White or green lights for night fishing???

[J-Doc]

People that catch 100 plus and keep them every trip they go........are LITERALLY part of the problem on this lake.  If they think they do not put a dent in the population, they are fooling themselves.  If they had banner days and caught 100+ fish in 6 trips, that's over 600 fish.  Yes, there are thousands of fish in the lake of all species.  When you take out 600-1,000 by yourself, that's a dent.

 

Not many if ANY bass angler keeps a bass on this lake.  Heaven forbid someone actually kept a bass.  Especially a spotted bass of which the AGFC encourages to help increase the length and size of the spotted bass population through game management. 

I'm no biologist by any means but someone keeping 100+ fish in multiple trips seems like a bad thing to me.

[Blll]

Amen to not needing to keep 100's of white bass. In my past "yankee" life there would be annual spring white bass runs in many rivers. The slaughter was a horror to watch as you would find shores littered with white bass killed but never filleted. I have never found such a concentration of whites here but I'm sure it happens.  My concern on the removal of size limit on spots is that many small LM get kept. I think it is easier to tell a small striper from a white bass than to tell a spot from a LM. JMO. I like to eat fish but do return all bass. 

I've noticed this year, several small tournaments having their weigh-in near the Rt. 12 ramp. I have found many dead bass floating around our boat dock in the nearby cove.

Just sayn'

How did we get here on a night light thread? Sorry.

[Stump bumper]

On 6/12/2016 at 0:35 PM, Vinsott said:

  They had to catch 100 or more fish using the same shad we were. Pretty sure they kept them all except for one of the really big fish that took about 15 minutes to get in. Maybe a big gar???? 

Just wondering where you got your bait? Was the lights bring up shad or minnows? My thought is maybe the fish were just targeting the baitfish around the lights and ignoring the shad if that is not what was around the lights. I have got to pick up one of those umbrella nets. Are the shad easy to catch at night around other lights? 

I only have one green light but thinking about getting out this week. 

[J-Doc]

3 hours ago, Blll said:

How did we get here on a night light thread? Sorry.

Sorry that was me.  I just hate to see someone keep 100+ fish on a consistent basis in such a short time span.

 

ANd yes, my last trip I saw a 4lb large mouth floating dead down the main lake. He had been dead for a few days.  He did not die of old age either.

[jdelow77]

I've seen guys fish the white bass run at twin bridges in shifts , a few get there in the morning ( worked 3rd shift ) and would fish until some guys came around 4 or so , then they would leave and those Guys would fish until dark ! I saw them carrying out two stingers with what looked like it was easily 100 white bass on them , hell they had to wrap them around a log to carry them out ...

[Vinsott]

Stump, we got the bait right under the boat .  They were nice threadfin. I had a much harder time catching bait this time then the others?? The "Lake Raper" used a couple of nets   that you lower down and leave there and once in a while would pull it up and get out the shad that gilled themselves. I don't think the gilled bait lives as long but it didn't seem to matter with the amount of fish that guy catches. Maybe he owns a buffet restaurant and uses the fish there???? Or maybe he grinds them up and makes commercial cat food. Just bothers the heck out of me when people are so greedy. I do have to say whatever his trick is, he sure knows how to night fish.

[J-Doc]

I'd say he does know how to catch them.

I've read here where not just 10-15 years ago, people would load them in the boat so high they couldn't walk in the boat during the white bass run.  I seriously think the fishery does not have that population anymore.  The "no limit" on whites could eventually be lifted but that's for the AGFC to decide after further testing and research.  Probably not there yet (just a guess)

I've never had much luck using threadfins as they don't live long at all and man are they a messy fish with tiny scales everywhere!

I've thought about going to the bridge and night fishing this year.  I had panned on it but I've lost about all interest in fishing this year.  It's to the point that when I'm on my way to the lake, I'm wishing I had stayed in bed or not even bothered.  That means it's time for me to take a very serious break from Beaver and fishing in general.  I just don't enjoy it like I used to thanks to some of the rude people on the lake, the lake itself being the constant mystery that it is, and I think I have just lived & breathed it so long that I need a break.

[Stump bumper]

J-Doc I know how you feel, been there did that. When I first moved here there were small bass clubs of 10-15 boats that would meet at restaurants and share information and everyone was friends and it was more of a social outing experience. Then the money got to be the focus the clubs grew, the area grew and I left my boat in the garage for about 3 years only going out with a friend now and then.

Staying away from the tournaments and fishing during non peak times has got me back into fishing but I don't think I will ever having the feeling I did back in 2004-2008 time frame. If you are burned out then getting out in the day time in the summer is not a good idea but some midnight fishing over lights is always relaxing, I prefer to tie up to a tree around point 5 then the bridge and hope for a big fish then to get into the crowd but it is a longer drive.

Hope to see you back on the lake when you are ready. 

[Old plug]

J DOC I am wig you 100 %. I hate to see what is going on now days on all our major impoundments, I have sort of been taking a break from fishing myself. Mostly forced by health issues. But I am thinking very strongly about buying a home on a private 12-13 acre lake where boats do roar all over and there will be not any big  

shots dressed in clown colors running around, You can still catch a lot of nice bass and crappie on LOZ but I am very tight lipped now days about where, when and how because by far the largest proportion of these people do not  how to handle fish and could care less about conservation. It is all about being cool and competitive. 

[Blll]

Wow J-Doc. When I first move here 3 years ago you sent me my OAF sticker and were so proud of your restored boat and then your new ranger and then your electronics that you mastered. What happened? I was turned off last year when the high water kept me from my boat all summer but got the fever again when I killed the stripers all winter.  Just go out and have fun on the water. Catching fish is a bonus. Hope you find it again, miss your threads.  ( and golf will drive you crazy)