Fishing With Heavy Boat Traffic

[Nitrofreak]

I was on my favorite lake this past Sunday doing a little fishing and the morning started out great!!!

But after about an hour the boat traffic started to get pretty heavy and of course it included some of the village IDIOTS that did not even slow down for NO WAKE zones.

As the day progressed you could not get close to fishing even the coves the water just simply got that rough, I even saw some of the bigger boats catching air.

Needless to say I stayed and only managed to catch 4 fish but it got me thinking about what you guy's do in situations like that on other bodies of water.

I know I should have packed it up and gone home but then I had seen the boats out there that were trying to fish a tourny and most of them had no choice but to fish the banks.

With the water being that rough and the boat traffic that heavy I cant help but wonder at that point does one guy fish and the other try to keep the boat where you need it and watch for other boaters?

What do you do to hold your concentration in situations like these and still manage to catch fish?

[MuffinMan]

Fish the banks and around cover like downed trees, rocks, stumps so the cover will break up the waves and also will produce good fish as well.

 

 

[lfunk11]

does the rough water affect the bass? I am a bank firsherman and on the weekends the water at the big lake gets rough along the banks where I fish. I would assume they are used to it and not really affected, but I have no clue.

[Catt]

I have numerous spots on Toledo Bend located right in the boat lane; I’ll fish them until the boat traffic gets bad.

I hardly even fish structure without anchoring; I would rather fish than play with my trolling motor.

As for concentration I fish until a boat gets within a certain distance then I pick up my .44 magnum which usually makes them understand the need to slow down.

Seriously it’s not a problem since most anglers are courteous and slow down or give you a wide berth.

[ww2farmer]

In WNY weekend/holiday summer fishing and heavy recreational boat traffic go hand in hand. If you can't stand it,fish during the week, or get out early on weekend mornings, and get off by noon. It bothers me more than the fish. You get used to it after a while, and unless some one being a complete DB it don't bother me too much. Infact some time the boats get the water so churned up it turns a bite on. What I hate is fighting wind AND boat traffic at the same time, that gets old fast.

[tentimesover]

I regularly fish one of the roughest water lakes imaginable, Lake of the Ozarks, where the traffic goes all the way from PWCs up to 50+ footers. It's particularly bad on the weekends with all the "fun" boating. My strategy is to go early first. The players don't normally get started until around 10am. After that look for quiet coves off the main channels, preferably no wake coves. Finally, if you just have to give that spot on the main channel a try after 10am just turn the trolling motor power up and get ready to get beat up with all the wakes coming your way.

[Andy C]

I doubt any lake can compare to LOZ on the 4th of July. Boat traffic has been horrible for me all summer on my favorite lake in southern Illinois. It is mostly just one long creek channel, so the wakes get bounced off of the bluffs and back into the channel. Stupid wakeboard boats don't even look where they are going and throw off those giant wakes that erode the shorelines like crazy.

Anyways, I have caught fish right through the thick of it. It was not enjoyable. I have been sticking to smaller water until after labor day.

[NorcalBassin]

If you notice any bait getting confused in the mudlines, throwing a crankbait can be fantastic. I had my best ever afternoon following the confused baitfish in the mudlines.

[WRB]

It's hard for anyone to imagine what high pressure bass fishing is until you fish a SoCal lake during a weekend between March to October.

Every weekend there are bass tournaments, both organized cash tournaments and club tournaments with about 100 boats on every bass lake. The lakes are small; average about 2 to 3 miles long. Add the recreational boaters, water contact sports, etc.

The tournaments start at day break and end around 2 pm. Rectreational boaters show up around 9 am and leave about 4 pm or when the lakes close between 6 to7 pm. Some of the lakes have night tournaments starting at 6 am until midnight, we have a 6 hour rule.

If you bass fish during the weekend, you don't move around very much because you can't. Boat traffic is what it is, ignor it or go home. The bass will bite, limits will be weighed in every weekend, someone is always on them and catching bass.

Me; I fish week days and a rare night tournament during this time period, heavy boat traffic gets to me and I don't enjoy the hastle.

Tom

[Sam]

We have the same problem on Virginia waters.

We try to fish the backs of the creeks to avoid the wakes.

If we cannot avoid the wakes we bounce around a lot.

[Nitrofreak]

We have the same problem on Virginia waters.

We try to fish the backs of the creeks to avoid the wakes.

If we cannot avoid the wakes we bounce around a lot.

LOL NO S###!! Thats Funny buddy!!!

In all honesty I fish that lake a LOT and have never seen it so bad that the boats in the back of the coves were taking a pretty good beating.

