This is purely my opinion but it has been deduced from having fished the lake for 20 years, though many were spent in my chilhood. The story begins in 1981, first bass was caught on the west side of indian island on a red bloodline worm, t-rigged, it went about 2lb's, although my dad told me it was 4lbs, nevertheless it was huge to me. For ther next12-13 years we fished that lake almost exclusively. In the summer we would go out 2-4 times a week. 1-3lbr's were the standard, but 10-15 fish a night would be good, granted we weren't exactly bass fishing guru's. Right before the lake filled I moved to Texas for 4 years and pretty much missed the whole big bass extravaganza when the lake filled. I even remember Bassmaster magazine rating Pleasant #13 in the country for bass fishing while I was over there.
I believe the reason for the big boom of big fish and eventual decline is attributed to the "new lake effect". Once Pleasant flooded all the new vegetation it created a new lake essentially. The influx of vegetation created a rich environment for the food chain. Not only did plankton probably boom, but so did the insects that feed on it, then the bream that feed on the plankton and insects, as well as the shad, and the game fish followed the increase in food source. Small fish and big fish as well had a lot more structure to hide in, basically it was a huge fish pro-creation boom.
Years go by and the lake stabalizes itself. Vegetation deterioates, and the amount of prey vs. hunter stabalizes. Hence we are back to what Pleasant was 15-20 years ago. It is similar to why does'nt Bartlett produce many smallmounth. Horeshoe and the Verde River feed it, and both are loaded with smallmouth, yet you never catch any at Bartlett.
Pleasant is at equilibrium, that is the basic characteristic of each lake. I know guys hawling off 10#'rs, and a bunch of T's does'nt help, but it sure is not the main factor in the decline of big fish at Pleasant. I disagree with BBD's due to the type of anglers it attracts and their resulting lack of care of the fish. I'm not against bed fishing, I'm against negligent care of the fish. Each lake has it's own characteristic, throw some trout in Pleasant and see what happens, that could be interesting. If you look at the highest average weight of fish or a limit of fish it is usually, Canyon, Saguaro, or Apache. The main difference is these lakes have a stable water level throughout the year. Scientifically I have no idea what that means, but it sure is definitive. Again, this is purely my opinion and I encourage any other ideas since it really is a complicated issue.
Best of luck!
I believe the reason for the big boom of big fish and eventual decline is attributed to the "new lake effect". Once Pleasant flooded all the new vegetation it created a new lake essentially. The influx of vegetation created a rich environment for the food chain. Not only did plankton probably boom, but so did the insects that feed on it, then the bream that feed on the plankton and insects, as well as the shad, and the game fish followed the increase in food source. Small fish and big fish as well had a lot more structure to hide in, basically it was a huge fish pro-creation boom.
Years go by and the lake stabalizes itself. Vegetation deterioates, and the amount of prey vs. hunter stabalizes. Hence we are back to what Pleasant was 15-20 years ago. It is similar to why does'nt Bartlett produce many smallmounth. Horeshoe and the Verde River feed it, and both are loaded with smallmouth, yet you never catch any at Bartlett.
Pleasant is at equilibrium, that is the basic characteristic of each lake. I know guys hawling off 10#'rs, and a bunch of T's does'nt help, but it sure is not the main factor in the decline of big fish at Pleasant. I disagree with BBD's due to the type of anglers it attracts and their resulting lack of care of the fish. I'm not against bed fishing, I'm against negligent care of the fish. Each lake has it's own characteristic, throw some trout in Pleasant and see what happens, that could be interesting. If you look at the highest average weight of fish or a limit of fish it is usually, Canyon, Saguaro, or Apache. The main difference is these lakes have a stable water level throughout the year. Scientifically I have no idea what that means, but it sure is definitive. Again, this is purely my opinion and I encourage any other ideas since it really is a complicated issue.
Best of luck!