Overfishing

[johnsmith]

Not sure how others feel but with COVID, fishing is getting even more pressure then it already has. Ever since this pandemic it kinda makes me mad now seeing a ton of new people crowding areas you rarely used to see people. Not to mention all these new "anglers" are taking undersized fish and are weighing them when it doesn't even look over 2 lb and calling every bass they catch a "nice" fish. Fish brain is a great example of people weighing 2 lb basses and incriminating themselves illegally taking fish home.

[928JLH]

It's pretty bad here. Everyone is eating everything. I know it's none of my business what someone keeps with a valid license, but seeing bed smallies being stuffed in coolers is really making me angry. 

[DitchPanda]

2 hours ago, johnsmith said:

Not sure how others feel but with COVID, fishing is getting even more pressure then it already has. I used to enjoy seeing new anglers finding the world of bass world, but my feelings changed ever since this pandemic. Kinda makes me mad now seeing a ton of new people crowding areas you rarely used to see people. Not to mention all these new "anglers" are taking undersized fish and are weighting them that doesn't look over 2 lb and calling every bass they catch a "nice" fish. Fish brain is a great example of people weighing 2 lb basses and incriminating themselves illegally taking fish home.

 

18 minutes ago, 928JLH said:

It's pretty bad here. Everyone is eating everything. I know it's none of my business what someone keeps with a valid license, but seeing bed smallies being stuffed in coolers is really making me angry. 

Yes it is frustrating no doubt dealing with these new people which I will not refer to as anglers because they do not deserve that title. Worst part for me isn't the pressure but the garbage everybody is leaving behind. Its disgusting.

Also yes it can be frustrating watching people keeping bass especially larger ones. But if you see people keeping illegal fish it is absolutely your business and even responsibility to do something about it. Call the DNR..they will take care of it.

[gim]

Unfortunately there's probably not a lot you can do if they're within the boundaries of the law.  Bass season is closed here in MN until May and even when it opens, I don't think a lot of bass get harvested.  We have other species in the north here that people target to keep ahead of bass.  But those populations have taken a beating last year and this past winter.  People park on spots for days during the ice season with all this new technology and can fill a bucket of slab crappies or bull bluegills in a short period of time.  90+ lakes in MN went from a daily limit of 20 sunfish to 5 because of this and I foresee it happening statewide in the future.  It takes a long time for fish to reach good size here in the north because they don't grow at all during the winter.  Replacing them takes years.

 

The trash and garbage is a huge problem when new people go camping.  You are supposed to leave it as you found it.  Ice anglers are notorious for leaving crap on the ice too.

[GaryH]

Just took a ride today all our lakes are still frozen. Only a few on the ice fishing.

[Bankbeater]

The Mo. Conservation Dept. very quietly started addressing this issue at the Conservation site near me about 10 or 11 years ago.  First they started blocking off certain roads for safety reasons.  After that they just stopped cutting the brush away from the bank on some lakes to limit lake access.  Now the only way to fish some locations is by boat.

[soflabasser]

I have seen more people fishing this past year than any of the +20 years I have fished so far. A lot of those fisherman are rude and greedy. For example this past weekend I was fishing and had a group of people come up to me and fish next to me. I was the only person in that part of the canal for several hundred yards and they had to fish next to me. I calmly walked away and watched them for several minutes. None of them caught any fish while I was catching many fish. Goes to show you that you can fish in the right spot, copy someone, and it still won't guarantee you success.

[huZZah]

Trash is a real problem but the increase in people has increased the noise. Trying to fish and guys are yelling and partying with a fire trying to figure out why they aren’t catching anything. 
 

I don’t feel it’s overfished cause these idiots don’t catch anything. But it’s definitely over-crowded some days. 

[the reel ess]

I know it's selfish of me, but I really like to be alone when I go fishing. I seek out and ask permission to go places that I can do that. I have access to three private ponds and a reservoir that has very limited pressure. The most boats I've ever seen there is 4. I'm usually one of 2 there. My days of fishing crowds are hopefully over.

[huZZah]

49 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

I know it's selfish of me, but I really like to be alone when I go fishing.

Oh I’m with you. I don’t even love taking anyone but my older son. He gets it. Anyone else?  ...........

 

I’m perfectly happy not to see another person the whole day. And then there’s when I’m fishing!

[E-rude dude]

Weekend traffic is impossible to fish after 10.

I fish during the week when I can.

just getting in and out now on a weekend is ludicrous.

[the reel ess]

7 minutes ago, E-rude dude said:

Weekend traffic is impossible to fish after 10.

I fish during the week when I can.

just getting in and out now on a weekend is ludicrous.

