Private vs. Public Lakes

[jusanuthabass]

What do yall think?

Private lakes to me are like a reality show, unscripted and very entertaining. At the same time its not really reality. I've been on a private lake and i caught 6 to 10lb fish the whole weekend. I really don't even count them because of the ease. it really didn't matter what i was throwing they were going to hit it.

Public lakes on the otherhand seems like they require a higher skill level to fool those wise old lunkers.

[Fishing Rhino]

There are two types of "private lakes".  One type amounts to a hatchery or fish farm.  The other is a natural pond or lake which is surrounded by private properties with no public access.

I am fortunate enough to have access to one of the latter.  The fishing is better than the public access waters around here only because it is not fished as heavily.  But, they will not hit anything that moves.

There are days when you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of fish caught/landed.  Other days you can catch five or six per hour.  Their average size is also larger than the public access waters.

You still have to work for 'em.  Working weedless lures through the grass and lily pads or casting into small pockets in the water hyacinth, or under trees along the shore can be a necessity for success.

Catching fish not only keeps the interest and enthusiasm up, it also keeps you focussed, and alert.  

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

We have over 17,000 BassResource.com members and only

a very small portion have ever caught a 10 lb bass. Most guys

would be pretty excited to "catch 6 to 10 lb bass all day". As a

matter-of-fact, I don't know anyone that wouldn't like an outing

like that!

:

[fishinfiend]

I've been on a private lake and i caught 6 to 10lb fish the whole weekend.

What time are you going to pick me up on Saturday morning?   ;D  

I will have coffee and sausage biscuits ready.  

[grimlin]

I've been on a private lake and i caught 6 to 10lb fish the whole weekend.

What time are you going to pick me up on Saturday morning? ;D

I will have coffee and sausage biscuits ready.

I got lunch covered... ;D

[Catt]

Totally & completely depends on the size of the lakes you're comparing; there are some private marshes here in Southwest Louisiana I would love for you to try and crack.

[ring fry]

I've been on a private lake and i caught 6 to 10lb fish the whole weekend.

What time are you going to pick me up on Saturday morning? ;D

I will have coffee and sausage biscuits ready.

I got lunch covered... ;D

I got the beer when we're finished.  Been fishing for 50 years and have ONE 10# bass to my credit.  I wouldn't mind catching them all weekend.  ;D

[paul.]

I've been on a private lake and i caught 6 to 10lb fish the whole weekend. I really don't even count them because of the ease.

that sounds so boring.  yawn.............................  

i agree.  bass fishing is waaaaaaaay too easy.   we are cursed with a drastic bass overpopulation problem - especially with those pesky huge ones.  as a matter of fact, we really need to remove 3/4 of the bass population from the entire planet.  maybe then at least it would be somewhat challenging.  soon it will become so ridiculously simple to catch them that everyone will lose interest in fishing altogether.  within a few generations, people will even forget how to fish.  left unchecked, these previously stupid bass will grow to gargantuan proportions.  they will gain superior intelligence, learn to survive outside of water, start eating humans, and eventually rule the world.  then, in a crazy "planet of the apes" type scenario,  they will fish for us........  

[Raul]

What do yall think?

Private lakes to me are like a reality show, unscripted and very entertaining. At the same time its not really reality. I've been on a private lake and i caught 6 to 10lb fish the whole weekend. I really don't even count them because of the ease. it really didn't matter what i was throwing they were going to hit it.

Public lakes on the otherhand seems like they require a higher skill level to fool those wise old lunkers.

Not entirely true, private lakes if fished heavily can become extremely challenging.

[Jeremy D.]

I agree with Catt, depends on the size.  I mostly fish Rivers and big public lakes but dont get me wrong it is fun to go on my once a year private pond ventures!

[jrhennecke]

A 10# bass is a trophy no matter what type of water is is caught in.  

[ZeNoob]

Im lucky enuff to live in a condo with a 1acre 35ft deep old sand pit lake. Some days i catch em like crazy some days they wont bite anything. I love it. probably only 5-6 people in the condos fish it.

on the other hand bass fishing(fishing for anything fo that matter) is deffenatly a challenge when on a 5acre like there 400 poles in the water every weekend.

[basser89]

I am fortunate enough to get invited to a couple of the private small ponds that my fishing partner has access to from time to time. There are some HUGE bass in these ponds (for MD) and my partner has caught a few of them in the 7-10lb range. I haven't caught one over 5 1/2. My PB largemouth has come from public pond.

If your private pond has very little to no fishing pressure and you hit the pond during the peak time of the month, I could see where you'd probably clean house on them with just about any lure. My question to you is do you do this on a regular basis or was this just a one time weekend that you fished it and had experienced this?

[Pigsticker]

It really all depends on fishing pressure and management.

