Fishing pressure?

[flyphisher #]

At what point is a body of water considered pressured? For example my homelake is 20,000 acres and probably hosts up to 100 bass tournaments in a year....Some of those having 200 anglers w/ 200 co-anglers. This doesnt even take into consideration recreational pressure and tournament pre-fishing, which makes no sense most of the time, you are only sticking fish that may help you get a check on sat. or sun.....Also what are yall views on the fish biting when jet skis, bigger boats and such have the lake churned up?

[BD]

Sometimes they say boats/jet ski's can churn lakes up.

That lake sounds pressured to me.

[senile1]

I guess there is a gray area where it is difficult to determine if a lake is pressured or not but there is a point where there isn't any doubt.  When there are a minimum of two or three boats in every cove, skiers and jet skiers all over the main lake, and when you find yourself riding a wake every few minutes even though you're back in a cove, you're on a pressured lake.  Then you add to that the tournaments.  These are the lakes where you try to go way up a river or creek arm and find a honeyhole where the waters are harder to navigate.  This will weed out alot of anglers.  The water may not be as deep but these fish are local to the area, so if bass are holding at 20 - 25 feet on the main lake, they may only be at 15 feet further up the arm.  

[RoLo]

At what point is a body of water considered pressured?

That's an arbitrary point of course, but most lakes are dubbed 'heavily pressured'

as soon as fishermen aren't catching as many bass as they used to  

Roger

[CJ]

My home lake which is over 160,000 acres has had a 4 day tournament w/ 200 boats,a 4 day tournament w/100 boats,starting thursday,a 4 day tournament with 200 boats ,then on saturday,another 200 boat tournament.That's not counting the clubs tournaments and open tournaments that have gone on the last 2 weeks.You could say it is getting a little pressure.The sacks at the tournaments have been getting smaller.

BTW,prefishing is a must.Who says you got to stick them?

[flyphisher #]

I fish tournaments too. I know prefishing is a must when there is money on the line.....But there are alot of guys around here that pre-fish 4 days for a club tournament, hundred of so non-boaters prefishing for no reason. Then there are the guys that go stick fish in areas they dont plan to fish the friday before....It ridiculous on this lake.

[Fish Chris]

I do everything I can to avoid crowds, and I almost never fish weekends..... but sometimes I wonder how much I do this for my own personal pleasure, and how much the fish actually care ?

Here's an interesting story. About 2 months ago, during my vacation, (the only time I would ever have a Saturday or Sunday off anyway) I decided to go out on a Sunday, really early to beat the crowds, then get off of the water early when things got stupid. I had stuck a few smaller fish before 11 am, but now the crowds were pouring on ! Speedboats, skiers, jet skies going every direction ! It was one of those days without as breeze, when you knew it would be like glass if not for the crowds.... but along with them, were huge waves hitting you from 19 different directions at any one time !

So I'm bouncing my way back to the ramp, when I see this one good looking, long tapering point. I had fished it on a few "peaceful" days, but had never had a touch. But ahhhhh... what the heck. Just a few casts (it's just about noon BTW) Wham ! I stick a really large framed, but completely spawned out bass which goes 11.6 lbs ! .....and she had one come up chasing her, as I fought her in, which was easily over 13 ! After photos, weighing, and the release, I make a few more casts, and Wham ! I stick a spawned out 8.6 (would have gone 10 plus herself, a few weeks earlier).

Oh.... so here's the kicker; I go back out the next day.... the most peaceful Monday ever ! Flat as glass... 70 degree water temp.... Throw my Huddleston trout all day..... and not a freakin touch !

I guess the hot pattern was, "rediculous boating pressure, and water chopped into froth" ! Go figure.

Peace,

Fish

[senile1]

Excellent point, Fish Chris. I like to fish where it is quiet and serene, but sometimes all the things we think we know about bass mean nothing. Many times, you just can't predict what nature has in store.

[Fish Chris]

then this truthful old addage comes to mind;

> The best time to go fishing is any time you get the chance ! <   :-)

Fish

[roadwarrior]

Chris, You da Man!

I mostly fish the Tennesse River which has a tournament every week including BASS, FLW and every club in the region. Various local clubs fish two or three times a week. We have about 100,000 recreational boats on the lakes and river and another 20,00 jet skies and such. More importantly, this is a commercial river, so the barge traffic is continuous, 24/7.

THE FISH DON'T CARE!

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

On 40,000 acre Lake Ouachita we've averaged 7,300 water craft per day Fri-Sun this month, and there have been 3-5 tournaments a day, local clubs doing their Thurs or Friday nighters, with the big events Fri to Sun. I say the lake is highly pressured by Saturday just from tournament anglers, actually aided by the stirring from all those boats. The bite is usually really good through Friday and until day two of tournaments breaks the calm of Saturday morning. That's when I leave the lake until Monday morning, Tues morning much better for bass biting. I find on Mondays that there are NO bass shallow, holding in the deepest water they can stand. It takes until about Wednesday for some of them to go back shallow, except at night. They come in shallow nights 7 days a week. So for most of us serious about bassing it's deep structure C-rigging weekdays until Wednesday when some dinks begin to be caught shallow, better on Thursdays, best Friday all day & Sat morning. That's the cycle here. My issue with fishing weekends is the safety factor. The risks are too high, too many inexperienced operators, impair operators, rude folks, trouble-makers, accidents looking for a place to happen. Fishing tournaments puts anglers mostly in those dangerous periods, there being things to do that lessen the problems once you make it through the gauntlet of idiots. Getting to the remote coves filled with stickups and hydrilla is fairly easy where recreational boaters won't go, but returning around 3 pm for weigh-in puts you dodging an armada of mindless operators making waves 2-3 feet high criss-crossing from every direction with NO WIND adding to it.

Jim