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Define Heavily Pressured


VAngler
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A lot of people use the term "heavily pressured" when talking about lakes so I was just curious what you guys considered to be "heavily pressured" in the sense that it might cause a change in normal bass behavior. This isn't meant to be a contest to see who's lake is the most pressured; I'm just wondering what you guys are calling heavy fishing pressure.

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There are some local spots where I could always count on putting good fish in the boat with certain techniques. They produced for years but became worthless once someone posted YouTube videos showing where they were and how to fish them. I don't know exactly how many boats have to hit a spot to ruin it, but I know it happens and it happens fast.

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Any lake/pond here that's easy to get to gets pounded flat here. Couple that with lake management consisting of grass carp and 

water clarity treatments and you get tough fishing. Very thankful when I get to go fish the Everglades.   

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At some of our more known Ozark reservoirs the pressure is pretty consistent from April to September.  5+ tournaments over one weekend isn't uncommon, plus regular joe fishermen and recreational boaters can make the fish spooky

Edited by evilcatfish
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On my home lake of Kentucky Lake, starting from about now until October there are several tournaments every weekend on all parts of the lake. Last year the Triton owners tournament had almost 300 boats and the next week, B.A.S.S. elite series came there. It's not uncommon for 2 or 3 tournaments with 100 + boats to come out of different marinas within a 30 mile span from each other on any given weekend. The lake takes a pounding every year yet still produces monster sacks of fish. There are times when it is definitely hard to find fish and make them bite. just for reference, at the end of march there is a 1 day tournament coming out of the Dam that will have almost 500 boats in it ( Some of those boats will go up lake Barkley though ).

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In Massachusetts, some of the lakes & ponds have Bass Tournaments "Every Weekend", Saturday & Sunday. I would consider that situation "Heavily Pressured". I remember when I was young, a friend & I would pound the ish out of a small pond every year during the spawn. The bass used one stretch of shoreline & we fished that stretch for about three years, and then, noticed that those same spawning bass in the fourth year started to move, (as a group), to the opposite shore to spawn. They adapt like we do. On weekends, alot of those bass on the tournament lakes KNOW the sound of those gas motors every seven days, and, will actually put off feeding till the party goes away. How else can they survive......

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On weekends, alot of those bass on the tournament lakes KNOW the sound of those gas motors every seven days, and, will actually put off feeding till the party goes away. How else can they survive......

They go nocturnal... ;-)

 

Seriously though, at least here in CO there are a handful of lakes that are known to have decent (for Colorado) bass fishing and they get hit a lot by people who are pretty good sticks.  I'd call those pressured waters.  There are others that are hit a lot by trout anglers and just the amount of bank activity is likely enough to keep the bass from moving shallow, at least by day (or on the weekends).  Nighttime is a different ball game, though, especially if some of the trout have been gut-hooked and released and are flailing feebly on the surface.

 

I'd say that if the fish are seeing multiple presentations per day (or even per hour), then you've got a pressured situation.  I dream of finding a lake where the only person fishing for bass is me, and where I go three or four days without seeing any other angler - oh, and the bass would have a solid 6+ average to boot!  A guy can dream...

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I agree with space ghost on this one.  I lived in oklahoma and fished grand lake, tenkiller, beaver lake, bull shoals, and table rock, and you could put 500+ boats on any of those lakes and it wouldn't be anywhere near the amount of pressure that the lakes here in CA see.  The lakes in the midwest are just so much bigger than most of the lakes here in central and southern california.  Northern CA isn't nearly as bad, it gets progressively worse as you head down the coast.  I can tell you though that fishing pressure in San Diego was actually less than what I see on the central coast, SD has a lot of lakes, small lakes but a good variety ranging from one side of the county to the other.

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I agree with space ghost on this one. I lived in oklahoma and fished grand lake, tenkiller, beaver lake, bull shoals, and table rock, and you could put 500+ boats on any of those lakes and it wouldn't be anywhere near the amount of pressure that the lakes here in CA see. The lakes in the midwest are just so much bigger than most of the lakes here in central and southern california. Northern CA isn't nearly as bad, it gets progressively worse as you head down the coast. I can tell you though that fishing pressure in San Diego was actually less than what I see on the central coast, SD has a lot of lakes, small lakes but a good variety ranging from one side of the county to the other.

Agree...but half the reason is there hasn't been water for years and all our lakes are half to quarter the size...the other half the reason is our fish are f'n huge...but nor cal is pretty pressured but mostly by shore from trout anglers...but a lot of the big lakes really aren't that accessible from shore...if all you eastern guys would just stay home in the winter too lol

Edited by BigSlant
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Agree...but half the reason is there hasn't been water for years and all our lakes are half to quarter the size...the other half the reason is our fish are f'n huge...but nor cal is pretty pressured but mostly by shore from trout anglers...but a lot of the big lakes really aren't that accessible from shore...if all you eastern guys would just stay home in the winter too lol

You'll never understand what having a foot of ice on the lakes out here will do to a fisherman. talk about cabin fever. That is the reason we have to come west and catch your fish!

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