How to deal with Fishing Pressure

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Many of us live and fish in residential areas and our only time to spend fishing is on the weekends. Unfortunately we are in the same boat as all the other weekend boaters and fishermen as well as  wave runners, skiers etc. Fortunately the first couple of hours you only have to deal with other fisherman, then at about 9:00 or 10:00 the pleasure boaters and wave runners get started into full swing.

Nothing is more aggravating than someone on a wave runner not paying any attention to where they are going and the next thing you know they are running straight at you turning away leaving a wall of water in your face, or showing up at your favorite fishing spot only to find another boater landing a fish as you pull up.

A few things that I do to deal with pressures from other fisherman or boaters is pretty simple. As far as other fisherman are concerned I will try to get an earlier start than most, especially if I am going to a popular area. If you change the times you arrive at the boat ramp for a few weekends you will notice what time the majority of fisherman show up. You will be amazed what a difference 15 minutes will make. It’s much like driving in rush hour on your way to work. You know that if you leave your house 15 to 20 minutes one way or the other it makes a huge difference on the amount of time it takes you to get to your destination.

There is also a few tactics you can use to deal with fishing pressure. If you are fishing an area with other fisherman around you will have learned that the fish will usually only bite for about an hour or two. Once the bite slows down the other fisherman will typically start moving on. At this point there are two things you can do, either stay on the area or move on then come back. I have found in many instances that once all the other fishermen are gone and the water settles down for awhile the fish will start to eat again. Now it is time to change up your bait or retrieve and continue catching the group of fish. You also may want to try moving around within the area. If the fish are somewhat uneasy from the pressures of the day they will usually move slightly bot not far.

The way I deal with other pleasure boat traffic is to plan my day around where the majority of the boat traffic occurs. In other words I won’t fish on a main water hump at 1:00 in the afternoon. While sometimes if you are on a bunch of fish you may just need to stick it out and deal with the traffic but it has to be worth it to me. I will usually try to start on any main lake areas first thing in the morning and then move to more remote areas as the day progresses.

A few other tips for dealing with pressure:

• Change your bait-If there is a popular bait in your area, try changing the style, size, or color of the bait.
• Line size-Try to downsize with the minimum line size you can comfortably fish in each situation
• Weight size-Try to use the lightest weight possible and still maintain your desired lure action
• Slightly move off of your area-In most cases the fish will still bite but the pressure has moved them a short distance away from the main area.
• Come back-After the other fishermen have gotten discouraged and left try staying or coming back once the pressure has slowed.

Boat traffic on the weekends will not go away. If you follow some of these tips it may help with your frustrations. try thinking outside of the box, be different you may enjoy a better day on the water.

Enjoy your fishing day!!