Yes they are Mennonites. They do take some hogs out as well as good solid fish.
Yes they are Mennonites. They do take some hogs out as well as good solid fish.
Originally Posted by Ryan
Everything that bites!
I don't think they are the downturn of the fishery though. It has received tremendous amount of pressure both recreational and tourney fisherman alike. Heck, there's 3-4 local tourneys EVERY week 8 months out of the year. The other 4 months there's at least one. The tourney organizer(s) need to be more aware of the pressure their little tourneys are putting on the lake. They like the money now but people will quit showing up to fish their little derbys if the fishing keeps declining.
No fear though, it's in a down cycle now but mother nature will take care of itself and it will bounce back in a few years.
Phoenix 721 - Yamaha SHO 250 - 8' Blades
Not trying to get into a peeing match but if somebody has a 10-15 boat tourny and fish go back into the lake. Or you have a ton of pleasure fisherman that hook a ton of fish and they go back. Not a ton of difference. I know being in a live well can be hard on fish but I rarely loose a fish in the live well. I know how down cycles work and up cycles work on a lake. But take a ton of fish out everyday during a down cycle makes it that much tougher for mother nature to do her thing.
I don't think they are the downturn of the fishery though. It has received tremendous amount of pressure both recreational and tourney fisherman alike. Heck, there's 3-4 local tourneys EVERY week 8 months out of the year. The other 4 months there's at least one. The tourney organizer(s) need to be more aware of the pressure their little tourneys are putting on the lake. They like the money now but people will quit showing up to fish their little derbys if the fishing keeps declining.
No fear though, it's in a down cycle now but mother nature will take care of itself and it will bounce back in a few years.
I think delayed mortality of tournament fish is much higher than most tournament fisherman realize. I personally think 30-50% of bass in summertime tournaments die. Sure they swim off, but they don't make it. I have seen hundreds of dead bass the day after a tournament on a lake here in Ohio. I looked up the results and they only had 3 dead bass that resulted in penalties.
Even more so than the livewell, I think most fish get stressed beyond repair in weigh bags. Too many people don't put enough water in the bags. How many times have you seen people with a splash of water and two fish? Those fish deplete the available oxygen in a minute or two and people stand in line for 10 minutes. Bigger tournaments have tanks or limit how many bags are allowed in line. It is the small pot tournaments that have horrible fish care. And people rest the bags on the smoking hot asphalt, so their lazy butt doesn't have to hold it.
Last edited by bassnpro1; 08-31-2017 at 09:33 AM.
Then don't. Not sure what it would be about either. Basically agreed with you but being local and on the lake a lot, I pointed out something I feel as a bigger detriment to the lake.
Either way, there's still a lot of fish to be caught in the lake but not like it was 5-10 years ago. It will cycle back to what it once was in the coming years.
Phoenix 721 - Yamaha SHO 250 - 8' Blades
I hope your right but i can name several local lakes that never bounced back! Green used to be terrible, white bass die off changed it almost overnight. Cumberland? Without the work on the dam it would be in death throes right now. What is going to keep Barren down and out is the drastic water fluctuations, i'm expecting it to be like Rough or Nolin for several years if it ever recovers.
The whites are making a big comeback in green (they started stocking again), im just hoping it doesnt kill the bass fishing back to the way it was 10+ years ago but its very possible. Not sure if its that or the 100000 tournament boats there every weekend from feb-sept, but weve all noticed a slight fall off in the summertime weights. Seeing whats caught out there on a weekly basis and considering you cant catch a fish that doesnt have a cull buoy hole in its mouth after may, i cant believe that small lake keeps turning them out the way it does. I expect a barren like dropoff in the next couple years
They aint got hands, set the hook
I grew up a mile from Green and can attest to how terrible it was. I remember when it was first turning on, hearing some of the reports i immediately laughed them off. I was wrong and honestly I hope it can be managed to stay in the shape it has been lately. What you describe about cull holes is a very good indicator of the stress the fish are getting and has been noticed on Barren for a while now. Green still gets half the pressure Barren does (at least what i've noticed) but i'm not on it like you are either so i miss a lot. Hope it never returns to what it was but i'm glad that you shared your thoughts on what Barren could see in the future. No guarantees it will ever return, especially with the drawdown.
The pressure through the week is what blows my mind, not even considering the 75-100 tourny boats that are here every weekend. They all see a bait at some point during the year and a lot of them can tell ya what color worm is coming by. Imo barren fishes bigger than green because the creeks come into play year round and thats not so much the case here. Weve had to completely alter how we catch em from years past but a few guys can still catch em consistently
They aint got hands, set the hook
I had a new water pump put into my motor by shop near barren. Last time I was there was in June and had a decent day. I got on the water at 8:30 fished up Skaggs and beaver. Water looked good. Temp 73-75. I tried shallow and deep. Boated 0 bass left at 1:30, killed a limit of dove by 4 pm.
RANGER BOATS
Just to put in my 2 cents. I'm on barren a lot. 2 weekends a month at least. Know lots of local guys. 1 keeper is a good solid day for me. Killed the short fish last week on a shad red eye. It's not good. That is for sure. Oh and they are Amish. In buggies. I'm a mechanic. The Mennonites I know have turbo diesel pickups
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