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Author Topic: fishing down a lake  (Read 6134 times)

seamonkey84

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #15 on: Jun 09, 2018, 09:03 AM »

After having lived in New England and seeing the intense colors of the trees in the fall I moved to Indiana. I heard people bragging about the fall colors in Nashville, Indiana. Having gone to college in Bloomington, Indiana not from there, and seeing them, I couldn't stop laughing. No comparison. Not even close!
Fall is a beautiful time out here. I love being outdoors, both hunting and fishing.




"You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something." - Mitch Hedberg

taxid

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #16 on: Jun 09, 2018, 10:39 AM »
Amazing how the male brook trout's spawning colors in the fall seem to mimic the colors of the trees isn't it?

I learned something fascinating about the fall colors of the leaves a while back some of you may not know. Those colors you see are always there but are covered by the green of choryphyll caused by photosynthesis during the spring and summer.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

RoeBoat

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #17 on: Jun 11, 2018, 12:23 PM »
I'm not a trout fisherman but d**n they are beautiful!!!

taxid

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #18 on: Jun 11, 2018, 03:00 PM »
I'm not a trout fisherman but d**n they are beautiful!!!

As a taxidermist when I paint a male brookie in spawning colors what really makes them pop are the blue halos with the red dot in the center. I paint the halo a silvery blue and then put the dot in the center with a red sharpie.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

seamonkey84

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #19 on: Jun 11, 2018, 03:41 PM »
As a taxidermist when I paint a male brookie in spawning colors what really makes them pop are the blue halos with the red dot in the center. I paint the halo a silvery blue and then put the dot in the center with a red sharpie.

I love the fine details in their coloring


"You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something." - Mitch Hedberg

taxid

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #20 on: Jun 11, 2018, 08:49 PM »
I love the fine details in their coloring



Me too! Repainting the vermiculations (worm like markings) on the back will separate the men from the boys. Interestingly a Mass biologist told me there is a native strain of brookies in the Berkshires that have no vermiculations on the back. And if you really want to stand out one can repaint the tiny silver scales in the midsection with a hand brush!
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

indianahooker

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #21 on: Jun 12, 2018, 06:08 AM »
you taxidermist guys are definitely artists!!!!!!!

taxid

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #22 on: Jun 12, 2018, 08:10 AM »
It can be learned if you have an intimate knowledge of fish as how they should look, which comes with being a fanatic angler, and if you have basic artistic ability.  I've won blue ribbons and best painted fish trophies given out by the paint companies, but I don't consider myself especially gifted at art. Another attribute you need is to want to constantly improve and soak up anything you can that will make you a better taxidermist. A willingness to swallow your pride and take constructive criticism at state, national, and world competitions really hones our craft. OTOH some people take the competition thing too far.

I did get A's in basic art classes in grade school and my mom being the stern practical German she is, said, "Dat's art. Dat doesn't count. You need to do vell in something dat will make moooooney!

O.K. back to the topic of the thread: Fishing down a lake.

 
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

indianahooker

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #23 on: Jun 13, 2018, 07:36 AM »
I strongly believe even panfish can be fished down in smaller lakes especially if there is no bag limit as in bluegills. Sure you won't get them all but you sure can decimate the larger males on the beds. I've seen people come through and pull every last male off the beds. A busy colony ends up fishless. Same goes for crappies. I fish a lake that is rimed with bullrushes the crappies spawn in. I've seen pontoon boats scour every little opening all the way around the lake and with 10 people aboard they can keep up to 250 fish. They obviously don't get them all but the sizes seem to go down over the years. 


i have seen two older guys on three different lakes this spring.  thats all they were doing.  searched the entire lake shore for bedding fish.  then they loaded up the boat and headed to another lake im sure. that kind of fishing can surly put a huge dent in the population.  i would be in favor of some law prohibiting that.  maybe closed season for a month or 6 weeks?  im not convinced about a gill limit though, especially if they are allowed to spawn unmolested. 

