Bass fishing is getting harder?

[ironbjorn]

3 minutes ago, PABASS said:

For me lots more pressure and not fishing pressure, but boating pressure, kayaks, paddle boarding, etc.  Because they don't fish they have no clue that they just spoked everything on  the spot that I just caught a fish, but hey lets just paddle right over it(deeper grass flat)  This weekend had 5 kayaks do this two of which were fishing which is sad(should know better), and they were older then me, what do you do(?), I caught 4 nice ones and just packed up and left.  In this sense I think the fish might be harder simply because of the amount of people on the water.

 

I do my fair share of pleasure boating with my family. Fishermen need to learn the water is for everyone, not just anglers.

[Logan S]

I think its easier than it's ever been.  

 

You can watch a few YT videos about catching bass at your local lake, then a few more to learn how to rig and fish whatever was in those videos, then go over to another site and buy some waypoints for $50, then a few more YT vids on how to import those waypoints to your unit, maybe one about how to launch your boat, then drive your boat to the 'dot' and hit spot lock and start casting.

 

You'll probably even get a few bites without ever having to put your own effort into the process.

 

The best part is that you can get home and make your own YT vid on what you did that day to 'figure them out' and then you're officially a bass fishing social media personality!

 

(this post is a 'funny because it's true' type of joke...don't get mad at me )

[Zcoker]

Like with any other type of fishing, got to put in the time and sometimes that means going off the radar, doing unique things to get the fish. Down here in south Florida, for example, the local fishing holes can get bombarded on the weekends, which can essentially kill the fishing. Easy remedy or work-around would be to fish during the weekdays, which can often mean altering schedules and so forth. Or can go after work. If none of that works out, can always fish at night. I’ve never been skunked at night and find the fishing extremely rewarding. Same with fishing during the work week. But that’s just me. The point is: got to be willing to change ways or break old habits in order to get the fish…and that’s not always easy for folks to do. Sometimes folks expect the fish to bite around their schedules lol 

[LrgmouthShad]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

I could've written this post myself about a local 35 acre spot dubbed "The lake of tears" by replacing the water sports aspect with commercial poaching by our very clever "friends" from the east. The daytime regulars complain about not catching a fish for weeks at a time. What they don't get is that casting senkos and poppers to the same spots relentlessly only magnifies their misery. Talk about a self-inflicted wound.

Same here. Same thought. A few of us figured it out eventually, but this took a lot of work and a long time. That's not to say it's easy now, but there are whoppers in there, so I'm continuously buzzed by the prospect even when the bite is tough. The regular lakeflys who struggle mightily are confounded when we show them pics, but no number of tips or advice given changes their luck. They simply can't dial in. They think it's about specific baits, but it's not. They think it's about specific locations, but it's not. In places this small with monolithic shore-to shore weeds and little structure, predators pound the baitfish from location to location continuously, and the bass can literally be anywhere. Other than the bluegill spawn, bait location is ever shifting. You either find the bait then learn how to trick the bass, or you fail endlessly aside from random dumb luck.

 

The good news is that fully outfitted new guys who look the part don't last long. It takes a certain level of grit to outlast the learning curve. I'm glad you found something special like I have where the locals and regulars are convinced that it's dead. That notion is entertaining in itself.

Well so now I’m curious. Do you think a lake like Somerville that I presume to void of largemouth bass, is actually okay? I should mention that tournament anglers, as of this year, do not do well on the lake at all. I found that out recently. There’s been two recent tournaments and in both of them, the vast majority of the field skunked, with no one catching limits. 
 

A better question perhaps would be why should I bother unless it has extremely large bass? And it does, by some accounts, have them. But nobody seems to catch em. Not of late. Am I to believe that by fishing only 1-2 days a week, I am somehow supposed to be better than tournament anglers? 
 

Anywho, I don’t think I should fish it since it’s Texas and lots of lakes have huge bass, but it does make me wonder if the lake fools everyone, including me. What do you think? 

[PABASS]

22 minutes ago, ironbjorn said:

I do my fair share of pleasure boating with my family. Fishermen need to learn the water is for everyone, not just anglers.

Go another way instead of right over the spot I just caught a fish, I wasn't fishing out of my boat, this was from the bank, most people went other way or a great distance from me.  I could roll cast into the kayaks

 

 

[Scott F]

7 hours ago, Tom Orr said:

I always try to fish where no one else does, or use what no one else uses, and most of the time I do both of these. 

Low numbers in summers is not anything new. I switched to fishing where few anglers go years ago. In summer, small rivers produce bass. Almost no tournaments, little pressure and you can fish shallow. Small rivers have few places that get more than 6 feet deep. You leave the big boats in the garage, you don’t need thousands of dollars in electronics, and you can get bites on just a small variety of lures. 