I have been to private ponds that have not been touched in years and caught mainly 1-2 pounders with one fish over 6lbs and a 2.5-3lber mixed in

The average size of the bass at that private pond was very low.

I have also fish a little known public pond that produces very good numbers of quality fish with bass up to 10.5 lbs.

That pond gets somewhat selectivly harvested by crappie fisherman in the past and a little now but no ne really fishes big baits mainly inline spinners and small grubs which makes it a fantasic bass fishery

[FD.]

I agree somewhat but I think you missed one.

Private- I fish a few private lake that get less pressure than public and it is normally better than public. A recent trip produced two 5's and an 8 in 3 hours.

Public - Your average public lake in Fl has limited access but is public and the fishing is somewhat more difficult.

Tournament Waters - This is the tough one. The Harris Chain and Kissimmee Chain for example. These lake have multiple facilities that can handle several hundred boats and have multiple tournaments every weekend day.

Overall, I feel like I have accomplished more if I catch 12 lbs on a tournament lake vs. 20 lbs on a private lake. But I still enjoy catching the fat girls on a private lake.

[Pigsticker]

I do not fish tournaments and rarely fish tournament waters. Did not want to comment on something I know little about

[BossierBassHunter]

i kinda know what he means. my girlfriend's family has a pond on their land. while i havent gotten any 10lb, I have landed several in the 3-5. One day I went down there with one pole and an H&H spinner and caught maybe 20 or so in about an hour

[jusanuthabass]

Lol @ some of yall but its true. It was one 10lb but we were constantly catching 6 to 8lbs no problem.

The type of lake well more of a large pond, the fish were being constantly fed i don't know how often but you could tell it was being well taken care of and hardly anybody fished there.

I don't know maybe it was the astros that day or something.

It was just two days of fishing.

I might be brushing off my once in a lifetime mega fishing day lol i hope not

[Certified Public Angler]

Lol @ some of yall but its true. It was one 10lb but we were constantly catching 6 to 8lbs no problem.

The type of lake well more of a large pond, the fish were being constantly fed i don't know how often but you could tell it was being well taken care of and hardly anybody fished there.

I don't know maybe it was the astros that day or something.

It was just two days of fishing.

I might be brushing off my once in a lifetime mega fishing day lol i hope not

i suggest you start guiding

I'll be your first customer

[DADto4]

A 10# bass is a trophy no matter what type of water is is caught in.

Living in Indiana,and having fished 60% of it's lakes for over 15 years and countless private and public sources, I can only fess up to 6 or 7 bass over 6 lbs.

With that being said

1.I either suck at fishing or

2.I need to move ;D

[jusanuthabass]

Come to Mississippi We got plenty of water  

Other than that particular pond my pb is 5lb more like 4.9 but can i round it up  :-X

[fishizzle]

Private lakes rock --20 bass on a bad day

but culture shock when tournament fishing pressured public lakes

8 hrs to catch a dink limit stinks

[thetr20one]

I've been on a private lake and i caught 6 to 10lb fish the whole weekend. I really don't even count them because of the ease.

that sounds so boring. yawn.............................

i agree. bass fishing is waaaaaaaay too easy. we are cursed with a drastic bass overpopulation problem - especially with those pesky huge ones. as a matter of fact, we really need to remove 3/4 of the bass population from the entire planet. maybe then at least it would be somewhat challenging. soon it will become so ridiculously simple to catch them that everyone will lose interest in fishing altogether. within a few generations, people will even forget how to fish. left unchecked, these previously stupid bass will grow to gargantuan proportions. they will gain superior intelligence, learn to survive outside of water, start eating humans, and eventually rule the world. then, in a crazy "planet of the apes" type scenario, they will fish for us........

I see another member has learned and is using the Budweiser rig Paul. Are you sure you are not guiding this guy and putting him on some of those monsters you POST PICS of?

[paul.]

nah, i was just having a little fun buddy.  i really didn't mean nothin' by it.  i really don't think he was intentionally trying to mislead anybody.  maybe he just got a little carried away with his word choice, using "constantly" and stuff like that.  sounds like he's got a great place to fish so i'm sure he did catch some good 'uns.  he's new and he seems o.k. to me so let's give him the benefit of the doubt.

far as my fish go, i'm just blessed to have some good places to go.  my fishin' is nothing special.  thanks for your kind words though.

[thetr20one]

nah, i was just having a little fun buddy. i really didn't mean nothin' by it. i really don't think he was intentionally trying to mislead anybody. maybe he just got a little carried away with his word choice, using "constantly" and stuff like that. sounds like he's got a great place to fish so i'm sure he did catch some good 'uns. he's new and he seems o.k. to me so let's give him the benefit of the doubt.

far as my fish go, i'm just blessed to have some good places to go. my fishin' is nothing special. thanks for your kind words though.

You are also blessed with a great sense of humor! I am pretty sure he will be able to pick up the funny side of our posts.