Are There Any Lakes Near You That You Refuse To Fish? 2024
jhoffman reply :
I am finding ungodly amounts of pressure on my local lake really has these fish shut down and its getting to a point that I dont even enjoy fishing it. Its not a big enough fishery to withstand the pressure.
In the last four days I know of at least 3-20boat+ tournaments on this lake. Were talking a lake thats 1700 acres seeing on average 4-6 tournaments a week this size. This fishery also really lacks structure. Its almost hit or miss where you can catch fish.
You cant really put together a pattern and say... im gonna fish secondary points. Theres just not enough of them or Im gonna fish the channel breaks on the underwater roads, theres only one of those.
I cant take much more of these 3-4 fish days for my effort, time and money expended. Not when I know the grass is definitely greener on the other side.
Do you have places like this near you? Id assume most do, are they big lakes or little lakes?
Zach Dunham reply :
On 7/25/2013 at 8:34 PM, jhoffman said:I am finding ungodly amounts of pressure on my local lake really has these fish shut down and its getting to a point that I dont even enjoy fishing it. Its not a big enough fishery to withstand the pressure.
In the last four days I know of at least 3-20boat+ tournaments on this lake. Were talking a lake thats 1700 acres seeing on average 4-6 tournaments a week this size. This fishery also really lacks structure. Its almost hit or miss where you can catch fish.
You cant really put together a pattern and say... im gonna fish secondary points. Theres just not enough of them or Im gonna fish the channel breaks on the underwater roads, theres only one of those.
I cant take much more of these 3-4 fish days for my effort, time and money expended. Not when I know the grass is definitely greener on the other side.
Do you have places like this near you? Id assume most do, are they big lakes or little lakes?
Sounds like a lot of PA lakes. There aren't enough big lakes so the ones that can be hit for tournaments are hit hard. Beltzville State Park and Lake Wallenpaupack come to mind. Wallenpaupack has been exceptionally tough this year.
Tuckahoe Joe reply :
I won't say that I flat out refuse to fish it cuz I'm sure I will again here and there, but I don't care for Wye Mills Lake. It's a 50 acre lake about 25 minutes from house. All the areas accessible for bank fishing have virtually no cover but you can look out across the lake and see tons of awesome cover that you just can't get too. Aside from that I've only caught 3 fish there and they were all under 12 inches (granted I don't fish there that often and have seen a nice fish or 2 caught). DNR does put old Christmas trees in the water near the shore to crate fish attracters but honestly they're more trouble than they're worth. I lose soooo many more lures here than any other lake. I'm talking like 4 or 5 lures per trip to the point that I'm almost forced to only fish soft plastics so I'm not throwing a handful of $5 bills in the lake every time. I know people say if your not getting snagged your fishing in the wrong place but with this lake its just ridiculous and for the 3 dinks that I've caught out of there, it's just not worth the trouble.
anonbassman reply :
On 7/25/2013 at 8:34 PM, jhoffman said:I am finding ungodly amounts of pressure on my local lake really has these fish shut down and its getting to a point that I dont even enjoy fishing it. Its not a big enough fishery to withstand the pressure.
In the last four days I know of at least 3-20boat+ tournaments on this lake. Were talking a lake thats 1700 acres seeing on average 4-6 tournaments a week this size. This fishery also really lacks structure. Its almost hit or miss where you can catch fish.
What are the winning weights of the tournaments and are most teams limiting out? That would give you a good idea of the fishing would it not?
jhoffman reply :
Beginning of the season we saw some big limits. As the season wore on the limits stopped. Now in a 20 boat field with angler/co you might get 3 fish nearing the 5lb mark in the whole field.
PABASS reply :
I believe that I know what local lake your talking about and caught my PA PB fish there this year, however this was pre-spawn and I have heard summertime/fishing can be hard there. At least you get to fish you know? Last time I have been on the water was June 2nd 
. Hopefully soon I can get back on the water, hard to complain when we just purchased our dream house, but I really am hurting to get back out..
jhoffman reply :
You know what lake I am speaking of.