[JediAmoeba]

17 hours ago, WRB said:

If you use what everyone uses where everyone fishes how do you expect to catch bass everyone else is targeting?

Do any of you own any reapers? Have you tried to drop shot a reaper rigged flat side up and nose hooked? Tried Split or Slip Shot rigged a reaper?

Few soft plastics can out fish a 3 1/2-4” Shad color reaper.

Anyone using 1/8 oz dart head jig with 4 1/2” curl tail Aaron Magic? My guess is know one tried this. 

Tom

I switch it up, trust me. There are people in our club throwing dropshots and ned rigs all day not catching a keeper. I just think the amount of fish compared to the pressure has them all backed off and wary.

16 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I do my best to look for stuff that I think other people could be overlooking

 

I don’t go crazy about bait selection. That might be a mistake but that’s how I do it

In a 1400 acre lake everyone hits every spot 5 times over. FFS has killed special honey holes IMO.

2 hours ago, Logan S said:

I think its easier than it's ever been.  

 

You can watch a few YT videos about catching bass at your local lake, then a few more to learn how to rig and fish whatever was in those videos, then go over to another site and buy some waypoints for $50, then a few more YT vids on how to import those waypoints to your unit, maybe one about how to launch your boat, then drive your boat to the 'dot' and hit spot lock and start casting.

 

You'll probably even get a few bites without ever having to put your own effort into the process.

 

The best part is that you can get home and make your own YT vid on what you did that day to 'figure them out' and then you're officially a bass fishing social media personality!

 

(this post is a 'funny because it's true' type of joke...don't get mad at me )

Yes, we have those way points. So do the 50 other anglers that hit that same spot. At a recent tournament on a pretty legendary Fishery I had 50 boats within 200 yards everywhere I fished for the day. I have been fishing for my whole life pretty regularly- things have changed IMO.

2 hours ago, Scott F said:

Low numbers in summers is not anything new. I switched to fishing where few anglers go years ago. In summer, small rivers produce bass. Almost no tournaments, little pressure and you can fish shallow. Small rivers have few places that get more than 6 feet deep. You leave the big boats in the garage, you don’t need thousands of dollars in electronics, and you can get bites on just a small variety of lures. 

Yes - I can go fish the Delaware River for some smallies but they are generally smaller fish and none of our tournaments are on the river. 

 

Pa waters have really become private in Eastern pa - within 50 miles I have about 8 bodies of water I can fish which will all be crowded. And the state doesn't give a d**n about bass fishing. The main lake I fish is a "big bass" lake so the minimum size is 15" but honestly I have caught many more over 15 than I have under. So I really question the tactic. And when a team consisting of a good angler and one of the top Pros in the country can't catch a 4 bag limit, I really question it...

 

 

[a1712]

11 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

I switch it up, trust me. There are people in our club throwing dropshots and ned rigs all day not catching a keeper. I just think the amount of fish compared to the pressure has them all backed off and wary.

In a 1400 acre lake everyone hits every spot 5 times over. FFS has killed special honey holes IMO.

Yes, we have those way points. So do the 50 other anglers that hit that same spot. At a recent tournament on a pretty legendary Fishery I had 50 boats within 200 yards everywhere I fished for the day. I have been fishing for my whole life pretty regularly- things have changed IMO.

Yes - I can go fish the Delaware River for some smallies but they are generally smaller fish and none of our tournaments are on the river. 

 

Pa waters have really become private in Eastern pa - within 50 miles I have about 8 bodies of water I can fish which will all be crowded. And the state doesn't give a d**n about bass fishing. The main lake I fish is a "big bass" lake so the minimum size is 15" but honestly I have caught many more over 15 than I have under. So I really question the tactic. And when a team consisting of a good angler and one of the top Pros in the country can't catch a 4 bag limit, I really question it...

 

 

 2005 Bass Master Classic, KVD won with 11 fish, 12-15 weight. If I had anything to do with the PA Fish Commission I'd have hung my head in shame. If it ain't Casinos, Lottery or Taxes, PA doesn't care. Brian. 

[Susky River Rat]

3 hours ago, PABASS said:

Go another way instead of right over the spot I just caught a fish, I wasn't fishing out of my boat, this was from the bank, most people went other way or a great distance from me.  I could roll cast into the kayaks

 

 

I feel like around here is the worst for this. I don’t know how many times even in one day  I’ve had half a dozen kayaks go between the bank and me. It used to make me mad. Now I just shake my head and ignore them even if they say hi. Every once a while I would hear someone say to their family he’s fishing go on the other side of the boat. I say thank you I appreciate your respect.

[Bankc]

19 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I would look to your state’s wildlife management agency for answers.  Do their surveys show a drop in the bass population?  Do they care? If so what are they doing about it?  If the resource is not being managed it will only get worse.

