Got a question......

[BIGG ANT]

Got a question for you guys out there that's been on this earth for some time....Have you fished a lake that had received a ton of fishing pressure before the spawn that the lake never bounced back? I ask this question because there is a lake out here that used to get pounded to death in the winter when the fish would move in around the 15-25ft range to feed heavily on baitfish that were seen in massive schools around the docks. This lake is known for its huge crappie,bass,bluegill and catfish but the last few years it seems the crappie and gills have just disappeared. Some people say that a lake goes through a time like that and then it will usually bounce back but I'm thinking with the numbers of fish that would get pulled out of there, that it really took a toll on the crappie and gills and the lake will never be the same. It's so strange because anywhere you went on this lake, you would find crappie in massive schools to the point where your fish finder would just have a black screen because that were that many fish beneath your boat. The old timers said back in the days,you could literally fill a garbage can full to the top with monster gills and crappie if you wanted to. So I'm wondering whats so different now then back then....where did the fish go?

[anvil]

How big is this lake? If it is fished that hard I thou it will ever be the same. I have seen big 10 acre + farm pounds ruined from over fishing. Now all that is left is stunned fish and nothing to eat them. It's all about balance big fish eat little one and it keeps nature in check.. Will it come back I don't know.

[Eager Beaver]

Just as with life and the seasons, it has cycles that it goes through. The cycle here is every 4 years and the fish will change from quite a few big ones to having to catch 10 to get one keeper. Then it will go back to catching almost all big ones again. Fishing pressure will affect fish tho to a certain extent. But if the spot is a good one the fish will come back. EB

[BIGG ANT]

How big is this lake? If it is fished that hard I thou it will ever be the same. I have seen big 10 acre + farm pounds ruined from over fishing. Now all that is left is stunned fish and nothing to eat them. It's all about balance big fish eat little one and it keeps nature in check.. Will it come back I don't know.

43,000 acres and over a 100 miles of shoreline

[anvil]

43,000 acres and over a 100 miles of shoreline

I agree with Mr. eager beaver. the lake is big enough to recover

[cevans]

Is it full of gizzard shad?

[Fisherman123]

I agree with Mr. eager beaver. the lake is big enough to recover

I agree too

[BIGG ANT]

Is it full of gizzard shad?

Threadfin shad.....Use to see them in bait balls by the thousands but not like that anymore. In the past few years there have been massive die-offs of shad and its really starting to become noticable to the fishery.

[snake River]

I agree with the guys above your Lake will come back.

[jimmie]

it will come back