[Turtle]

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!

 

[DaveH]

Unlike Turtle, I started fishing Pleasant when it was in it's prime. Throw the biggest c-rigged worm you could get your hands on and 25-50 fish in a trip was average with many fish approaching the 10lb range. I've seen it go from the best lake in the state to what it is now. I'll leave that definition up to you... But, like I stated in the other post about BBD, I don't agree with the timing, the management, or the rules, but fish hanging on walls has a big hand in the current state of Lake Pleasant. Turtle has some good points about the "new lake" syndrome and the effects of nutrients and lake stabilization. Maybe someone can enlighten us more on this topic... I know Denny has done some lengthy research on this. How 'bout it DA????

 

[lotsa luck]

Be honest everyone...

How many of you have a "real" LM on a wall at your house or office?

I'll be first...
Yes we have one. My son took a 12.6 and after letting 2 others over 12 go that he had caught the previous years, I had it mounted for him.
(he has also caught some since, so it wasn't the last one guy's!)

It was from pleasant also.

I've fished the lake since 79 and agree with turtle. I don't fish the BBD's and don't really agree with it's timing, but I'm not about to jump on the slander band wagon for them holding it either.

 

[d a]

No real or replica LM bass on my wall and I've caught my share of big bass.

And lotsa luck, do me a favor and point me to those things said here about BBDs that you know are false and damage Bill Luke's reputation. If you can't, then you're guilty of slandering me and anyone else that posted on this subject.

 

[champ204]

i have a 16 pounder still at the taxidermist.

 

[Lone Ranger]

I guess I'm guilty as charged. I have one bass mounted on the wall that I caught in 1984. It weighed 10 lb. 12 oz. I spent most of my bass fishing life in South Florida where the water temp on Lake Okeechobee reaches 94 ºF in the summer time and where there are parasites you can see on the fish and actually poking out of the fish that reduce their life span. So a 10 lb. bass on Okeechobee is a pretty big fish. My goal back then was to catch and have mounted a 10+ lb. bass, which I accomplished. Since then, I have weighed and released numerous 7 to 10 lb 5 oz. bass. Today, a digital picture and a recorded weight is good enough for me.

 

[Dave King]

I've got two bass from Pleasant (6lbs and 9lbs) caught when I was 9 and 12 years old.

If you think posting about mounting bass could get you into hot water, you should have seen some of the posts I got on another forum for keeping a 12lbs trout out of Lees Fairy They make most of you guys looke tame!

-Dave King

 

[Delw]

Dave they reemed your ass for keeping a gay bass, Thats the funniest thing I have heard of, after all gay bass are specifically put in this state to catch and eat.

As far as keeping bass to me its the choice of the person that caught it and no one else's, Granted I catch and release but if someone wants to keep one more power to them. I know one day I will be putting a few (over 10 lbs)on my wall. I had a few chances this year but couldnt afford the taxidermist so let them go. I personally dont like to eat freshwater fish except walleye, so I have no need to keep any smaller ones.


Delw

 

[DaveH]

Ok, who else has a Lake Pleasant bass on their wall??? Let's fess up! Del, how many? I don't have any mounted, but I am guilty of letting fisherman on my boat take several bass over 9lbs home for mounting. Which is just as bad IMO... We represent a small percentage of fisherman and I think if there was any way to determine how many trophy fish were taken out of the lake we'd all be astounded. I fear that Saguaro and Canyon are headed for the same fate...

 

[lotsa luck]

The crappie spawn is getting ready to happen at rooselvelt and on any given day the "fleet" of 50 to 120 boats is circleing having a great time catching the prime spawning females loaded with eggs. The big attraction is the very large spawning fish, not the thousands of dinks that are also there. Does this mean the crappie population will suffer badly and in a few years be gone. No, in fact, this annual slaughter has been taking place for more years than I can remember and enviromental factors have dictated the fish population and size more than over fishing.

Now I doubt any of us can do anything to keep the water level stable in Pleasant, but if it were kept stable the fishery would be much better off. If what many on here are saying about the Bass Days being so horrible for the LM population of the lake were true, then lakes such as Bartlett, with few, to no large bass, would be completely viod of fish. That's certainly not the case though is it. Once again those tricky enviromental factors beyond our control have decided what the LM population will be.

No surprise, but I don't fish tournaments. I don't dislike those that do though. Having been around the ramps numerous times after the weigh in's seeing MANY dead and dying bass around maybe I should point the finger at those that do fish them. Over the course of the year common sense and simple math indicates they kill far more fish even though they don't really plan on it.

This subject came up last year also, so at the rish of being redundant... Let's all say it again... Hobby!

Funny we rarely, if ever, see anyone who makes an actual living at catching LM post a negative about the Bass Days on here.

Sorry to hit a sore spot d a

 

[Delw]

Funny we rarely, if ever, see anyone who makes an actual living at catching LM post a negative about the Bass Days on here.

your right about that. one of the main reasons being is that either Bill Luke and or Tempemarine sponsors them. Kyle and murray are sponsored by the people who sponsor Bill Luke.

Not only that you wont find to many people that make a living fishing posting on these pages.

Do you really think most people would bite off the hands that feed them? I dont think so.




Delw

 

[Westy]

I have to fess up I also have a Pleasant bass on my wall.

I plead stupidity

I caught it the first year I started bass fishing in 42 feet of water at night. Like an idiot I wanted a picture so I put it in the livewell. Needless to say the fish didn't make it so I have a 8.31 on my wall.

Since then I have released several over 8lbs.