i dont walleye fish much but i know they get fished hard on some lakes.  how much better could that be with lower takes?  i read a lot about hurshtown on here.  that isnt very big at all but supposed to be good fishing?  how could it be such a great walleye water with people working it over so much?  unless its just a ruse?  lots of restrictions there though, maybe not many fish it?  a place like monroe would be hard to hurt but not so with the tiny waters of the northern half of the state. IMO

ironic that fishing sites hurt the fishing


bigr

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #24 on: Jun 13, 2018, 09:31 AM »
We've discussed this topic many times on here and we hear the same opinions, that's ok with me so here is my opinion. I've been fishing all my 58 yrs. Most of those yrs very hard, harder than most. From what I've seen over the yrs the fishing pressure is nothing compared to yrs ago when people fished for food and everyone fished. There were good lakes and bad even back then and there was even less harvest laws than there is now. I never saw a lake fished down or even size changed from large to small but can say when the fishing pressure remand high on a giving lake the size tended to grow with numbers dropping. The really BIG change I've seen that I'm convinced has change the fishing is water quality. We no longer have many lakes that stay free of crap vegetation, alga blooms, stained water. Some of the lakes I still fish today used to have wild rice, clean growing weed edges, bull rushes and other things. The fishing in my opinion now is just as good as ever if not better than long ago. The people fishing with all the tech that is out there are relying on the equipment and aren't working at adjusting to the changes in the lake they fish or the species they fish for. Time on the water is the key and most don't have time or wiliness to commit. I know Indiana has some very good waters for pan fish, you just have to find them just like many yrs ago. We may not have as many good lakes as some of the other states that we get compared too, but I like to think percentage wise we are right with them. The Short of this is in my opinion is the there is no need for closed seasons or limits, a lake can't be fished out or even down anymore because of fishing pressure. Quality will only return to giving lake if water quality changes or learning how to find the quality fish. fish               

taxid

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #25 on: Jun 13, 2018, 09:32 AM »
i have seen two older guys on three different lakes this spring.  thats all they were doing.  searched the entire lake shore for bedding fish.  then they loaded up the boat and headed to another lake im sure. that kind of fishing can surly put a huge dent in the population.  i would be in favor of some law prohibiting that.  maybe closed season for a month or 6 weeks?  im not convinced about a gill limit though, especially if they are allowed to spawn unmolested. 

i dont walleye fish much but i know they get fished hard on some lakes.  how much better could that be with lower takes?  i read a lot about hurshtown on here.  that isnt very big at all but supposed to be good fishing?  how could it be such a great walleye water with people working it over so much?  unless its just a ruse?  lots of restrictions there though, maybe not many fish it?  a place like monroe would be hard to hurt but not so with the tiny waters of the northern half of the state. IMO

ironic that fishing sites hurt the fishing

I was once fishing Clear Lake in the fall when the big bluegills stack up in the hole on the other side of the bay the Marina is on. It doesn't happen every year but when it does they are very vulnerable. Whenever I showed up there was a retired guy anchored their pulling in fish. Didn't matter what time or day -- he was there. Once got there before first light and he was already there! Anyway we got to talking and he said he drove all the way over from Mishawaka. Said he had taken a couple thousand bluegill and crappie out in the last three weeks. Bragged about giving them away to the neighbors as he hated cleaning and eating fish. I had to bite my tongue as that rubbed me the wrong way.

