

"yes"

"ok im going fishing then"

[Russ E]

The extra pressure has forced me to look for new spots on the local lakes. If you look hard enough it is surprising how many spots get overlooked. I am fishing spots I would have just driven by in the past.

thanks to mega side imaging I have found quite a few overlooked spots and found some fish that have not seen much pressure.

Most of the quality fish this year has been on finesse baits. Not my favorite style of fishing, but very productive.

[soflabasser]

A good fisherman is able to adapt to high fishing pressure and finds a way to catch fish. 

[VinnyR]

1 hour ago, JediAmoeba said:

Their most essential piece of equipment is their bucket to keep everything they catch without regard to season and creel limits

I hear you, this drives me nuts too. They stock trout and catfish by me, if you want to catch your lunch, make it one of those. I'd like to still be able to fish here next year. But if they're keeping bass within the law what can I do besides shame them on fishbrain ?

[Hammer 4]

7 minutes ago, VinnyR said:

I hear you, this drives me nuts too. They stock trout and catfish by me, if you want to catch your lunch, make it one of those. I'd like to still be able to fish here next year. But if they're keeping bass within the law what can I do besides shame them on fishbrain ?

Not much we/you can do, but hope they don't catch a big female bass and keep it. Frustrating I know.

[Bird]

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

A good fisherman is able to adapt to high fishing pressure and finds a way to catch fish. 

This is true but waiting at the ramps for outgoing and incoming boats delay ones ability to showcase this said talent. Lol

[WRB]

Every day is a Holiday and every meal a feast enjoy what you have.

Tom

[soflabasser]

37 minutes ago, Bird said:

This is true but waiting at the ramps for outgoing and incoming boats delay ones ability to showcase this said talent. Lol

There are plenty of places you can fish from the bank and do very well, even better than a lot of people that fish on boats.

[fin]

It helps to see that it’s pretty much the same all over.

 

One thing I’ve been seeing a lot of lately is where people have gone to the store and bought several blister-packaged rod and reels, and they just leave that packaging on the ground right where they fished. I just don’t get that. They come from a different world than me.

 

I’m better off when I overlook what others do. It aggravates me to see, but when I get involved I usually end up getting angrier and make my experience even worse. I can’t change their behavior. It’s a mistake to think you can educate anyone. Some people missed some basic parenting that you just can’t fix, and those people look just like any other.

[schplurg]

"It's so crowded now it's a bummer, but great to see more people out fishing!"

 

Not really. This is why I'm not one of those fishermen who is too interested in seeing the sport grow. 

 

The benefits for me personally are far greater without an influx of new anglers. The beneficiaries of fishing being more popular are primarily the companies who sell stuff or otherwise cash in on the sport. We have plenty of innovation and brands to choose from already.

 

The more it grows the more commercial it will get, and who knows maybe tournament rules and coverage will even be changed in an effort to appeal to a larger and less fishing-educated audience...oh wait that's already happened!

 

Which do you want at your favorite fisheries - more people fishing or less? That's your real answer.

[rtwvumtneer6]

I'm headed to my "home lake" today, and I'm not sure what I will find.  I'm a little concerned because the lake is open, but the facilities are closed and the maintenance staff has been cut back.  

 

Haven't been there since the stay at home order was put in place but I've heard it has been overly crowded every day.  I'm more concerned about the condition of the park and the lake than the number of people.  Sad that I have to think about packing gloves and plastic bags along with my tackle to help clean up after the folks who leave their trash behind...

 

Who knows, maybe I'll be surprised... 

[WRB]

Big difference between unskilled and skilled fishing pressure. People getting out of the house have little skill will not harm the bass populations. With today’s  C & R practice skilled anglers will not harm the bass populations. Stop wining about people enjoying being out and enjoy the fact you are able to fish.

My lake is closed to entry, no fishing.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

8 minutes ago, WRB said:

Big difference between unskilled and skilled fishing pressure. People getting out of the house have little skill will not harm the bass populations. With today’s  C & R practice skilled anglers will not harm the bass populations. Stop wining about people enjoying being out and enjoy the fact you are able to fish.

My lake is closed to entry, no fishing.

Tom

Exactly! The TN River is one of the most crowded places in the US, 4 boats in every spot. When I was 16 we used to have a dynamite spot to fish from the bank below a dam. I recall on time being disappointed when a couple anglers were standing on “my” rock. My fishing partner says, “don’t worry, they don’t know what the !&@$ they are doing.” That was a lesson I learned that rings true to this day 

[scaleface]

I've been fishing behind some people bass fishing this year but they were just out for a day of fishing and not as enthusiastic about the sport as me . When I show them the bait  I'm catching fish on , they are  surprised that its the same thing they are using . Its just attention to small detail and putting the lure in high percentage spots , keeping it in the strike zone.. . It comes naturally to someone who has done it for a long time , not so much for the occasional angler . 

[ArthurLK11]

I know it's tougher is some areas of the country than others, but ever since this pandemic started I've tried harder to find new spots. All my old spots are generally very easily accessible public bodies of water. Like you mentioned, they're flooded with people. I have recently really enjoyed hunting for new spots I found just driving around or on Google Maps. About 75% of them were a waste of time and I wouldn't go back to them, but for the other 25% I'm glad I found some lesser known honey holes that I'll be going to for a while in the future.