21 hours ago, Bird said:

Cottonwood trees 

yep' Having to clean the line every cast or two is a pita.

1: drawing a blank

2: can’t think of anything

3: N/A

4: answer unclear

5: ask again later 

1. Crowds.

2. Inconsiderate anglers on the water.

3. Getting skunked.

4. Lightning and hail.  Wind and rain I can deal with.

5. Treble hooks getting into things they shouldn't.

So many of you listed wind. That's my number one.

 

Number two would be living so close to the North Atlantic, which means we slooooooooowly warm up in the spring. It was 41 degrees when I launched this morning and it's mid-May. 

 

I worry I'll tip in April, May, October, and November and won't be able to reach the shore before cold takes me. I'm not a strong swimmer. 

 

Like @king fisher, I have bought more gear than I'll ever use.

 

My age. It gets harder to tie knots, carry a canoe, fish two days in a row, etc. 

52 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Number two would be living so close to the North Atlantic, which means we slooooooooowly warm up in the spring. It was 41 degrees when I launched this morning and it's mid-May. 

 

 We are a fair distance away from the Atlantic Ocean,

and May mornings are still often quite nippy. 

 

A-Jay

Dropshot

No wind

Full Sun

Summer Heat

Litter

1. Wake boats

 

2. Jet skis

 

3. Pontoon party boats

 

4. People who are oblivious to their surroundings on the water and at the ramp.

 

5. Lightning

On 5/12/2024 at 3:06 PM, Susky River Rat said:

Kayakers 

 

people leaving trash

 

people who hang out at the boat ramp

 

people who keep fish out of the water to long just for pictures.

 

FFS

 

Two of those are heavy hitters and may have me shunned. Not saying it to spark a debate or to get reactions just answering the question honestly. 

I have a kayak with FFS. I guess we can’t be friends 😢

On 5/12/2024 at 3:50 PM, OmegaDPW said:

 

3. Not really being able to retrieve a stuck lure unless luck is heavily involved.

Bow and arrow technique. Works best when using braid.

13 hours ago, A-Jay said:

May mornings are still often quite nippy

 

Dang, that is cold for May!  We haven't had a morning like that here in MN since about February.

On 5/12/2024 at 3:06 PM, Susky River Rat said:

Kayakers 

 

people leaving trash

 

people who hang out at the boat ramp

 

people who keep fish out of the water to long just for pictures.

 

FFS

 

Two of those are heavy hitters and may have me shunned. Not saying it to spark a debate or to get reactions just answering the question honestly. 

 

 

Yes, the boat ramp is one.

Last year I waited over 20 minutes while some guy and his family packed up all their stuff and stowed it in compartments while the boat was on the trailer on the ramp.  In the middle of it the guy and his wife had a big argument about how some stuff was stored.

Single lane ramp.

Wind is my friend because I always catch big fish in the wind, especially at night. I've learned to like it no matter how windy it is. Lotta things that I didn't like before and now like a lot because all situations have something good about them. Maybe not at first glance but something is there that can have great outcomes, like the wind.

 

Other things that I don't particular like is dirty water, which is usually caused by spraying which I hate with a passion. They do it here in Florida to control the vegetation but often just do it randomly for the sake of whatever. Fisheries that were once pristine and choice can be turned into a barren landscape in a matter of few days. Those once green and thriving fishing spots that took hours to learn get wiped out never to be fished again, lifeless. 

 

I don't particularly like the cheaters in tournament bass fishing, which I've seen a lot of lately. Some of the stuff that they do just amazes me, like cutting off a bass's tail to use on other fish to gain an inch or so for CPR tournaments. We all know about the walleye weight deal. Lotta shady stuff going on out there and I'm sure there's many other things in the works, just hasn't come to light yet.

 

All in all, that's about it. Most everything else that I don't like I've learned to like in some form or another. It's a matter of choice, really. I can choose to not like a lot of stuff and let them all of ruin my day. Then they're in control of me--not gonna happen! I'm in control and can bend and form the outcome of most anything. My choice. And I choose to have good days everyday! 

 

 

 

 

 

@Koz not personal buddy. You do you ain’t going to fault anyone for that. I have friends that kayak and tell them they should have made better life choices. 
 

@BucksBasser my wife and I find joy in driving to blue marsh to watch the boat ramp for that very reason. It’s much more entertaining when you aren’t the one waiting.