As far as fishing sites hurting fish please don't take this the wrong way. Why are we here then?  Seems people like to brag about their catch but won't give out too much details as in where and how, but that seems kind of shallow don't you think?
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #26 on: Jun 13, 2018, 09:34 AM »
We've discussed this topic many times on here and we hear the same opinions, that's ok with me so here is my opinion. I've been fishing all my 58 yrs. Most of those yrs very hard, harder than most. From what I've seen over the yrs the fishing pressure is nothing compared to yrs ago when people fished for food and everyone fished. There were good lakes and bad even back then and there was even less harvest laws than there is now. I never saw a lake fished down or even size changed from large to small but can say when the fishing pressure remand high on a giving lake the size tended to grow with numbers dropping. The really BIG change I've seen that I'm convinced has change the fishing is water quality. We no longer have many lakes that stay free of crap vegetation, alga blooms, stained water. Some of the lakes I still fish today used to have wild rice, clean growing weed edges, bull rushes and other things. The fishing in my opinion now is just as good as ever if not better than long ago. The people fishing with all the tech that is out there are relying on the equipment and aren't working at adjusting to the changes in the lake they fish or the species they fish for. Time on the water is the key and most don't have time or wiliness to commit. I know Indiana has some very good waters for pan fish, you just have to find them just like many yrs ago. We may not have as many good lakes as some of the other states that we get compared too, but I like to think percentage wise we are right with them. The Short of this is in my opinion is the there is no need for closed seasons or limits, a lake can't be fished out or even down anymore because of fishing pressure. Quality will only return to giving lake if water quality changes or learning how to find the quality fish. fish               

BigR,

There once was a bag limit on bluegills, speed limits on all the lakes, closed season for bass, and even bluegill beds were roped off. You just have to go back far enough.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

bigr

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #27 on: Jun 13, 2018, 01:40 PM »
I  far back as I can recall a limit on crappie which I think was 50 later changed to 25 and a limit created during my time on red ear. I may very well be mistaken on both and yes there could have been many different bag limits before my time. Back then I would say limits may have been needed because of the fishing pressure. You mentioned your experience on clear. I would bet 30 yrs ago you would have seen 5 or more old guys working it over. I say that from experience on the lakes I fished many yrs ago. Same lakes hardly get fished anymore and the fishing is no better or no worse. Location and techniques and equipment used has changed due to water condition changing. Here's an example of what I think proves my thinking. Bass Lake, when there was/are weeds then fishing is much better for the majority. It's just easier to find and figure them out. When the weeds are gone because the water quality changes the fishing drops off for most. A few can say it's as good as ever because they now how to change to the conditions. The DNR still stocks nearly as many, fish are in there. Requires the time and effort.   

seamonkey84

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #28 on: Jun 13, 2018, 04:49 PM »
Many times people are complaining about fewer fish around, but many times it’s more of an imbalance in the population of their target species compared to the total fish mass in the water. There could be just much more competition for their preferred species but there’s a ton of “junk” fish.
"You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something." - Mitch Hedberg

indianahooker

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Re: fishing down a lake
« Reply #29 on: Jun 13, 2018, 06:39 PM »
there is no need for closed seasons or limits, a lake can't be fished out or even down anymore because of fishing pressure. Quality will only return to giving lake if water quality changes or learning how to find the quality fish. fish               

 there are only so many fish in the keeper size range in a given lake arent there?  thousands get taken out, by hordes of fishermen chasing the grapevine, but they dont get fished down?  that defies logic.  with the new electronics, it can only get worse. i dont understand how you can think that way.  maybe people dont fish as much where you fish, but they sure do around this part of the state.  everyone has their opinion though.

taxid,
what are we doing here?  good question really.
  i started reading fishing sites on the internet around 99.  i found a load of good reading with piles of pictures and info.  friendly people willing to share and i did the same.  seems there were a lot more posts back then.  what is there now about 3 doz that posters on here anymore?  some sites are still big but not as big as they were.  i didnt see the internet as shallow back then. i seen it as anglers sharing knowledge and of course bragging along with it. lol but now with just a few pics and no details it kinda does.  i try to say how i caught them, but not where i caught them.  for the most part though, i just dont report too often anymore. fishing sites and i believe the internet in general has changed a lot since then.  i have a few friends that dont even get on fishing sites anymore. 

 



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