The best lake local to me is 8 times the size my home lake. They are finishing with 20+lb limits to win on that lake.
There was a tournament here that I didnt fish sunday morning. Club tournament monday. Lunker last night, there will be a tournament friday night, at least one saturday if not two and another sunday.
Thats A LOT of fishing for a 1700 acre lake thats more known for its crappie population than bass.
Quitlimpin reply :
Lake Fork is less than 2 hrs away from me. I've been out there a handful of times over the years, and it's always been a miserable experience. I know that it's super crowded for a reason, but it's such a pita to unload and load that I find myself going elsewhere.
GeorgiaBassBros reply :
I refuse to fish Allatoona, or as its known around here "the dead sea". Completely filled with ski boats and bucket fisherman. There is almost no vegitation in the lake at all and by noon its choppier than any ocean ive ever been on. There are other ponds that i refuse to fish but theyre the trashed out park lakes that have almost zero fish in them
thehooligan reply :
South Jersey is very populated with lots of small lakes. Everything gets pounded hard so you really have to work for your fish or make friends with someone on a private lake, lol.
A-Jay reply :
Recreational water craft and weekend vacationers seem to make fishing challenging every summer season.
I find that fishing mid week and especially at night, really evens the playing field.
You'll have the lake to yourself and more importantly, the fish are usually much more cooperative.
A-Jay
mikeeasttn reply :
My home lake is Norris Lake in East Tn and I am 5 minutes from a boat ramp.
It is one of the largest TVA impoundments and has over 800 miles of shoreline and 34,000 acres of surface water area. It is 73 miles long on the Clinch River arm and 56 miles long on the Powell River arm.
I am also less than 2 hours from Douglas Lake and a hours drive from more than 3 other large TVA impoundments. I am very lucky to live in this area and I do take advantage of most of the lakes as I can.
There are 4 to 5 tournaments a week on the lake but in the summer the jet skis and ski boats are numerous to say the least. They are not a great problem if you "head toward the river channels". We still have the early spring fishing and fall fishing without all the traffic.
There are no lakes in this area that I would not fish.
McFurie reply :
My local river gets James up with party barges late spring to early fall I even seen a boat with a stripper pole so needless to say I only fish it when in late fall to early spring
Fishing Rhino reply :
After reading this thread, I'm very thankful that we live on the coast, which includes Cape Cod. There are a lot of good fishing ponds around here, particularly on the Cape. Most of the folks who go to the Cape for fishing are after striped bass, or bluefish, plus the party boats that take folks out for ground fish.
The ponds and lakes from central Mass, inland, are another matter. They get crowded with boaters, all looking to enjoy their activity, be it fishing, paddling, skiing, wakeboarding, jet skis, cruising on party barges, etc., etc.
I fish those in the spring and fall when the pleasure boaters aren't active, or on rainy drizzly days which considerably thin the herd on the water.
buzzed bait reply :
Well not the whole lake, but Lake Norman in certain places and certain times (summer) is just a waste of time for me. White caps from the boat traffic and richie rich's complaining about you being close to their dock or "their bank". A couple days of that and you'll be ready to find a new fishing hole.
RAMBLER reply :
There's a small lake/pond (15-20 acres) less than 2 miles from me. I use to fish it once in a while and had caught a few fish of no real size. Last time I was on it, I caught one small blue gill and no bass and saw that there were no weeds. I saw on small clump of lily pads that was probably only one root. I heard an odd sound and narrowed it down to a woman on her dock spraying shoreline weeds. I think the people living on that lake have cleaned out all of the shoreline weeds with poison and subsequently poisoned the entire lake. There's no reason to go back and I never see anyone else on the lake.
JeziHogg reply :
Eeek, makes me glad I live in the middle of no where.
duckmaster55 reply :
Keuka is one of the most popular bass fishing lakes in the finger lakes, we are getting 4-6 tournaments a week with almost every tournament habing more than 20 boats, it is almost impossible to catch fish even when it is clear that you are right on top of them.
jhoffman reply :
I feel a little better that Im not suffering alone. I shouldnt sound all doom and gloom. I grew up on and live less than five mins from one of the best C&R trout streams in the nation. The creek behind my house is stocked in spring and has smallmouths in it during summer. Ive got at least 10 different lakes that dont see tournaments within an hour.