2 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

@Koz not personal buddy. You do you ain’t going to fault anyone for that. I have friends that kayak and tell them they should have made better life choices. 

 

 

I know. I'm just having a little fun! Sometimes I can't help but be snarky.

 

But I bit my tongue about the comment about kids and PDF's. I know he meant PFD's. I just couldn't think of a good joke.

@Koz no worries! I just don’t want anyone to think just because my opinion is different that I won’t associate myself with someone. 

23 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

@Koz not personal buddy. You do you ain’t going to fault anyone for that. I have friends that kayak and tell them they should have made better life choices. 
 

@BucksBasser my wife and I find joy in driving to blue marsh to watch the boat ramp for that very reason. It’s much more entertaining when you aren’t the one waiting.

 

 

You should hike around the shoreline trails.  Sometimes you can retrieve $50 in Rapalas cast into the bushes.  I've even found large salt lures worth $25 apiece.  I can only imagine these coming from kids who raid dad's tackle box.

1.  Wind

2.  Shallow boat ramps

3.  Jet/water skiers

4.  Introduction of smallmouth to a traditionly largemouth fishery

5.   Wind

1.Pontooners

2.Pontooners

3.Pontooners

4.Pontooners

5.Wind

 

1 hour ago, Texas Flood said:

1.Pontooners

2.Pontooners

3.Pontooners

4.Pontooners

5.Wind

 

 

Do pontooners drink too much and talk/laugh too loudly for you?

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Do pontooners drink too much and talk/laugh too loudly for you?

Nope. Instead they usually either fly by us or try to wedge themselves by in-between our boat and the bank.

@Texas Flood I definitely agree with you about the pontooners. (No offense intended to anyone here who uses a pontoon. I don't want to fight. 😆) 

23 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

@Texas Flood I definitely agree with you about the pontooners. (No offense intended to anyone here who uses a pontoon. I don't want to fight. 😆) 

It's just one of those things were all you can do is kinda laugh and move on. It is a smaller private lake with a lot of homeowners who dont fish. At least, that's what I try to remind myself instead of trying to get all worked up about it.

I'll be combining some things that share similarities.

 

1. Snags, mud, and algae/slime. Losing lures and fouling presentations is aggravating. 

 

2. Inclimate weather. High winds make fishing miserable and in some cases dangerous, and winter holes me up for months. 

 

3. Trash and pollution. This one is self explanatory. 

 

4. People and modern society. Disrespectful people who invade your space and cast right over you and next to you. People throwing rocks. People letting their dogs jump into the exact area you're fishing. On and on it goes. Modern society that has seen so, so, so much water bought up, fenced, and posted as private. Shoreline access being bought up and posted. Can't hardly find a place to fish anymore. A boat and a public lake is almost a must anymore. 

 

5. Being skunked. Pretty self explanatory. I fish because I like to catch fish. I can enjoy nature without fishing, and I do. That's not why I'm there. I'm a good angler. I don't know everything though. There's still a lot I could learn. But I don't care to become the best. I like the casual fishing environment. If I get skunked it sucks because I have many other hobbies that I could have been putting time into instead.

On 5/12/2024 at 3:03 PM, Scott F said:

1. The distance I have to travel to get to my preferred bodies of water.

This is my 1. through 5.  

Actually, nothing wrong with bass fishing, but.....I fish for food and bass are not that great to eat.  Most good bass lakes are busy, way to busy for me, I prefer the big lake, more room !   Idiots on the water...smaller lakes concentrate the idiots into a smaller area.  People that have no respect for the water at all, throwing trash in and no respect for other boaters.  Then like most everyone else is ramp courtesy, folks using a busy weekend to learn to backup their boat trailer or...the guy that knows nothing about his boat and motor that ties up the ramp for a day wanting other boaters to help him fix his motor which he knows nothing about !!

If your gonna be a boater....get educated....learn what it takes to make it run and stay running !!   Good fishing to everyone !!

Bass getting relentlessly getting caught off beds. I know most get released, but it can’t be great being caught several times and constantly bothered. 
I’m talking bank fishing at my local channels. I’m sure this doesn’t happen everywhere, but in this particular area it’s constant pressure.

1)  Tournaments!  

2)  Northeast winds

3)  Tournaments!

4)  Boat prices

5)  Tournaments!