 

[RookieBoy]

My fishing prowess is not up to you all here. I've caught two eight pounders back-to-back on Saguaro. My biggest to date.They were released. I was talking to a couple of other anglers at the last MBC TMX. They felt that if we could some how secure old Christmas trees after the holiday season in Pleasant, that the smaller fish would have a fighting chance to survive. The little fellas would have a place to hide. Of course, I would volunteer my services in placing those trees. You all would have to pay for the GPS coordinates. :wink:

 

[Skunked]

I look at it this way, if you’re legal when you catch and hold a fish it’s your own choice and your own business. I don’t think I’d keep a trophy bass (unless it was the state record… but what are the odds of that???) but that’s my choice. The things that matter to me are not the things that are important to you. There is a prominent “Skunk hunter” who has 2 nice bass mounted on his wall at home – hell, I’d like to see them! I don’t care if he took a few bass home to put on the wall, it’s his choice. That’s not the decision I would have made, but I didn’t catch those fish either. If you look at it this way, I’ve never caught any that big, so basically, I can’t catch them so who the hell am I to say shame on someone??? Look at all the fish he catches and all the fish he’s released. If you ask me, he’s preserving the bass population just like some of the others who NEVER keep fish. I’d like to think that any of us who end up killing a fish on accident would take it home and cook it up or have it mounted - something. Westy might not meant to have killed his fish, but the only way around that is to not fish at all. Maybe we should ban fishing. If you’re not willing to take the risk of killing a fish or two – don’t fish. Boards like this and people like we have here spread the word about catch and release and they spread the word on how to handle your catch safely. That’s what preserves the bass population so that someday I can take my grandkids out and show them how to catch fish. It’s in the general practice of catch and release that we will preserve healthy fish populations for tomorrow’s to come. I think one or two great trophy lakes in the state would help this topic a lot, but that’s another conversation. If you release 100% of your bass – no matter what the size, that’s your call. If you keep and mount one or two fish of great size, that’s your choice. The thing is that not every one is keeping every fish. It’s like that picture of a black police officer keeping the peace at a KKK rally… You don’t have to agree with other people, but if they’re legal, what right do you have to shame them??? We have bigger problems than pointing fingers at each other for keeping a few or for never keeping any. Preaching your beliefs doesn’t make you God but spreading the word promotes your belief.

 

[Dave King]

Yeah Delw,

Those feather chucker get REAL pissed when you talk about anything but catch and release. :roll: Especially when it has to do with a trout size that doesn't exist in AZ any more.

-Dave King

 

[Guest]

We have bigger problems than pointing fingers at each other for keeping a few or for never keeping any.

Skunked, don't get me wrong... I'm not trying to point fingers but just looking at some other possibilities as to why the trophy bass fishing at Pleasant has declined so rapidly. To be honest with you it makes me sick when I see or hear of someone keeping a 6lb+ bass. But that's my opinion on the issue and just that. Until people realize that this has a major impact to the fisheries here in AZ we can expect our last few trophy lakes decline as well. All we can do is educate and hopefully sway a few more people to think more about conservation than wall decore. I'd love to see some trophy regulations for Canyon and Saguaro, but I doubt it would ever happen. If it did, it'd probably be too late. I think the "trophy lake" idea was brought up at the roundtable meeting before. Does anyone know what ever came of it?

 

[DaveH]

The last post was from me... Thought I was logged in... Guess not...

 

[Skunked]

Sorry, I didn't try to imply anything from what you said, I was just posting that line in a "preventive" way hoping to discourage finger pointing. Everything's cool here!

One more thing to keeping bass for trophy's... How much does it cost to have a bass mounted??? I'd rather save that money for cheesy poofs.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[d a]

Lotsa luck, I’m still waiting for you to point out where we’ve presented false information that has damaged BBDs reputation.

Comparing Lake Pleasant LM Bass to Roosevelt Crappie is not comparing apples to oranges, its comparing apples to potatoes! Two very different lakes and two different fish. Might as well compare Pleasant LM Bass to Lake Powell Smallmouth Bass!

The point being made about Big Bass Days is not that it is horrible for the LM population in Lake Pleasant as you stated. The point being made is its bad for the for the big LM Bass population of Lake Pleasant. As I’ve said, BBD hammers the big female bass during the most important time of the year for the big bass population.

Any bass tournament that has MANY dead and dying bass around should be shamed. They are damaging the sport they claim to love. Any fisherman that continues to fish tournaments that mishandles their fish, or allows anglers to mishandle their fish should have a finger pointed at them for allowing it to happen.

If your point is that Lake Pleasant is affected more by “natural” environmental factors than anything else than I disagree. It exists with more non-natural environmental factors than any other lake in Arizona. CAP drains the lake down 60 to 80 feet every year. Then refills it with nutrient poor water. Much of the cover at the high water mark has disappeared due to soil erosion from wave action. This is not what normally happens to a “new lake” effect lake. The boom on a normal new lake would last much longer than it has on Pleasant. Couple these man made effects with no regulations to protect its big bass and the tremendous big bass fishing pressure in the mid to late 90s, and that includes BBDs, then you get what you have today. A lake that AZ Game & Fish says is much the same as it was before the new dam. What a pity. Imagine what it could have been if efforts had been made to sustain that quality bass fishery?

Which leads to the next subjects. Roosevelt Lake, if it ever receives enough runoff to trigger another “new lake” effect will have its resulting big bass protected. Game and Fish has agreed in principle. Existing quality bass fisheries at Canyon and Saguaro are also being discussed with Game and Fish at the Round Table meetings. The question is how do we maintain these quality fisheries considering the increased focus on catching big bass? I’m still waiting to hear from Game and Fish on the minutes of the last Round Table meeting.

 

[cavedog]

, if you’re legal when you catch and hold a fish it’s your own choice and your own business.

well said. we pay to fish . and the money that we do is supposed to go toward the conservation of that. I practice catch and release thats my choice . good thing cause I catch a lot of bass :lol: but i keep crappie cause i like to eat them.