Figures, the one closest to home though would be one of the hardest fished.
tomustang reply :
Almost every lake in PA is like that
paangler13 reply :
I know what Lake your talking about, and you are right on about it. I have fished there twice. I did real good in the spring, but I went up earlier this month and only caught two. That is the deal with these smaller Pa lakes in this area; Canoe creek, shawwnee, gallitzen. You are right about the trout ;-) thats the price for the good fishing around here, lots of fisherman too!
Good Luck!!
Jim
Dyerbassman reply :
Anywhere that I have to pay to launch or fish. No thanks.
ww2farmer reply :
On 7/25/2013 at 8:34 PM, jhoffman said:I am finding ungodly amounts of pressure on my local lake really has these fish shut down and its getting to a point that I dont even enjoy fishing it. Its not a big enough fishery to withstand the pressure.
In the last four days I know of at least 3-20boat+ tournaments on this lake. Were talking a lake thats 1700 acres seeing on average 4-6 tournaments a week this size. This fishery also really lacks structure. Its almost hit or miss where you can catch fish.
You cant really put together a pattern and say... im gonna fish secondary points. Theres just not enough of them or Im gonna fish the channel breaks on the underwater roads, theres only one of those.
I cant take much more of these 3-4 fish days for my effort, time and money expended. Not when I know the grass is definitely greener on the other side.
Do you have places like this near you? Id assume most do, are they big lakes or little lakes?
Either your lakes suck, or the guys fishing them do. My "home" lake of about 800 acres see's that much pressure, and it still takes 18-20 lbs to win, and 15-18 to cash in a 5 fish tournament. In the three fish evening tournaments it takes 11-13 lbs to win, and 9-11 to cash, and more time than not you need at least a mid 5 for lunker. The next lake over is twice the size, and see's twice the pressure, yet you need 20+ to win or even cash almost every time, and a 6+ for lunker.
AndyTN reply :
On 7/26/2013 at 8:04 PM, A-Jay said:Recreational water craft and weekend vacationers seem to make fishing challenging every summer season.
I find that fishing mid week and especially at night, really evens the playing field.
You'll have the lake to yourself and more importantly, the fish are usually much more cooperative.
A-Jay
I could not state it any better then this. I avoid the big lakes around me weekends and any warm holiday like the plague.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Most of the lakes close to me really suck and I'd rather drive a little further to a better lake than spend more time beating myself up on a bad lake. One lake in particular I haven't been to in close to 10 years despite being 20 minutes from me. Last time I went we fished hard for 10 hours to catch 2 dinks and a catfish, haven't been back since and from the reports I hear it isn't worth going back for.
prjavelin reply :
If I thought that way I would have to quit fishing. theres only like 3 reservoirs that are "near" me the closest being 45 minutes and the other two at almost 2 hours from my house. This means that when my home lake(the one at 45 min) gets pounded every day I have to still go there and catch fish. If I had a reservoir 5 or 10 minutes from my house that was highly pressured like you guys say I would still go.
pressured waters are the best places to learn and practice finesse fishing, those are the places that would make you better. It makes me better to go to my home lake on sundays after 11am when the weekend tournament has just finished because the bite is gonna be tough and locating and tempting bass to bite is a real big challenge. You guys should try it, Ive done it a couple times and it makes you fish on the moment.
Bankbeater reply :
There are a couple of lakes in a park, maybe 5 min. from my house. They tend to get fished very heavily. I also know people have pulled fish out of there and taken them home even though the fish are not legal size.
SirSnookalot reply :
I've been leery my local peacock bass spot seeing a few dead snakes there. 2 weeks a live moc was about 2' from me, never going to go there again.
