The bad parts of where you fish

[mlrs_27m]

On 5/11/2024 at 3:51 PM, J._Bricker said:

I can’t really complain about the “people” when out fishing. When you live in the most populous state in the Union it comes with the territory and how can ya begrudge others trying to enjoy the outdoors.

Naw, when it comes to the bad parts I’m conflicted between the state’s destruction of bass habitat by indiscriminate use of herbicides, the increase of sea lion preditation of bass year round which becomes really bad during the spawn (I’d rather they stay on the docks of Pier 39 with the other 1000 sea lions eating anchovies thrown to them by tourists) as the sea lions are getting really good at feeding on bed fish or water diversions that reverse tidal flows and allow saltwater intrusion.

 

But in the big picture I’m blessed to able to fish 1200 miles of one of the best bass fisheries in the country.

I miss the Delta so much it hurts.

[river-rat]

 

There are two things that really get under my skin where I mostly fish here in south Louisiana.

 

First, In the Atchafalaya Basin the water hyacinth problem is out of control. It's not unusual to have a hyacinth raft so completely thick and matted that it can stretch for hundreds of yards, if not more, from bank to bank and completely close off canals and natural bayous. the only way to get through them is with a Gator-Tail or airboat, neither of which I own.

 

I have run through them with an aluminum tunnel hull I have but the outboard will most likely over-heat at some point sometimes even more that once. And then there is the problem of coming back through the raft to get back to the landing.

 

I have not seen the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spray for hyacinths in years so it's a never ending problem.

 

The other thing is that private clubs have begun to put gates and posted canals in the marshes from Morgan City all the way down to Venice LA. Areas that we fished for years is now off-limits to the general public. And according to the laws in Louisiana it's legal.

 

[GreenPig]

Surface Eel grass. Nothing more invigorating than having 8 or 9 cast out of 10 fouled up with big swim baits you've cast 40 - 60 yards.

[Swamp Girl]

59 minutes ago, riverat said:

The other thing is that private clubs have begun to put gates and posted canals in the marshes from Morgan City all the way down to Venice LA. Areas that we fished for years is now off-limits to the general public. And according to the laws in Louisiana it's legal.

 

^This^ reminds me of England, where the rich have claimed all the trout fishing for centuries. 

[Cgolf]

Structureless lake with green water, including the spray when people are running. That is very crowded. Not sure what the bottom is but the weeds are nasty and lots of algae. To not get stuck with the trolling motor I need to run it just below the surface or its full of weeds and not running. Not a dock guy, but that is where some bass are, but they get a lot of pressure. So we go near the nasty stuff and and deal with the weeds and algae to get a few bites. 

 

Vacation lake is a clear water paradise with reed beds and some good weeds. I wish that was my home lake. Clear water bassin is so much fun.

[Swest18x]

I fish the Erie Canal in NYS a lot because it's 5 minutes from my house. Fishing ranges from ok to spectacular especially for smallmouth. My least favorite time of year is right now - the cottonwood debris is so bad on the surface you can hardly use a baitcaster at all, the cotton clumps on the braid and the guides something terrible. This will continue for the next few weeks, below the surface green slime is blooming so no matter what your presentation it's a mess and the water is murky. Fast forward to late August, topwater bite will fire up smallies will start schooling water will clear through the Fall jerkbait will rule then right before they drain it you can absolutely smash them. 

 

I use braid to leader for everything but as I'm writing this it occurred to me, I wonder if using straight fluorocarbon would keep some of the cottonwood off my line? 

[Bazoo]

Most of the places I fish are public...

 

The local city lake, Freeman Lake, is heavily pressured. It's a challenge!

 

I was at the local reservoir a while back and some folks came and got up wind of me... wouldn't have bothered me except they fired up a joint. Most of the time though I have that place to myself.

[Big Hands]

**draws in a long breath. . . .**

 

Well, realistically, I can only fish three bodies of water without having to quarantine (and undergo a subsequent inspection) my boat before and after I fish other waters. If there is water present when inspected, like even a drop falls from the lower unit when they ask you to lower it. . . . Denied! Come back in a week and try again.

 

Two of those are at the same location (Castaic Lake and Castaic lagoon). The other is Pyramid Lake (about 20 miles away). 

 

I live about a 45 minute drive from downtown Los Angeles (a metropolitan area with 11 million inhabitants) which has three boatable lakes in Los Angeles County, and there are some others nearby. The other two are about a quarter of the size for one and smaller than that for the other. Only one of those allows you to get a boat on plane, LOL, not LOL. 

 

The lake opens about half an hour after sunrise, and you have to have your boat on the trailer about an hour before sunset. And, unless you have paid $285 for an 'annual parking pass' (that also doesn't get you in on holidays), you have to pay $25 to park and launch your boat with a couple of exceptions:

• You belong to a local volunteer group and donate a specified number of hours per quarter at the lake, or
• You are a senior citizen and then you can get a lake pass for $150

 

Castaic Lake is 2,200 acres when full, and has parking for up to 500 boats when both ramps are open. You do the math. Among those 'boaters' are wake boats which roam much of the lake doing what wake boats do, and then they have an area buoyed off to contain personal watercraft. Much of the shoreline is steep and often solid rock walls, and fishing along the steep bluff walls can be less-than-peaceful. There is a 35 mph speed limit in the main lake.

 

Shoreline access is VERY limited; about 5% to 10% of the shoreline including the face of the dam is accessible.

 

There is no log boom or anything else that protects the launch ramp from wind waves, and it is just to one side of the dam on the largest, widest part of the lake. When the wind howls in from the north, the launch ramp is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

A yearly fishing license costs $61, non-ethanol fuel is all but impossible to get, and regular unleaded with 10% ethanol is usually around $5 or more per gallon.

 

Other than that, it's OK, LOL. It's where I have lived since 1987, and fished longer than that, so it's 'normal' for us.