This was the only way I could stand to fish anymore when I had my fishing boat. Sometimes I'd spend Friday night at the lake, have my boat in and ready to go, get up with the chickens and someone would still be sitting where I wanted to fish when I got there. That's what changed the way I wanted to fish for the rest of my life. I'm not a pro. If I want competition, I'll take a buddy in my spare kayak.

[throttleplate]

2 hours ago, E-rude dude said:

Weekend traffic is impossible to fish after 10.

I fish during the week when I can.

just getting in and out now on a weekend is ludicrous.

weekends i go to the lakes that have no boat access ramp and very few if any houses on the lake. Weekdays i hit the more popuated lakes.

 

The music being played from the wild kids on dads boat playing that bad language music and hearing them yell all day and some girls even screaming for whatever reason is a bummer.

[TnRiver46]

I don’t see much fishing pressure because everyone goes to chickamauga 

[cheezyridr]

i went fishing for the first time this year, just yesterday. i was there 20 minutes when a guy walked up with his daughter and his lab, and started throwing a retrieval dummy into the water. for whatever reason, i didn't even get mad.  i just went home.

 

the place i go is heavily fished, and it's tough to get good fish there.  it's been that way as long as i can remember, about 44 years.  i like fishing there, but i am starting to think maybe i don't really go there to catch fish. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

I know what you are saying. My wife and I found a nice honey hole, catching some nice eater walleye. A pontoon boat is fishing across from us and he saw us catch a fish . So he comes and parks his boat where I had been casting.   There were kids on the boat, or that dude would’ve had a chunk of his butt missing. I did let him know that I wasn’t pleased with his decision to teach those kids that crap, but I’m not sure he knew that he had done anything wrong. He does now 

[Deephaven]

That is what Muskie lures are for.  Toss a 3 treble 6oz bait at the tip of their boat and retrieve it rapidly, then drop it inches from their motor and retrieve rapidly.  Repeat with fervor until they leave.  It is never long.

[geo g]

I have a park not too far from my home that is loaded with bass of all sizes.  It is heavily fished and I catch many that have signs of being caught before.  All our bass south of lake okeechobee are high in mercury levels and not safe for human consumption in large quantities.  I let them know when I see them put them in a bucket.  Some thank me, and some just fluff it off.  It’s hard to fix stupid!

[evo2s197]

18 hours ago, Deephaven said:

That is what Muskie lures are for.  Toss a 3 treble 6oz bait at the tip of their boat and retrieve it rapidly, then drop it inches from their motor and retrieve rapidly.  Repeat with fervor until they leave.  It is never long.

Any boat thats gets within casting distance of me when I've been on spot lock, gets a 12 oz swimbait thrown repeatedly in their direction until they leave.

[BBuck]

I agree with most of you in that I see a lot more trash being left in and around the water ever since the pandemic started and everybody started fishing. In regards to some of the comments that seem more about personal annoyances and illegal harvesting activity, if you aren't advising, teaching, or correcting the other issues with either your voice, time, or money then maybe you don't care enough about the problem to fix it. I think it would be helpful if we helped the game wardens by reporting illegal activities, organized clean-ups, gave tactful level-headed advice to those that are new to the sport, etc...

[ironbjorn]

Call me selfish and call me a Richard, but I don't like to see new anglers. Fishing pressure, garbage, and spot poachers become a problem. I like solitude.

[Darth-Baiter]

I’m okay with all of it.  Fishing isn’t an exclusive event.  More pressure?  I just need to up my game.  
 

there are kayakers galore. I’m a recent new fisherman.  To find fish - I pull up my big boy pants and try to find good water. Google earth searches to simply aiming my kayak away from the crowds and burning more calories.  It doesn’t always pay off, but I know I tried and didn’t take the path of least resistance. 

[soflabasser]

One thing I have learn while fishing is googans will always be googans. Googans do not care if you are the only person fishing for several hundred yards, they will walk up and fish next to you since they are desperate to catch a fish. Googans also don't care how much mercury a fish has, how rare a 8 pound bass is and why it is best to let the bass go so someone else can catch it. Best thing you can do when encountering a googan is walk away from them and go to another spot you do well. 

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, ironbjorn said:

Call me selfish and call me a Richard, but I don't like to see new anglers. Fishing pressure, garbage, and spot poachers become a problem. I like solitude.

Some people are very greedy and do not care about giving people space. If they see you catching fish they will walk up next to you and fish next to you. These people can only do good by following the bent rod pattern. Best thing you can do is walk away and fish somewhere else.

[LCG]

Last year was shoulder to shoulder and most places. I used a kayak most times just to keep distance from other people, covid and sanity

 

I don't mind people having fun and getting into the sport, but some people I shake my head at. Leaving garbage everywhere, line all over the ground and water, empty pop and beer cans in the water, etc. Spent one day at the end of the season just picking crap out of the water at my favorite spot. Just have a little respect for nature. Same with handling the fish, if you not eating it, then treat it humanly.