FrogFreak reply :
Well, I fish in Minnesota and I have tons of options but we also have tons of anglers so I still go out in my kayak from time to time and hit the little lakes that don't have boat access. I just spent Saturday morning in a little lake with 4 homes on it and I was the only one fishing. Now that's paradise. The cold front kept the morning from producing loads of fish (caught 4) but it was still peaceful.
There's a lake closer to my home that is long and narrow with great bass in it but it gets so busy with boaters and jetskis that you can hardly stay upright in your boat on the weekend. We do sneak out during the week and catch lots of bass that are hiding under the numerous docks.
ClackerBuzz reply :
On 7/29/2013 at 2:05 PM, prjavelin said:If I thought that way I would have to quit fishing. theres only like 3 reservoirs that are "near" me the closest being 45 minutes and the other two at almost 2 hours from my house. This means that when my home lake(the one at 45 min) gets pounded every day I have to still go there and catch fish. If I had a reservoir 5 or 10 minutes from my house that was highly pressured like you guys say I would still go.
pressured waters are the best places to learn and practice finesse fishing, those are the places that would make you better. It makes me better to go to my home lake on sundays after 11am when the weekend tournament has just finished because the bite is gonna be tough and locating and tempting bass to bite is a real big challenge. You guys should try it, Ive done it a couple times and it makes you fish on the moment.
x2. i'm def a better angler b/c of learning how to finesse fish the heavily pressured lakes around me. and i can consistently catch fish in august just about anywhere when other guys hang up their rods till fall. plus i get a thorn in my side till i figure out the situation at hand.
i've been working on this pond for 3 seasons and this is going to be my year. i've literally tried everything there during every season of the year (cranks, jerks, spinners, top water, 8" Hudds, A-rigs, float and fly, jig and pork, live bait, finesse, frogs, punching etc etc etc). I haven't gotten anything over 4lbs. its gets very little pressure but the water is gin clear and is completely over run with milfoil. the bass are buried deep in the under weed canons. if the depth is 10ft in an area, there is literally 8ft of milfoil and 2ft of open water. punching doesn't work b/c the water is too clear and the conditions to stable to crash a 1.5oz lure down to get a bite. a father and son fish it from kayaks often. they use ultra light gear and love to brag about their number days: 25 crappies, 10 dink bass, 4 pickerel in one day. they think i'm crazy and don't believe there are 6lb+ bass in there. there are for sure and i am going to snap a pix to show them.
the answer is something i've never done: night fishing. i don't know why i didn't see it in the first place. 
i've never gone so nobody ever taught me the benefits and how aggressive the fish are. i'm a much better angler for the persistence.
to be fair and keep it real i have access to much better water than prjavelin. my mistake to good ratio is probably 20:1. i'll fish good/unpressured and/or 'new' bodies of water 20x's for every 1x fishing the body that haunts me.
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
On 7/26/2013 at 4:32 AM, jhoffman said:You know what lake I am speaking of.
The best lake local to me is 8 times the size my home lake. They are finishing with 20+lb limits to win on that lake.
There was a tournament here that I didnt fish sunday morning. Club tournament monday. Lunker last night, there will be a tournament friday night, at least one saturday if not two and another sunday.
Thats A LOT of fishing for a 1700 acre lake thats more known for its crappie population than bass.
Raystown sucks too, don't get it twisted.
Two day tournament not long ago, 6 fish limit per day. 27lbs won. Not exactly lighting the place on fire.
I did catch a couple over 4 the day before that tournament though. Didnt fish the T.
bigbill reply :
Ok this may sound stupid or dumb have you tried beaching the boat near a spot that's been hot before? Or just try fishing from shore and being very stealthy in the process?
From the larger bass I'm seeing swim by me in the water and not being caught I'm thinking they know the boats spell danger at least for the bigger bass.
I know for sure n fishing the smaller spots they do learn our lures I'm sure. What's hot this year isn't so hot next year in the same spot. I think this applies to the torque guys too when the place is steadily hammered. A small body of water with many stories going on is what I mean. I'd try different spots using new lures the fish haven't seen before. This is why I never part with my older lures.
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