Do this if you can.  Sometimes it's a case of fishing pressure making bass harder to catch.  Sometimes there are environmental factors that mean there are just less bass there for the catching.  Fishing pressure can be worked around, as the bass have to eat.  But if there just aren't many left in the lake, it might be better to leave them alone and search out different waters.  

[PhishLI]

4 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Well so now I’m curious. Do you think a lake like Somerville that I presume to void of largemouth bass, is actually okay? I should mention that tournament anglers, as of this year, do not do well on the lake at all. I found that out recently. There’s been two recent tournaments and in both of them, the vast majority of the field skunked, with no one catching limits. 
 

 

Unless it's been established that the population is truly stunted, which by the way is easy to see after you've caught some, I'd go by the rumor that bigs are in there. I wouldn't pay too much mind to what the tournament results were. There are plenty of factors at play to have led to those results. Aside from that, you can't know of every stealthy guy out there quietly finding them. There's probably more than a few. There's always some. Do you want to be one of those guys?

4 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

A better question perhaps would be why should I bother unless it has extremely large bass? And it does, by some accounts, have them. But nobody seems to catch em. Not of late. Am I to believe that by fishing only 1-2 days a week, I am somehow supposed to be better than tournament anglers? 

You need to go by your gut and use your senses. Uncorking a lake is a long game, even if that's only 2 days a week. But you've got to want to do it. If that's where your head is at and you like a challenge, you will figure things out if you don't look at it as a race. However, if you get spun out by failure instead of it fueling your drive, this isn't the angle for you. Personally, I get bored quickly fishing at honey holes. We have them around, but I rarely go. My buddy will hit them now again for what he calls a "mental health" day, and I get it. But throwing a wacky worm for 25 fish doesn't excite me in the least. Been there, done that, and I'd rather swim in the ocean than splash around in a kiddy pool.

 

By the way, if I had gone by what everyone I'd encountered said about The lake of Tears instead of following my gut I wouldn't have pulled a pretty good stringer of big fish out of it. Regardless of what I'd heard, or who it was who told me, I just knew they were in there, and with that belief, I made a mission of it and found them. Once again, this is something that's got to be for you. You need to be built for it.

 

Circling back to the tournament results. Over time, I've networked a little bit. By doing well by the standards of this area, I've been connected with others who have too, and from one end of the island to the other. These guys are bonified big fish catchers. They crush it. They know what they're doing. Some have popped out to this lake with me for a session or two, but none have found the juice. Maybe a 4 pounder. That's simply not enough time. Even if you don't suck at this, and even if you're pretty good at it, it takes time to process information, especially in places where they're not jumping on your hook.

[LrgmouthShad]

1 hour ago, JediAmoeba said:

In a 1400 acre lake

That’s a puddle

2 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Unless it's been established that the population is truly stunted, which by the way is easy to see after you've caught some, I'd go by the rumor that bigs are in there. I wouldn't pay too much mind to what the tournament results were. There are plenty of factors at play to have led to those results. Aside from that, you can't know of every stealthy guy out there quietly finding them. There's probably more than a few. There's always some. Do you want to be one of those guys?

You need to go by your gut and use your senses. Uncorking a lake is a long game, even if that's only 2 days a week. But you've got to want to do it. If that's where your head is at and you like a challenge, you will figure things out if you don't look at it as a race. However, if you get spun out by failure instead of it fueling your drive, this isn't the angle for you. Personally, I get bored quickly fishing at honey holes. We have them around, but I rarely go. My buddy will hit them now again for what he calls a "mental health" day, and I get it. But throwing a wacky worm for 25 fish doesn't excite me in the least. Been there, done that, and I'd rather swim in the ocean than splash around in a kiddy pool.

 

By the way, if I had gone by what everyone I'd encountered said about The lake of Tears instead of following my gut I wouldn't have pulled a pretty good stringer of big fish out of it. Regardless of what I'd heard, or who it was who told me, I just knew they were in there, and with that belief, I made a mission of it and found them. Once again, this is something that's got to be for you. You need to be built for it.

 

Circling back to the tournament results. Over time, I've networked a little bit. By doing well by the standards of this area, I've been connected with others who have too, and from one end of the island to the other. These guys are bonified big fish catchers. They crush it. They know what they're doing. Some have popped out to this lake with me for a session or two, but none have found the juice. Maybe a 4 pounder. That's simply not enough time. Even if you don't suck at this, and even if you're pretty good at it, it takes time to process information, especially in places where they're not jumping on your hook.

Hey, thanks for your honesty. I appreciate your perspective

 

I do keep wondering about Somerville. But I also feel that the same caliber of fish is at Stillhouse Hollow, the new lake I tried this weekend. And people catch em a lot better at Stillhouse. I kinda wonder why put in all that work on a hard lake when you can potentially find em faster in a different lake?

