Why do SH, Falls and Jordan sux?

[th365thli]

As a hardcore bass angler who literally just moved to Raleigh 2 weeks ago, I am saddened to hear all of this. :(

You'll be fine. Keep in mind we're only talking about the big 3 in RDU, and I think the negativity is being overblown. The lakes are experiencing new amounts of pressure and the adjustment is frustrating some anglers. It's not like the fish are all dying off, they're just harder to catch.

There's some lakes about an hour away in Burlington. Kerr should only be just over an hour away. Gaston 1.5 hours. I'm excited to try Graham Mebane (Quaker Reservoir) and Randleman. Mayo and Hyco shouldn't be too far away either. Definitely plenty of options if you're willing to drive a bit.

[dwmgg17]

I like the pic of the 9 pound down east chub there Jeffery!!!!!

[mike28nc]

WOW the way you all talk the 3 lakes here in RDU its a ghost town if you are not the special one that can catch them. What a crock. Is there pressure on the lakes. Yes. Any lake around is that way. Even more with Covid hit.

This and the other tread talking about limiting boats or shutting down lakes for tournaments. You do realize we would still be fishing? Now if you close the lakes then close it to all. Means no wake boats. See how well that goes. The lakes are good. You can catch them but they are not going to jump in your boat. If you want to catch 300 fish a day. Then you need to stick to Gaston where all they have is Spots. I dont mind fishing 8hrs for 6 or 8 bites. Cause they will be good ones.

[cattdaddy]

Even harder when you don't have forward looking sonar and have not spent the winter sinking pallets to come in with the few big bags in March.
If you need to do both of those to have a big limit in late March your lake suxs for the average skilled basser.

When I was in 7th grade I got to spend a week fishing with my friend from school whose dad had just been transferred to a military base in VA near Williamsburg that required a background check from the Secret Service to just go visit him as a kid. We fished a lake that was about 200 acres everyday in a 12 foot jon boat and 30 pound thrust electric motor. No depthfinder. We had 8 fish limits every single morning that would go 40 to 45 pounds and then we would go back again and do it all over in the evening. And course we were skilled for our age and bass equipment but nothing like what I know today or even what basser kids know now. I bet we caught 50 bass over five pounds on that old wooden pearl blue eye Strike King Spence Scout. So we were catching them in 3 -4 feet of water in the middle of July casting to the bank. Can you do that on Jordan? You could if they stopped running tournaments and maybe did permit draws to fish certain week or months like to do to hunt turkey on Jordan.

You needed to start this comment with "Once upon a time". A 7th grader catching 8 fish limits 40 to 45 lbs every single morning then go back and do it in the morning. I'm sorry man but come on. Can you do that on Jordan? Santee? Fork? Guntersville? Etc no not none of em.
Fish are shallow in March...you don't need forward facing sonar or pallets. April either....May either. The Pros are doing what they do...push a product. You can catch then the same ole way they've been caught for years

[cattdaddy]

As a hardcore bass angler who literally just moved to Raleigh 2 weeks ago, I am saddened to hear all of this. :(

You'll have fun on these lakes. Plenty of fish catching going on tournament or not

[Nailbender8]

Anybody support the idea of banning tournaments for a few years to see if things could recover some

No. If you want to improve the lakes and the bass fishing, you need to put that effort into getting the state to quit killing every stitch of grass in our lakes.

[Bassfriend]

No. If you want to improve the lakes and the bass fishing, you need to put that effort into getting the state to quit killing every stitch of grass in our lakes.

Exactly

[berudd]

No. If you want to improve the lakes and the bass fishing, you need to put that effort into getting the state to quit killing every stitch of grass in our lakes.

Where are they doing it? I know it hydrilla was killed in Harris but I am pretty sure the power company was the driver of that, they have been wanting to do it for years.

Have they done that in Jordan and Falls, the other two lakes the thread is about. I've never seen much is either. Some but not tons.

[kb_rn]

No. If you want to improve the lakes and the bass fishing, you need to put that effort into getting the state to quit killing every stitch of grass in our lakes.

this x 10000000

[dwmgg17]

Only lakes that I have actually seen spraying done in person was at Kerr and Gaston.

