What has changed so much in 70 years to reduce my daily catches from hundreds ?

[cyclops2]

It sure is not me.  I can not catch fish where there are none or very few.

 

  That is the 1 thing I have learned.

[Bird]

Fishing pressure has increased enormously, especially recently.

Target 1 fish and hope for 2. ?

[cyclops2]

If this year is like last year?  I will seriously consider selling off all but 1 spin 6' . I enjoy bringing Perch to other seniors at the camp.  That is my high point of life.  Sharing.

[Mobasser]

It's true. You can't catch fish where there's not any. It's been this way forever.

[DomQ]

Pressure man pressure. All my spots... ruined. Excuse me, I need a minute to cry.

[Finessegenics]

I dont know, sometimes I wonder if angling is REALLY becoming that much more popular. Compared to a few years ago, I run into less anglers than I used to. Or maybe it's just my perception of things. 

[QED]

1 hour ago, cyclops2 said:

It sure is not me.  I can not catch fish where there are none or very few.  [stuff deleted]

 

No one can catch fish where there are none.  In the San Joaquin County delta fishery we have increased pollution and diversion of water to Southern California so bass and striper fishing has suffered accordingly. Sucks for fishing in the delta.

[WRB]

21 minutes ago, QED said:

 

No one can catch fish where there are none.  In the San Joaquin County delta fishery we have increased pollution and diversion of water to Southern California so bass and striper fishing has suffered accordingly. Sucks for fishing in the delta.

80% of the Feather River water goes tonSan Joaquin Valley Big Ag farming.

Tom

[QED]

6 minutes ago, WRB said:

80% of the Feather River water goes tonSan Joaquin Valley Big Ag farming.

Tom

Just another factor adding to the issues I noted.  Fishing has gotten more difficult in the delta as a result.  Glad I got to fish there in the heyday.

[NorthernBasser]

Youtube and Covid has contributed to more fishermen/pressure big time. At least here in WI. 

[FishTank]

A lot more pressure and bad water conditions.  Two lakes and several ponds I use to go to have had a large amount of fish dying off due to bad polluted water, some from fertilizer run off others from chemical dumping.  

 

I have a family member that is retired from being an environmental engineer (waste treatment plants and chemical facilities) and he said just prior to Covid, it was the worst he had ever seen it in Indiana during his 30+year career.  Some lakes are on the come back though, like Turtle Creek. If you're from Indiana, you probably know how special this place use to be.  The last tournament I fished there, there was a 20in limit and only 1 fish per person, 2 per boat. 

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

Still using the same techniques? 

 

I know guys that constantly adapt and change techniques and guys that have been using the same things in the same conditions for decades. The former is typically much more successful than the latter. Both may be successful, but one just much more than the other. 

[akmac]

5 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

It sure is not me.  I can not catch fish where there are none or very few.

 

  That is the 1 thing I have learned.

A lot of things have changed.  Popularity of tournament fishing has exploded.  Not hating on tournament fishermen, used to be one myself, but the dirty little secret is- a good number of fish die after each tournament.  Some studies have shown as much as 30% croak up to 3 days AFTER swimming away.  Fishing in general has exploded- think frying pan. 

Technology has advanced to the point where fish literally have no place to hide.  Information technology has advanced knowledge of secret spots, tactics, lures, techniques.  Advances in equipment, lure design, line etc.. make catching easier (when there are fish to be caught). 

Many invasive species that compete for food/space (plant and animal) have entered our fisheries.  In my neck of the woods nutrient pollution from agriculture has led to massive algae blooms, not just in our lakes but now even in some of our flowing rivers.  I have seen several partial fish kills in the upper end of these lakes during peek algae blooms in the past decade that I never noticed before algae became a problem.  These algae blooms block light, which leads to a massive reduction in oxygen producing plants, that in turn leads to a massive reduction of available food sources, reductions in zooplankton (microscopic food), and reductions to the oxygen supply.  Couple this with increasing temperatures and many fish suffocate and or starve to death (think young of the year). 

