I live in the panhandle of Texas and I’m new to bass fishing but I do know that without a doubt one of the best bass lakes we have is Lake Alan Henry. Having said that I’ve fished the lake twice in the spawn and haven’t had hardly any luck. When I ask guys about the lake they say it’s a hard lake to fish and I guess I don’t know what they mean by that. Most lakes in the panhandle are rocky cliffs with flooded mesquite bushes and I can catch fish at those lakes. Alan Henry doesn’t seem much different. So I guess my question is, is what makes a lake “hard to fish”?

Guys who say a lake is hard to fish mean that they can't catch fish there.  I fish a lake in the spring where I can literally catch 100 fish a day. That's an easy lake to fish. In the summer and fall, I can barely catch anything at the same lake. Then, it's a hard lake to fish. If you know what you are doing and spend enough time, you figure out what to do and the lake becomes an easy lake to fish.

Ice.

A-Jay

Too many Humans fishin!  ?

55 minutes ago, Lil Joe The Grinder said:

Too many Humans fishin!  ?

With it being Allen Henry I could deffinetly see that lol.

Don't know that lake at all. Just generally speaking. In my opinion, too much fishing pressure is the only thing that makes a lake a hard lake to fish. 

Dried up lakes are very hard to fish.  They are also difficult to launch a boat in.

Probably any lake with cold (35-45 degrees) and muddy water.....even one of those scenarios on any given lake can pose a challenge. Next I would say any lake with heavy local fishing pressure

To label a lake "hard to fish" I think it needs to be an on-going issue.  All lakes can be hard to fish at some point or another but to really be considered a tough lake, it needs to be hard to fish on a consistent basis.  The lakes I am going to in Wisconsin next week are hard to fish and have been that way for the last 5 years.  Why???  Because they decided to kill off all of the aquatic grass growth and the fishing tanked.  It is slowly coming back (the fishing) but it is still "tough."   There usually is an issue you have to negotiate to catch fish on a tough lake.  The key is finding out what makes it tough.  

The bass are always biting somewhere... it's our job to find somewhere!

 

Alan Henry is "hard" to fish because most of the fishing is deep water structure fishing.

 

When faced with fishing deep water structure you'll lose 75-80% of all anglers.

 

Add to that it's the dog days of summer & you lose even more anglers.

36 minutes ago, Catt said:

The bass are always biting somewhere... it's our job to find somewhere!

 

Alan Henry is "hard" to fish because most of the fishing is deep water structure fishing.

 

When faced with fishing deep water structure you'll lose 75-80% of all anglers.

 

Add to that it's the dog days of summer & you lose even more anglers.

That must be it. Alan Henry is know for big fish and a lot of fish but like you said it’s mostly submerged brush and stick ups but not a lot of visible cover.

1 hour ago, Brendon said:

not a lot of visible cover

 

There's plenty of "visible" cover!

 

Ya just see on your electronics!  ?

There's a couple lakes that are crystal clear, and very steep.  You can be 20' off the shoreline and in 40' water.  Weeds grow to around 30' deep and might be 10-15' tall.  If you can locate creek channels in some of the rare flats areas, just ply it with jigs, and you'll grind it out.  The other pattern here is wood laydowns.  Blast them with jigs, T-rigs, or even spinnerbaits for a few bites.  Don't bother fishing between 10 AM and 7 PM.  Bass are almost dormant during those hours.  Troll deep for lakers to pass the time.

Around here it's fishing pressure.

Crystal clear conditions is #1 toughest condition for me.