[Nat's Dad]

You needed to start this comment with "Once upon a time". A 7th grader catching 8 fish limits 40 to 45 lbs every single morning then go back and do it in the morning. I'm sorry man but come on. Can you do that on Jordan? Santee? Fork? Guntersville? Etc no not none of em.
Fish are shallow in March...you don't need forward facing sonar or pallets. April either....May either. The Pros are doing what they do...push a product. You can catch then the same ole way they've been caught for years

See you are so used to fishing lakes that suck this seems a fairy tale to you. 8 bass between 4-6 pounds on a 200 acre lake no one can fish---no big deal People that can put two and two together can guess what lake it was and why it was so good. NO grass just fallen timber. LOL I had my 18 year old out six years ago when he was 12 and the kid had four in the canoe over five before 9:30 and lost a 5th hog at the net----all on a big jitterbug and a spinning rod. We left by 10 am No telling what he could have caught if his attention span would have lasted another four hours. No grass in this spot. Another time years ago me and my boss fished a piedmont lake from about 10 pm till 3am and caught 24 over four pounds including two nines. Not going to say where and it's nowhere I'd go now with a family and a mortgage these days, but it proves the point what a great lake can be like that's not fished to death. Grass was not a factor at all in that lake either.

Edited to add these were July and August catches!!!!!!!!!!!

[jab0106]

There’s a difference in fished to death and fished ever

[Nat's Dad]

There’s a difference in fished to death and fished ever

Public water thousands of people within 5 miles......but hard to access........very rarely fished. Jr. caught this one last Fall on six pound test and a Tiny Torpedo. Wouldn't even let me put it on a stringer to get to a spot to take a proper picture---only wanted to get it back in the water fast as it had fought so long he was worried about it. I actually though he had a big flathead on ---longest fight I've ever seen on a largemouth Didn't even get to weigh it but it was bigger than the 10.4 and 10.8 he has on his bedroom wall. He get's bored fishing easily so we don't fish spots that sux and it's the only way I can keep him interested. If he fished the local tournament lakes I'd loose him to video games. No weeds
IMG_3726.JPG

[dwmgg17]

Now that is a chub!!!!!

[old4runner]

Nat'sDad... Why can some folks catch them in the local lakes and you can't? Could they just be better fishermen? They work harder at it?

Shouldn't you be showing us a lakes with high boat traffic, no tournaments, and 30# bags? See the lake (seems like more of a pond) you keep referring has both things at debate. No tourney's but also no boat traffic so catching there proves nothing about what is at debate.

Do you think those fish would be as easy to catch if it was a wake boat only lake (no tournaments)?

Is there anyone on this planet anymore that is not a freaking victim.

[Bairn]

Nat'sDad... Why can some folks catch them in the local lakes and you can't? Could they just be better fishermen? They work harder at it?

Shouldn't you be showing us a lakes with high boat traffic, no tournaments, and 30# bags? See the lake (seems like more of a pond) you keep referring has both things at debate. No tourney's but also no boat traffic so catching there proves nothing about what is at debate.

Do you think those fish would be as easy to catch if it was a wake boat only lake (no tournaments)?

Is there anyone on this planet anymore that is not a freaking victim.

Putin?

And yes, much easier to catch fish on a “wake only” lake…caveat being you can fish it (nice try, though)

[Nat's Dad]

Nat'sDad... Why can some folks catch them in the local lakes and you can't? Could they just be better fishermen? They work harder at it?

Shouldn't you be showing us a lakes with high boat traffic, no tournaments, and 30# bags? See the lake (seems like more of a pond) you keep referring has both things at debate. No tourney's but also no boat traffic so catching there proves nothing about what is at debate.

Do you think those fish would be as easy to catch if it was a wake boat only lake (no tournaments)?

Is there anyone on this planet anymore that is not a freaking victim.

I can catch a few, but it's too much like work. I fish for fun. If I have to spend all winter sinking pallets in obscure spots that won't be spotted quick and then work a milk run every tournament hoping they are holding on 3-4 spots it's too much like commercial fishing.