[Nitrofreak]

does the rough water affect the bass? I am a bank firsherman and on the weekends the water at the big lake gets rough along the banks where I fish. I would assume they are used to it and not really affected, but I have no clue.

Rough water sometimes gets the fish to react differently some of the bait fish will get confused and if you can be lucky enough to be around that fishing from the bank it will give you the advantage.

The rougher water will also make the fish sometimes stage just offshore in a little deeper water looking for a quick snack from anything that gets washed in from the waves.

On really windy days it's good to be a shoreline fisher tossing in a buzzbait or something simular and bringing it along the bank especially if you are in a rocky or grassy area.

There is a good bit of info on this in the articals I suggest you read up on them if I may and you will have to adapt your own technique to some of them but none the less you will enjoy the material and learning something new to try the next time out.

Good luck and be safe and let us know how you did after you try it!!

[Nitrofreak]

I have numerous spots on Toledo Bend located right in the boat lane; I’ll fish them until the boat traffic gets bad.

I hardly even fish structure without anchoring; I would rather fish than play with my trolling motor.

As for concentration I fish until a boat gets within a certain distance then I pick up my .44 magnum which usually makes them understand the need to slow down.

Seriously it’s not a problem since most anglers are courteous and slow down or give you a wide berth.

This would work!!!...just a little illegal in my state but still very effective lol but this is like taking your worst 4 lane highway and standing smack dab in the middle of all the traffic making them go around you...Ha it reminded me of that video game Frogger watching the boaters try to get from one side to the other without getting splatted.

I wish I would have took some pics it was CRAZY out there the worst I think I have ever seen that place.

[CWB]

On weekends, boat traffic is horrible up here with pleasure boats, jetskis, etc. They have as much right to use the water as we as fisherman do, as long as they keep their distance. If you can fish and don't fall out of the boat, the bass don't seem to mind.

[Bluebasser86]

I honestly believe that boat traffic affects the bass fisherman a lot more than the bass. It irritates us so bad and really gets in our head that we stop fishing like we can and start worrying about who's going too fast or who isn't going what we think is slow enough in the no wake zone. I fished one of the busiest lakes about an hour from my house on the 4th of July this year. My wife and I got back in "Party Cove" and threw cranks into the mudlines from all the boat wakes hitting the banks and we just killed them. We were less than a half mile from the mayhem and the bass had their feed bags on. Even catching fish I got tired of fighting the waves and we went to the backs of a couple protected coves and creeks and scratched a couple more out but worked alot harder for them. If I wouldn't have let the waves bother me I probably could have kept catching fish!

[Catt]

If y’all don’t think boat traffic affects the bass then come fish Toledo Bend with me any weekend early in the year & then come back again during the week. You will catch during the weekend but you will double up during the week.

Or better yet fish the McDonald’s Big Bass Splash while a BassChamps or Bass-n-Bucks tournament is going on at the same time!

We are talking 3,000-4,000 boats easily

[Nitrofreak]

If y’all don’t think boat traffic affects the bass then come fish Toledo Bend with me any weekend early in the year & then come back again during the week. You will catch during the weekend but you will double up during the week.

Or better yet fish the McDonald’s Big Bass Splash while a BassChamps or Bass-n-Bucks tournament is going on at the same time!

We are talking 3,000-4,000 boats easily

WOW that's a lot of boats!!

I agree with you thats why I only caught 4 fish that day.

It is very difficult to catch fish on days like this, is it because the traffic drives them deeper or is it because it gets them confused or both?

[quanjig]

The problem on the water supply res I fish is not so much pleasure boaters but the row teams and chase boats! Nothing great about them plowing water two feet away from you when you are on the tm!! Then the singles and doubles, leisurely rowing along, backwards, not paying any attention. When you yell at them to pay attention they think it's all your fault for being in the way!! Rowers, not a big fan.

[gobig]

I agree with bluebasser, it affects the fishermen more than the fish. For one there is a lot more to focus on than just fishing. Its multi tasking at its best. Throw wind in the mix along with a tide and it can really get interesting.

Now if you were on a lake where boat traffic is not the norm and all of the sudden there was a ton of traffic. I could see there being a negative response from the fish. Out here in CA boat traffic is the norm and some of my best days are fishing mud lines created by boat traffic. Several times I have seen where the bite gets better with increased boat traffic.

[WRB]

I agree with bluebasser, it affects the fishermen more than the fish. For one there is a lot more to focus on than just fishing. Its multi tasking at its best. Throw wind in the mix along with a tide and it can really get interesting.