That's a lot of pressure being exerted on a single species of fish that's survival (once established) is mostly left entirely up to the fish itself.  It will take a complete paradigm change to reverse the current trend.  Hopefully technology will advance to the point where every fish caught in EVERY tournament can be weighed and released immediately to where it was caught from.  I know this wouldn't fix everything, but it would be a good place to start.

[TnRiver46]

 the sky is falling , causing catch rates to decrease 

[Catt]

4 hours ago, akmac said:

the dirty little secret is- a good number of fish die after each tournament

 

And the bass caught by non-tournament anglers survive?

 

Always thought that was the dumbest comment about tournament fishing ever!

[Jig Man]

Maybe it is regional.  Around here I am catching more bass than ever, even with increased pressure.

[padlin]

Just 10 years ago I would be the only one out on the shallow no motor ponds I fish, not anymore, especially since Covid. I blame the increased fishing pressure half on the advent of the plastic kayak, and the other half on more and more active seniors. 

[Mike L]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

 

And the bass caught by non-tournament anglers survive?

 

Always thought that was the dumbest comment about tournament fishing ever!

I said about the same thing a ways back and it didn’t go well. 

 

7 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Still using the same techniques? 

 

I know guys that constantly adapt and change techniques and guys that have been using the same things in the same conditions for decades. The former is typically much more successful than the latter. Both may be successful, but one just much more than the other. 

Exactly right. 
I guess the biggest and best lesson I’ve learned in all the years of fishing is honing the ability to Improvise, Overcome and Adapt to every possible change happening. 
Shortcuts, stubbornness and trying to force feed a fish never made for success. 

The willingness to “listen” and then act accordingly to what a fish is “telling” you is the only way to be successful no matter what you experience. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Catt]

@Bluebasser86 & @Mike L

 

In resent years Toledo Bend lost all it's Hydrilla/Milfoil/Coontail.

 

Most anglers went ballistic claiming the lake was dead because they could no longer easily catch bass.

 

The truth is that bass adapted to having no grass while the anglers didn't adapt. 

 

Many anglers complain the advancements in technology has added more pressure. And it has indeed for those who can afford it but the average Joe doesn't have this technology. 

[fishballer06]

5 hours ago, akmac said:

 the dirty little secret is- a good number of fish die after... being released

Fixed that for you. 

 

Tournament anglers kill fish. Recreational anglers kill fish. Fish kill fish. Pollution kills fish. The list goes on and on. But one thing holds true - no fish survives if you don't put it back in the water. 

[Bird]

We have more cold fronts than ever before and less new moons.

[BassNJake]

I used to fish a little lake and every winter there would be dozens of ice fisherman taking 5 gallon buckets of panfish.

 

Fast forward 20 years later and the bucket brigade is blaming the tournament fisherman

they say the tournaments bring money to the lake, so they cater to those guys

thats why there are no bluegill, perch or crappie in the lake

 

never once do they consider they ravaged the panfish

yet in the same sentence tell you about catching buckets full of fish, daily, every winter for years

 

If you were catching hundreds of fish daily, you had more impact than any tournament would have.

that's a lot of pressure by just 1 guy

[Catt]

If I wanna know why I ain't catching, I simply look in the mirror!

[akmac]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

 

And the bass caught by non-tournament anglers survive?

 

Always thought that was the dumbest comment about tournament fishing ever!

You took my "the dirty little secret is- a good number of fish die after each tournament" quote out of context.  The next thing I said was "studies have shown as much as 30% croak up to 3 days AFTER swimming away."  Do you think science is dumb?  

 -"And the bass caught by non-tournament anglers survive?"  IF they practice catch and release- YES!  I promise you fish caught and released immediately back to from where they were caught will  survive at a much much much higher rate than those that sit in a live-well all day, are then get put in a small bag with limited 02 and other large angry fish that is sometimes rested on hot pavement (I see this at our local weigh-ins all the time) before they are allowed to flop around on a scale, get their picture taken, and then finally placed back into a different area of the lake from where they were caught.

 

 

[The Maestro]

Lots of factors already mentioned. I remember it being so hard to catch fish when I was just starting out as a kid. Now you can tie a senko on, hand it to someone who's literally never fished before and just tell them to throw it out and let it sink and they'll catch. Literally zero skill required, provided you chuck it around fish.