Very interesting thread going here. Certainly some valid points. I've been fishing the lake for 50 years myself but in the past few years not much. To many guys and fewer decent fish kinda drove me out of it. Lot of things have changed for sure as illustrated above. Bass fishing is terrible now. Back in the 70's and 80's, 3 and 4 lb smallies were very common. Now that's a monster. But back in 70's 80's we didn't have bass tournaments. Yes crayfish were everywhere. Used to love hunting for them. Now we see none. I was always was a Salmon and Lake trout guy though. Nothing like it. But back in those days of the 70's and 80's there were a fraction of people and fraction of boats on the lake that there are now so things are going to change. Everyone trolled live bait, Fly's, Mooselooks or Chev Chase's. That pretty much all you found in AJ's back then. One thing not mentioned though is how we as fisherman also contribute to stress on the fishery. Back in "old days" most of us all fished in 12-16 ft starcraft rowboats with a 6-15 hsp motor trolling for endless hours with mono or leadcore. Now you see very few of these setups. Everyone is out there in nice 20-26ft cuddy cabins rigged up with fish finders, down riggers, planer boards lures in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Gps for the best trolling speeds and marking the hot spots. Man the fish don't have a chance! All good fun though. For me though, as in last weekend, for spring fishing I have reverted back to that starcraft!
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