Now if you were on a lake where boat traffic is not the norm and all of the sudden there was a ton of traffic. I could see there being a negative response from the fish. Out here in CA boat traffic is the norm and some of my best days are fishing mud lines created by boat traffic. Several times I have seen where the bite gets better with increased boat traffic.

When you say CA there is a big difference between NorCal and SoCal, average NoCal lake is over 20,000 surface acres/15 to 20 miles long or 10X the size of SoCal lakes.

Toledo Bend is a big reservior over 50 miles long, but they have high pressure due to the number of skilled bass fisherman per acre is about the same. Fishing pressure affects bass fishing; where you can fish and how you can fish is limited compared to lower traffic during the week days.

The Classic where Jay Yelas catches a big bass just after a boat nearly runs over him and over his fishing area demostrates bass can be caught with high boat traffic....and are caught. However it's a lot esier during the week days.

Tom

[clayton86]

In WNY weekend/holiday summer fishing and heavy recreational boat traffic go hand in hand. If you can't stand it,fish during the week, or get out early on weekend mornings, and get off by noon. It bothers me more than the fish. You get used to it after a while, and unless some one being a complete DB it don't bother me too much. Infact some time the boats get the water so churned up it turns a bite on. What I hate is fighting wind AND boat traffic at the same time, that gets old fast.

Every try Glennwood lake in medina its bout 45 min from perry its slowly becoming my favorite spot for 3 reasons 1. Its in my back yard 2. Walleye taste good 3. Loaded with smallies and 4. No jet skis no ski boats nothing but fishing boats are allowed. Ok so that's 4 reasons but that last ones the kicker that puts it over the top.

[slonezp]

Grin and bare it and pray some hotties pass by. During the boating season on IL which is roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day my home lake/river system sees 3.5 million visitors, with most of that being on the weekends. When I fish tournaments, I try and prefish during the week, and on tourney day I pray for rain . I don't fish there recreationaly during the "season". I'll head out to Lake Michigan or a couple small lakes to fish for fun.

[CWB]

Keep in mind pleasure boat traffic and intelligent angler boat traffic are 2 different things. I do agree fishing is easier and usually better during the week but most of us are at work. I think if there was a 4000 boat tourney going on, I'd look for somewhere else to go. Might not be an option though.

[gobig]

When you say CA there is a big difference between NorCal and SoCal, average NoCal lake is over 20,000 surface acres/15 to 20 miles long or 10X the size of SoCal lakes.

Toledo Bend is a big reservior over 50 miles long, but they have high pressure due to the number of skilled bass fisherman per acre is about the same. Fishing pressure affects bass fishing; where you can fish and how you can fish is limited compared to lower traffic during the week days.

The Classic where Jay Yelas catches a big bass just after a boat nearly runs over him and over his fishing area demostrates bass can be caught with high boat traffic....and are caught. However it's a lot esier during the week days.

Tom

I agree that NorCal and SoCal are different when it comes to lake size, but 20,000 surface acres being the average is way off base. Yes Clearlake (43,000 SA) is big, so is Shasta (30,000 SA) and a hand full of other lakes. However most of our lakes are somewhere between 4,000 to 13,000 SA. Then there is the Delta which is an animal of it's own.

In my mind boat traffic and fishing pressure are two different things but they can go hand in hand. For instance on the Delta you can be fishing an area where there are not many fishermen, but a jet ski club or speed boat club blows by. The next time I have 1000 jet skis blow by I will try and snap a picture, it's actually kinda cool in a way.

Now hitting a place like Clearlake after 3 or 4 tournaments can have a negative effect on the fish. It can take several days of recovery. No dispute there. But as you stated fish can still be caught.

[BassThumb]

Bass in pressured lakes seem to react differently to boat traffic and wakes than bass in quieter, less pressured lakes. Some of the small, quiet, shallow lakes I fish are affected by boat traffic in a big way. On the busier ones, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. But on some, even wakes from jet skis and speed boats from 300-500 yards away can shut down a bite. Just last Sunday, my Dad and arrived at a lake we know well at about 11:00 and started fishing a small rockpile in about 8' of water. We caught about 40 lbs of fish from it in the first 70 minutes or so, and then 4 resident jet skis and a speed boat pulling a tuber started tearing the lake up without taking a break, and we went the next 4 hours without more than a bite or two, fishing various areas, both shallow and deep. As far as conditions, nothing else changed during that period other than boat traffic. I'm a big believer in boat wakes and pleasure craft putting fish in a negative mood on some lakes. I've seen it too many times for it to be coincidence.