Some of you guys say the fish are still there and you have to "adapt" and not beat the bank, etc, etc. So that hits me the same as you telling me there are just as many giant bucks running around Jordan game lands now as there were when it first opened and I just need to "adapt" to these smarter, pressured bucks blah, blah....................yes there might be a couple strays left and a corn pile ( [pallet) five feet over the corp line on private might turn up the odd one in the rut ( early March fishing ) it's nonsense to believe it's the same as it was and I just need to figure it out. You can't kill them if they are just not there and they are for all practical purposes just not there anymore. In your example if Jordan lake or Jordan game land was only allowing wake boats and bird watchers yes I could catch them, because they would still be there and I'd just have to figure out how they were responding to the pressure and tailor my approach-----but they would still be there! If my kid had hauled that 11 pounder around all day in summer heat then to a parking lot weigh in then released it I would not assume it would be around to catch a week later. I would assume it would be dead and no amount of weeds or clean water would make a difference just like no amount of state planted food plots are going to bring in big bucks that don't exist. What Jordan game lands and Jordan lake both have in common is too many hunters and fisherman to sustain a quality experience. In both cases I'd rather have a limited permit draw and hope I got drawn to fish or hunt every 3-4 years and have a great experience than hit each every year and it sux. There's just too many damn people now around here utilizing the resource to expect it not to suffer greatly. I'd wager two guys in a team tournament dragging them all over the lake puts as much negative pressure on the resource as twenty guys catch and release fishing and getting them back in the water quick

[old4runner]

Say what you want we are all fishing the same water. Some people are just not as good as others. Some deal with it well while some make every excuse because they think they should be the best at everything.


Same Lake
Same Fish
Same lures avail

Oh my god the things people will tell themselves when they can't come to grips when some folks are just better at something than others. These are the same folks that nothing is ever thier fault.


Same Lake
Same Fish
Same lures avail


Why can "8 people catch them, and the rest can't? The logic is just a joke and it si funny for pages people have avoided referencing this.

Same Lake
Same Fish
Same lures avail

Some people are just not as good a fisherman than others and need excuses to make themselves feel better. 100% an ego thing for people that think they are always the best at something.

Bairn... what a joke that last little thing you said was. Passive aggressive people are just people that cant handle a real conversation because they have no content. You have the same access to baits and lures as anyone fishing Harris/Jordan Fall... "Nice try though"

[old4runner]

Info about Wake Boat affects on lakes done this year by the Universuty of Minnesota.

Some of this stuff posted here is just fairytales vs science and what is so sad is folks will justify it somehow and they study will be wrong to them.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/0...xoCv1gQAvD_BwE

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/0...uce-size-power


Same Lake
Same Fish
Same lures avail

You guys keep up with the cute little quips to win internet points but the data does not support anything you say. Fish surveys prove the fish are still there. Wake boat studies show thier affect. Wake boats upset the cover and the bank most are probably beating.

[Bairn]

Say what you want we are all fishing the same water. Some people are just not as good as others. Some deal with it well while some make every excuse because they think they should be the best at everything.


Same Lake
Same Fish
Same lures avail

Oh my god the things people will tell themselves when they can't come to grips when some folks are just better at something than others. These are the same folks that nothing is ever thier fault.


Same Lake
Same Fish
Same lures avail


Why can "8 people catch them, and the rest can't? The logic is just a joke and it si funny for pages people have avoided referencing this.

Same Lake
Same Fish
Same lures avail

Some people are just not as good a fisherman than others and need excuses to make themselves feel better. 100% an ego thing for people that think they are always the best at something.

Bairn... what a joke that last little thing you said was. Passive aggressive people are just people that cant handle a real conversation because they have no content. You have the same access to baits and lures as anyone fishing Harris/Jordan Fall... "Nice try though"

Morning, 4runner.
You’re an early bird.
Thanks for education on “passive-aggressive” thing. I saw last thread was closed due to a more “aggressive” post telling us we all “sux”, so we want to avoid that.
I would love to dive in and have a chat with you about an obviously evolving/devolving lake, but I have a load of pallets, xmas trees, brush, and cement to deliver this morning.
After that, I’m pulling out my binoculars to go “sight-fishing” as I spend the day following my favorite local tournament anglers as they ply their trade much more effectively than I seem capable.
We can always learn something…