 

However, I am very satisfied with the 7+lber from Somerville. Perhaps I need to look at it this way. Over a set number of trips, how many of the fish I am really after, the bigs, am I catching? Total numbers of fish disregarded. If my catches wind up being bigger at Somerville, it could be a reason to keep fishing it, even withstanding the skunks. But boy, it is painful. I swear I know just about every corner of that lake too

[gim]

4 hours ago, PABASS said:

I could roll cast into the kayaks

If you are within casting distance, you are too close. I’m not just specifically referring to another fishing boat either. And not a country mile bomb cast.

 

Recreational boats are the crowd that don’t abide by this most often for me.

 

Being that you were on shore, is it possible they just didn’t see you?

[ironbjorn]

9 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

 

Being that you were on shore, is it possible they just didn’t see you?

It could be that, but there are many reasons kayakers are closer to shore in general.

[JediAmoeba]

35 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

That’s a puddle

Eastern Pa doesn't have a lot of huge lakes - 5700 acres is wallenpaupack and the one closest to me is Beltzville at a whopping 950 acres. The majority are much smaller. 

[Jar11591]

4 hours ago, PABASS said:

Go another way instead of right over the spot I just caught a fish, I wasn't fishing out of my boat, this was from the bank, most people went other way or a great distance from me.  I could roll cast into the kayaks

 

 

There is this thing with non-fishing kayakers. Every one of them seemingly thinks kayaks are not allowed or capable of going over deeper water. I can’t figure this one out. Confounding. 

[JediAmoeba]

30 minutes ago, gimruis said:

If you are within casting distance, you are too close. I’m not just specifically referring to another fishing boat either. And not a country mile bomb cast.

Welcome to fishing in the east. You don't fish a spot that hasn't been touched within the last few minutes and many times you could make a bomb cast to 4 or 5 boats

[gim]

33 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

many times you could make a bomb cast to 4 or 5 boats

Wouldn’t work for this guy.

[Motoboss]

21 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

You're blessed to live in such a place. All the water here is posted private and sometimes fenced, or it is well known and managed but beat to death and has no boating signs. Can't launch in any of these ponds. You're in one of America's last frontiers.

You need to expand your fishing area! There are  plenty of lakes, streams and ponds to fish in Indiana. Many free or minimum fee.

Gotta get away from the city and the reservoirs.

 

And as a side note, totally disagree with the previous “climate change” statement.
Not the place or thread to debate philosophical ideology here so I’ll leave it lie.

[ironbjorn]

9 minutes ago, Motoboss said:

You need to expand your fishing area! There are  plenty of lakes, streams and ponds to fish in Indiana. Many free or minimum fee.

Gotta get away from the city and the reservoirs.

 

And as a side note, totally disagree with the previous “climate change” statement.
Not the place or thread to debate philosophical ideology here so I’ll leave it lie.

I'm not talking about public lakes or streams. I'm talking about the ability to scour Google maps for a new body of water such as a pond or small lake. Anything you find will be private or in some beat to death park.

 

No debate needs to be had. Melting ice, rising oceans, drying lakes and streams, record heat every year, wacky seasons, and more severe storms and wildfires, and animal extinction speaks for itself.

[Motoboss]

Fishing pressure is the greatest determinant to successful numbers. The six /seven lakes I fish, and catch decent fish regularly must not be on the all mighty G maps.  Great!!
 

 

Ok, you win……….

[steve carpenter]

Stillhouse Hollow has lots of nice fish. 3 hour tournament every Wednesday. 3 biggest fish. Take close to or over 20 lbs to win. Key is fishing the hydrilla. Also nice fish up the Lampassas river flipping downed trees and stumps. Used to fish it often.

[Frezzy]

Fish at night!  If you're not a night owl, then fish at least a few hours either before first light or after last light.  All those pressured bass will be feeding and you'll have very little company from other fisherman.

[TriStateBassin106]

In my opinion bass fishing but fishing overall COVID-19 was one of the worst things to ever happen to the sport, way too many people who were never supposed to get into fishing got into it and began crowding spots and leaving trash behind, two ponds I used frequent are suffering from this COVID boom of anglers and its definitely effecting the catch rates and overall quality of fishing, one of the ponds that usually produced good numbers have been greatly reduced and you're lucky if you catch 2 during an outing. Even if you're trying different things from everybody else. Also apps on social media don't help like fishbrain instagram and facebook because people like to spot burn. 

 

For me though bass catching this year has been surprisingly pretty good. I had a pretty good pre-spawn, spawn and now a good post spawn, it will probably slow down once the heat comes out but it's been good so far. 

 

 

[Smokinal]

@JediAmoeba Come on up to Maine bud; I'll take you out