Fishing on holiday weekends?

[DitchPanda]

So I'm a die hard and will go anytime but I've never been a fan of fishing during the holidays. Ramps are jammed, shore spots always have groups of people and there is always an abundance of pleasure boating,drinking, littering and just general stupidity and buffoonery. Anybody else feel this way? Maybe its just the crabby old man in me...a combo of hating people and a little get off my lawn!

[fishballer06]

Absolutely. Get on the water at 530 and be off by 9. Too many jackalopes out on weekends like this. 

[DitchPanda]

5 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

Absolutely. Get on the water at 530 and be off by 9. Too many jackalopes out on weekends like this. 

Yeah that's a good idea...get in and out before people are even dealing with there hangovers. I'm choosing to go Sunday during the rain...that should keep them indoors.

[cody_ia]

im hitting a few small rivers for walleye this weekend. there wont be many (if any) people where im going. 

[BayouSlide]

Heck, I try to avoid fishing weekends...holiday or not.

 

Fishing when crowds are out on the water reduces the appeal. I normally avoid Mondays as well, to give the bass a chance to recover from the weekend's endless parade of lures. ?

 

That said, due to the dismal stretches of weather recently, I will probably risk a trip out this Sunday.

[lo n slo]

30 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

Absolutely. Get on the water at 530 and be off by 9. Too many jackalopes out on weekends like this. 

this is me

[FishinBuck07]

Nope not gonna happen!  haha  Ohio lakes are too small on a regular weekend, and I don't have the patience to handle stupid people!  haha

[Bankbeater]

I usually hit some small ponds that are about an hour away by car and by foot.  I've discovered that a lot of the holiday anglers don't like to walk.

[12poundbass]

One of the many pluses of living on a small private lake, throw in the average age of the people on the lake are 60, and virtually every boat but mine is a pontoon, and you know where I’ll be. ?
 

The rest of the lakes around me have a no wake time from 8pm-11 am so there’s plenty of time to fish if I wanted to venture away from my lake. 

[ajschn06]

22 minutes ago, BayouSlide said:

 

 

Fishing when crowds are out on the water reduces the appeal. I normally avoid Mondays as well, to give the bass a chance to recover from the weekend's endless parade of lures. ?

 

I sense your joking, but could there be something to this!?  Best fishing on thursdays!

[gim]

38 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

I'm choosing to go Sunday during the rain...that should keep them indoors.

 

Monday looks like the rainiest/cloudy day here so that is when I am considering going.  You'd be surprised how many people avoid the water even if its just cloudy out.

 

If its warm, sunny and its on a major holiday...not a chance.  Pray for rain lol

[DitchPanda]

4 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

Monday looks like the rainiest/cloudy day here so that is when I am considering going.  You'd be surprised how many people avoid the water even if its just cloudy out.

 

If its warm, sunny and its on a major holiday...not a chance.  Pray for rain lol

That's my plan

[Tennessee Boy]

I've been working on a punching technique that can punch through the thick layer of jet skies that forms on weekends on my local lake.  I haven't perfected it yet so I won't be out this weekend. 

[jimmyjoe]

    I see you all feel the same way I feel. It's not that I hate people, it's that I hate stupid people.

 

   Unfortunately, my house has a mirror in it.     ?                 jj

[CrankFate]

I will be fishing. The crowds don’t stop me. I’ve been fishing crowded public places forever.

[fishballer06]

Busy or not, my personal best smallmouth came on Memorial Day Monday a few years back (see profile pic). 

[N Florida Mike]

I plan to get out early on my small lake on monday. I plan to fish a frog  first,  and see where that leads...

I doubt if anyone else will be out early so...

[Krux5506]

I feel the same about holiday weekends but nowadays I don't get to pick and choose when I can fish so whatever time I get, I take it. Luckily its gonna be cold this weekend so hopefully it'll be fairly quiet.

[gim]

43 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I've been working on a punching technique that can punch through the thick layer of jet skies that forms on weekends on my local lake. 

 

Lol good one.  In all honesty though, the jet skis aren't as bothersome to me as the wake boats, ski boats, tubers, etc.  The wake boats are especially bad if I'm on a smaller lake.  There's just no refuge from the massive waves and blaring loud music.  Luckily we had a massive cold front the past couple days and that will likely keep water temps cold enough to keep most of them off the water until it warms up.

[Vilas15]

I'll be out there this weekend. Its dipping to 30° tonight so i doubt the rec boats will be out with all of us fishermen. Supposed to warm up as the weekend goes though.

[LrgmouthShad]

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

One of the many pluses of living on a small private lake, throw in the average age of the people on the lake are 60, and virtually every boat but mine is a pontoon, and you know where I’ll be. ?
 

The rest of the lakes around me have a no wake time from 8pm-11 am so there’s plenty of time to fish if I wanted to venture away from my lake. 

That’s livin. People can fish finesse tactics on pressured lakes all they want. I’m lookin for spots less fished and will fish them at times other people don’t. That doesn’t always mean private lakes. I found one recently that is public but is a pain to get to and not many people seem to know about it. 

[12poundbass]

5 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I found one recently that is public but is a pain to get to and not many people seem to know about it.

And that’s a reason I have a tin rig that isn’t gigantic. One of my public lakes I fish you have to back your boat down a narrow two track about 300’, only to launch and turn your trolling motor as far backwards as a cable steer will go and back your boat up that way about 100’. It’s a Great Lake with monster bass but most don’t want to deal with the hassle which I’m fine with. 
 

Another lake you have to drive down a sandy narrow two track about 1.5 miles to get to the shallow sandy launch. That one gets a few more anglers but not bad. The fishing is ok at best there, so we don’t visit it as much. 

[TnRiver46]

Boat traffic has turned on a bite for me many times :  the deep bite and the rip rap. Waves smashing rip rap is always a good spot and overhead traffic can drive fish down deep, right where I want them. 
 

I go fishing no matter what other people are doing, ain’t gonna let them slow me down. The best part about holidays is getting off work (although I don’t always get off work, I think I’ve got to work Sunday )

[Big Hands]

For me, there's "crowded", and there's "OMG, this is insane crowded".

 

We have parking for 500 boats (on a 2,200 acre lake - at full pool and it's down 45 feet now, headed for -120 feet) with both ramps running at full capacity, but they're lowering the water level 6" to 12" per day so they can work on the dam and about 1/3 of that capacity is not available due to one ramp being shut down.

 

Strangely, holiday weekends in the summer season are usually only "crowded". There will still be a line of cars waiting for someone to leave so they can have a place to park by 10 or 11 am, but the line won't be half mile long, and most will get in eventually. I think the main reason holiday weekends are less crowded than normal weekends here is because they don't have camping and many want to camp overnight on holiday weekends rather than just heading out for a one day outing.

 

There are no well kept secrets in a county with 11 million people, but it has been a relatively ignored phenomenon in the 30+ years I have been living here. Weekends will be jacked up from now through Labor Day and not much can be done about that. I will be doing most of my fishing on weekday afternoons until the fall. May still get out and mess around with the 'boating' and playing around in the water on weekends though if that's when the rest of the family can join in.

 

All that said, with the 'situation' we have been in for the past year, there is no telling what will take place this weekend. I may sneak in for a few hours early each day, and we have one of the only five times per year that we are allowed to night fish on the 29th so I will be there for that.

[LrgmouthShad]

2 hours ago, lo n slo said:

this is me

Random question that may turn into a PM later. You fish Harris Lake?

 

edit: just looked up mooresville. Wee bit far from Harris. Shearon Harris is full name. Anyone that does fish it, feel free to PM