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| Hey guys I have been having trouble on a local lake where there is a lot of fishing pressure along with boating pressure and I have tried a lot of different lures and areas but still haven't had much success. What do you guys do in a situation like this?
Thanks once again for info guys,
Rob |
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Posts: 283
| Fish early morning or late evening into the night |
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Posts: 727
| I mainly fish a lake that gets heavy boat traffic, the angling pressure isn't too bad but the boats are horrible. And I have had my best luck at the crack of dawn until the first jet ski comes out and then at dusk. Try using lures like a suick or a twitch bait that act like a wounded minnow, I see alot of fish that were hit by boats at the end of the day and the musky take advantage of that. Good luck. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Smaller and faster will work at times. |
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Posts: 759
| I would consider fishing the lake on cloudy rainy days and especially,if its a big fish lake in the mid to late fall period. The pleasure boaters,jet skiers are gone,the kids are back in school, it will seem like a whole different world. Kdawg. |
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Posts: 264
| i fish a lake like this. i usaully end up catching them early in the morning or after dark.having a full moon helps a lot also |
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Posts: 613
Location: Michigan | What is the water clarity?? My advice would be to move out deeper especially if there is deep weeds on the lake. Usually the boating and fishing pressure pushes the fish out. Baits like Super D's/Bulldawgs work great. |
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| There is not much clarity the water is pretty brown
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| Guest - 8/13/2009 11:49 PM
There is not much clarity the water is pretty brown
Why not chuck it for the time being on this lake, and go back when the fun boater season is over.
What about at night? Do you have the equipment for that? Perhaps someone can give insight into fishing dark water at night. Does it work? |
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Posts: 283
| Definetly fish early morning along with after dark I fish a lake like this a lot and that is usually what it takes to get fish. |
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Posts: 311
Location: Ontario | I can't speak much to high fishing pressure or high traffic lakes in the US but we do fish certain areas up here that get plenty of traffic all night long. These are mainly on or near major navigation/bouy routes. Decreased visibility and alcohol are the two killers at night. If you fish a spot that gets a lot of traffic, night can be the most dangerous time to fish it. A lot of these yahoos get a late start the next day, my suggestion is to fish the first couple hours before daylight rather than into the night past 'happy hour.' I enjoy dusk/night fishing the most out of any time of the day but there is no question this can be one of the most hazardous times to be on the water! There are areas we fish where boats rip thru in succession well past 1am. It sucks, because channels between shoals, narrows and sharp bends are some of the best spots to fish but they are also the most dangerous to hang out around. People at night just seem a lot less aware just because its dark they feel there's nobody else out there..not true. If your lake has high traffic during the day, I bet there are always areas that stay busy well into the night too. Maybe try that 3am-11am shift, it can be a beauty and seems pretty safe too. |
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Posts: 1023
| i would throw plastics - tubes, bulldawgs... But I love plastics. Try moving into the sloppier stuff midday if the PWC's aren't in there, (3 -8" of water with rice, cabbage or coontail...). Shallow weeds are a great hot day pattern for me. Use weedless swimjigs or tubes. Likely in bright colours for your lake. I get very few follows in heavier stuff. They usually just launch themselves from their weed clump - like a bullet. |
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| Not saying this is the only way, but here's what I would do. The best bet fishing during the daytime would be to fish deep. The bottom edge of the breaks. Or open water a little ways off the brakes (especially if there's deep weeds). Let dawgs sink a few before retrieving. And try to keep it deeper and in the strike zone when you bring it in. When it gets near the boat, give it small pops till it gets to the surface and then do your 8's. And be careful here...you might not see them on the first couple 8's. Do a few more, and keep your eyes peeled. It's pretty cool seeing a fish come straight up from the depths with it's mouth WIDE OPEN. Definitely gets your knees shaking. |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | I would throw Curley Sues on the breaks and any deeper structure you can find. Very little pressure out there and a nice population of fish. |
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Posts: 36
Location: Pittsburgh PA | I fish high pressure lakes along with rivers. I have studied a river that went from no pressure to alot of pressure .I have found that river muskies seem to adapt to these changes .I have seen them move there general home range only to return later. I have seen them not so much change there feeding but there agrestion. for example I made apass on a spot right after another guy using the same lure topwater and hooked a 42 .The guy was peeed but the difference was I slowed my presentation down . I also found that they do learn ;example I hooked a fish on top water site fishing throwing a topraider lost the fish .I returned the next day from one evening to the next day mid morning the same fish was under the same log ,threw topraider no luck no nothing .I then switched to a reef hog of total dirrerent color the fish reacted instantly hooked him . Lake I fish is very conjested with fisherman I often down size my hooks and key in on certain colors during certain months sizes to match the prey they are stalking. I also look for water temps during summer months increase activity . Weather fronts that change water temps will play a part in the activity ,covering ground is a good idea to find active fish taking your time though is key ,everyone is doing the same and your looking for the areas and spots that were fished to fast or carless. If you spend the time you will learn to overcome the pressure. KNowing your lake or body of water and becoming almost friends with it you will find your grove and grit. |
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Posts: 8
| If it's a dark lake, there probably isn't going to be much deep weed growth. I fish a lake like this in MN and early mornings and evenings produce well when the recreational watercraft traffic is at a minimal. Also, if there is thick, sloppy shallow weeds I would give those a try in the day. Good luck! |
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Posts: 3867
| Hmmm.....here's some thoughts...
During the day maybe consider fishing for suspendos in the middle third of the lake. The thermocline and location of baitfish is structure, too.
Night time means no pleasure boats, but the surface could be covered with weeds/debris churned up by speedboats during the day - this makes trolling and casting more difficult, so try hanging a sucker (or bullhead with side "points" clipped off) straight down and watch it, and fish that move to it, on your finder.
Hope that's helpful. |
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Posts: 136
Location: Chicago | I've read it before and and stuck some nice fish this way. If it's a heavily pressured lake and has that great spot that just gets buzzed with boats all day be the one there at happy hour. Those fish are forced to hunker down and wait it out. When their window of oppurtunity opens so does yours. |
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Posts: 317
| I fish the IL Fox Chain, which is the nations second busiest waterway, and I believe that the fish in heavy traffic lakes are not really affected. Indeed, we have caught fish just feet from anchored party boats and swimmers. The shallow bars between lakes that get pounded by traffic also create chaos and confusion and the fish are there. We catch fish speed trolling with less than 10 feet of line out, so I just don't think that traffic is a barrier. Now for comfort and safety, fishing at off traffic times are key. Dawn/dusk are classic fish times, busy water or not. |
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Fishing in very heavy pressured lakes